Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. 2 (of 2): With letters and notes, written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existingCatlin, George
History
Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. 2 (of 2): With letters and notes, written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existing
Catlin, George
Indians of North America
In my last Letter I gave a brief account of a buffalo chase, where
General Leavenworth and Col. Dodge took parts, and met with pleasing
success. The next day, while on the march, and a mile or so in advance
of the regiment, and two days before we reached this place, General
Leavenworth, Col. Dodge, Lieut. Wheelock and myself were jogging along,
and all in turn complaining of the lameness of our bones, from the
chase on the former day, when the General, who had long ago had his
surfeit of pleasure of this kind on the Upper Missouri, remonstrated
against further indulgence, in the following manner: “Well, Colonel,
this running for buffaloes is bad business for us—we are getting too
old, and should leave such amusements to the young men; I have had
enough of this fun in my life, and I am determined not to hazard my
limbs or weary my horse any more with it—it is the height of folly for
us, but will do well enough for boys.” Col. Dodge assented at once to
his resolves, and approved them; whilst I, who had tried it in every
form (and I had thought, to my heart’s content), on the Upper Missouri,
joined my assent to the folly of our destroying our horses, which had
a long journey to perform, and agreed that I would join no more in the
buffalo chase, however near and inviting they might come to me.
In the midst of this conversation, and these mutual declarations (or
rather just at the end of them), as we were jogging along in “_Indian
file_,” and General Leavenworth taking the lead, and just rising to the
top of a little hill over which it seems he had had an instant peep, he
dropped himself suddenly upon the side of his horse and wheeled back!
and rapidly informed us with an agitated whisper, and an exceeding
game contraction of the eye, that a snug little band of buffaloes were
quietly grazing just over the knoll in a beautiful meadow for running,
and that if I would take to the left! and Lieut. Wheelock to the right!
and let him and the Colonel dash right into the midst of them! we could
play the devil with them!! one half of this at least was said after
he had got upon his feet and taken off his portmanteau and valise, in
which we had all followed suit, and were mounting for the start! and I
am almost sure nothing else was said, and if it had been I should not
have heard it, for I was too far off! and too rapidly dashed over the
waving grass! and too eagerly gazing and plying the whip, to hear or to
see, anything but the trampling hoofs! and the blackened throng! and
the dancing steeds! and the flashing of guns! until I had crossed the
beautiful lawn! and the limb of a tree, as my horse was darting into
the timber, had crossed my horse’s back, and had scraped me into the
grass, from which I soon raised my head! and all was silent! and all
out of sight! save the dragoon regiment, which I could see in distance
creeping along on the top of a high hill. I found my legs under me in a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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