Hunting -- West (U.S.); Indians of North America -- West (U.S.); West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
One evening we reached a stream, which came down from these mountains
through a rather wide valley, which Tiger told us was an arm of the
Canadian river that falls into the Arkansas, between which and the
Kansas the territory of the Delawares is situated. When a boy, Tiger
added, he had often been hunting up this river and in these mountains
with his father, and in a few days we should reach another arm of this
river, on which his father's brother was torn to death by a grizzly
bear. On that river there was a very large iron stone, which had fallen
from heaven, and with which the god of hunting killed a Weico, who was
hunting here improperly. When we reached the river bank, we found its
water very turbid, and so swollen that we could not ride through, owing
to the furious current. Hence we unloaded, though it was still rather
early, and found ourselves on a steep bank, where the stream could not
hurt us, even if it rose higher. Tiger was of opinion that the water
would have run off by the next day, and enable us to continue our
journey, as these torrents rarely last longer than a day. John and Mac
went down the river to hunt, and Tiger went up it, while we looked after
the cattle and prepared the camp. The first two came back early with an
antelope, while Tiger was not in camp when night had settled on the
mountains. I had heard him fire twice, and we were beginning to fear
that an accident had happened to him, when he came out of the gloom into
the bright firelight with his light, scarcely-audible step, but without
any game, which was a rarity. He had fired thrice at a black bear,
followed it a long distance, but had been obliged to leave it owing to
the darkness, especially as he had hit it awkwardly, and it was strong
enough to run a long distance. The night passed undisturbed, morning
displayed a bright cloudless sky, and promised us a beautiful day; but
the river had not fallen so much as we expected, and we preferred
awaiting its fall here to going higher up and seeking a shallower spot.
The sun had scarce risen over the low hills in the east when I took my
rifle and went down the river with Trusty to try my luck in hunting. I
soon reached a low thin skirt of bushes, which covered the valley, and
through which many small rivulets wound to the river. I had not gone far
into it, when I noticed a great number of turkeys running about among
the leafless bushes. I ran up to them, frequently crossing the brook,
till I at last got within shot of an old cock, and toppled him over. I
hung the bird on a tree, close to the brook which I fancied was one of
those that came down the valley no great distance from our camp, and had
scarce gone a hundred yards beyond the brook when I saw some head of
game, which were too large for our ordinary deer and too dark-coloured,
and yet did not resemble elks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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