With a snort, Mogul raised his heavy head; instantly he sighted the
great hulking thing which was making its way towards the calf. With
a wild bellow of rage, he charged straight for the waving underbrush,
and as he came on Ezekiel, the terrible one, rose upon his great
haunches and boldly faced Mogul, for the grizzly is absolute monarch
of the plains, fearing no foe. For a moment Mogul, the fearless, was
daunted by the sight of the tremendous creature facing him. With
outstretched paws armed with great, razor-like claws, its wide, red
mouth bared to show its cruel teeth, the bear came on with savage,
thunder-like growls. It was unfortunate, however, that Ezekiel did
not travel on all fours, for, seeing his advantage, the buffalo
lowered its shaggy head, lunged straight for the unprotected stomach
of the bear and, before it could even seize him in its terrible
grasp, he had pinned its great body to earth, pressing his sharp
horns, and making the bear howl for mercy. Then, after goring the
bear well, without waiting to see whether Ezekiel was able to get up
or not Mogul bellowed a summons; the cow and calf joined him, and
they tore off to join the herd.
One day, as the herd was contentedly grazing together, Mogul and his
followers, upon a small plateau which ended in a high cliff, across
the plains came a band of hunting Indians. Once the herd becomes
frightened it usually starts a stampede. One buffalo cow snorted in
alarm, then the whole herd suddenly lost their heads, which was just
what the Indians had planned. Wheeling about, Mogul led his herd
straight away from the cliff, off towards a canyon. Alas for Black
King! The Indians were behind him, and, completely losing his head,
he charged across the plateau, heading for the cliff. Like thunder
was the roar of the thousands of hoofs, which fairly shook the earth
as they madly ran, following their leader to certain destruction.
Roaring, bellowing, raising the dust in clouds, they ran. Too late!
When at the very verge of the cliff Black King saw their peril, he
swerved, bravely trying to turn back. Like an avalanche the herd
rushed upon him, a great brown waving mass of heads and flashing
hoofs, and over the cliff they fell. When the Indians went back to
their village they held a festival and gave the great "dance of the
war shield" to celebrate their fine hunt. They had enough buffalo
meat to feed all the dogs of the village, and skins enough to keep
the squaws busy curing them for many moons. Afterwards they had a
great feast, and there was joy in every wigwam of the village.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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