Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: History of His Life and Labors, as Recorded in His Daily JournalsWoodruff, Wilford
Religion
Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: History of His Life and Labors, as Recorded in His Daily Journals
Woodruff, Wilford
Woodruff, Wilford, 1807-1898
{274} "This was an interesting day to the hunters of the camp of
Israel. The pioneers made an early start, and after traveling six
miles, camped for breakfast on the prairie in sight of a herd of
buffaloes feeding on a bluff to the right of us. There were about two
hundred. Three only of the hunters started out. They rode as near to
them as possible and crawled along the grass, but the buffaloes became
frightened and ran away. We had not traveled more than two miles
farther before we discovered another large herd five miles before us.
The hunters assembled and held a council. We determined to get some of
the buffalo meat if possible. We traveled, however, with the camp until
within a mile of the herd when a halt was made and fifteen hunters
started together. Amasa Lyman and myself of the Twelve were with them.
We went along together until we reached a bluff within a few rods of
the herd and then divided, Brother Grover and Luke Johnson went on to
the bluff, O. P. Rockwell and Brother Brown took the entire left, and
so we divided into companies on the right, left, and center. I was with
the company in the center of the herd.
"We all made a charge upon them from the bluffs and rushed on to the
plain. The herd ran down the rough bluff into the plain, but when we
reached the plain we soon overtook them, and each company singled out
its game. We made choice generally of cows, then rushed up to the side
of them and fired upon them with our pistols, which we found much
better to carry than the rifles which were very cumbersome in running.
The first we gave chase to was a cow with her calf. I rode up to her
side and fired two balls, both of which took effect. The other brethren
with me also fired at her until she was killed. I then ran my horse
to the assistance of another party who had wounded one which was soon
dispatched.
"I then saw that O. P. Rockwell had three bulls at bay on the prairie.
Brother Pack and myself ran with our horses to his assistance. At the
same time Brother Kimball came up. We surrounded them and commenced
firing. They bolted ahead. I put spurs to my horse and ran in front and
was within about a rod of them when they all pitched at me and gave me
a chase for a fight. It hurried me to get out of their way. Two broke
for the bluff and Brother Brown followed them; but Rockwell, Kimball,
Pack, {275} and myself stayed with an old bull. I fired two balls into
him, Kimball one, and Pack one. The bull fell dead. We also shot a
calf that was with him. I returned to Brother Brown on the bluff and
found that one of the bulls to which he had given chase was wounded and
had lain down; but Brother Brown having no more powder or ball, the
bull got up again and ran into the herd on the bluff before I could
reach him. We now all returned to our hunting ground to gather up the
buffaloes we had killed, there being three cows, three bulls, and five
calves, making eleven in all.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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