Adventure and adventurers > Hudson Bay, or, Everyday life in the wilds of North America

BUFFALO-HUNTING.
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ing with a herd, they all set off fall gallop in chase.
Away went the startled animals at a round trot, which
soon increased to a gallop as the horsemen neared them,
and a shot or two told that they were coming within
range. Soon the shots became more numerous, and
here and there a black spot on the prairie told where
a buffalo had fallen. No slackening of the pace occurred,
however, as each hunter, upon killing an animal, merely
threw down his cap or mitten to mark it as his own,
and continued in pursuit of the herd, loading his gun
as he galloped along. The buffalo-hunters, by the way,
are very expert at loading and firing quickly while
going at full gallop. They carry two or three bullets
in their mouths, which they spit into the muzzles of
their guns after dropping in a little powder, and instead
of ramming it down with a rod, merely hit the butt-end
of the gun on the pommel of their saddles; and in this
way fire a great many shots in quick succession. This,
however, is a dangerous mode of shooting, as the ball
sometimes sticks half-way down the barrel and bursts
the gun, carrying away a finger, and occasionally a
hand.
In this way they soon killed as many buffaloes as
they could carry in their carts, and one of the hunters
set off in chase of a calf. In a short time he edged one
away from the rest, and then, getting between it and
the herd, ran straight against it with his horse and
knocked it down. The frightened little animal jumped
up again and set off with redoubled speed; but another
butt from the horse again sent it sprawling. Again it
rose, and was again knocked down, and in this way