trampled to death, when just then a huge bull, who
must have had his eye upon me, wheeled from his companions, and, putting
his head to the ground, made, as I thought, towards me. To escape by
mounting my horse was now out of the question, for I had been thrown too
far to seize the reins, and the poor animal still lay struggling to get
his feet out of the hole. Any other than a prairie horse would have
broken his legs, or sprained himself irretrievably. Just when I
expected to be trampled to death or gored by the bull's horns, I saw
that the savage creature was making towards my horse instead of me; but
as it reached the mustang, the latter drew his feet out of the hole, and
throwing up his heels at the bull's nose, scampered off, followed by his
enemy, while the rest of the herd swept by like a torrent, not ten yards
from where I lay. Some stragglers, however, caught sight of me; and
another big bull was rushing on to give me a taste of his horns and
hoofs, when a loud "Whallop-ahoo-aboo! Erin go bragh!" sounded in my
ears.

"Don't be afraid, Masther Roger, me darlint!" shouted Mike, for it was
he who had uttered the cry; and dashing forward with spear in rest, he
struck the bull behind the shoulder with such force that his weapon must
have pierced the animal's heart. It swerved on one side, thereby
enabling Mike to avoid trampling on me, and the next moment fell over
perfectly dead.

A number of Indians passing at the moment, applauded Mike's achievement.
I managed at the same time to get on my feet, and pointed to my horse.

"Ay, to be sure; I'll be afther him," cried Mike, "as soon as I can git
me shtick out of this baste's carcass."

He tugged and tugged till he liberated his spear, then galloped off in
the direction my horse had taken, leaving me by the dead bull.

I had no longer any fear of being knocked over by the buffalo, as all,
except a few laggards, had passed by, and were further away to the left.
I could just see Mike attacking with his spear the animal which had
pursued my horse; but a faintness again came over me, and I was obliged
to sit down on the ground. I had no fear of being deserted, as I was
sure that the Indians would come to look after the animals they had
killed; and in a few minutes Mike returned, leading my horse, who
appeared none the worse for his falls or his encounter with the buffalo.

We had by this time reached a part of the country where woods and hills
could be seen