itself in the declining vigor
of the horses.
The party had scarcely encamped on the afternoon of the 28th, when two
of the hunters who had sallied forth in quest of game came galloping
back in great alarm. While hunting they had perceived a party of
savages, evidently manoeuvring to cut them off from the camp; and
nothing had saved them from being entrapped but the speed of their
horses.
These tidings struck dismay into the camp. Captain Bonneville endeavored
to reassure his men by representing the position of their encampment,
and its capability of defence. He then ordered the horses to be driven
in and picketed, and threw up a rough breastwork of fallen trunks of
trees and the vegetable rubbish of the wilderness. Within this barrier
was maintained a vigilant watch throughout the night, which passed away
without alarm. At early dawn they scrutinized the surrounding plain, to
discover whether any enemies had been lurking about during the night;
not a foot-print, however, was to be discovered in the coarse gravel
with which the plain was covered.
Hunger now began to cause more uneasiness than the apprehensions of
surrounding enemies. After marching a few miles they encamped at the
foot of a mountain, in hopes of finding buffalo. It was not until the
next day that they discovered a pair of fine bulls on the edge of the
plain, among rocks and ravines. Having now been two days and a half
without a mouthful of food, they took especial care that these animals
should not escape them. While some of the surest marksmen advanced
cautiously with their rifles into the rough ground, four of the best
mounted horsemen took their stations in the plain, to run the bulls down
should they only be maimed.
The buffalo were wounded and set off in headlong flight. The
half-famished horses were too weak to overtake them on the frozen
ground, but succeeded in driving them on the ice, where they slipped
and fell, and were easily dispatched. The hunters loaded themselves with
beef for present and future supply, and then returned and encamped
at the last nights's fire. Here they passed the remainder of the day,
cooking and eating with a voracity proportioned to previous starvation,
forgetting in the hearty revel of the moment the certain dangers with
which they were environed.
The cravings of hunger being satisfied, they now began to debate about
their further progress. The men were much disheartened by the hardships
they had already e
|