The Last of the Plainsmen

k to the western horizon, rimmed with a fading streak of light. Tall figures, silhouetted

Plains? Two weeks in No-Man's-Land, and now we're facing the sand! We've one keg of water, yet you want to keep on.

alo hunter staked out his wiry, lithe-limbed racehorses. Soon a fluttering blaze threw a circle of light,

herd on the plains. For two years I've been hunting this herd. So have other hunters. Millions of buffalo have been killed and left to rot. Soon this herd will be gone, and then the only buffalo in the world will

man, thirst is not the only risk we run. This is Comanche cou

replied the plainsman,

es; dark storm clouds blotted out the northe

noon, and halted in a hollow where a stream flowed in wet season. Cottonwood trees were b

" suddenly w

trained posture, his e

red, tersely. Springing to his feet, he ran to the top of the kn

outhwest, miles distant, a cloud of dust mushroomed skyward. "Not buffalo," he muttered, "maybe wild horses." He watched and waited. The yellow cloud rolled

s! Indians! Look to y

ters pressed close to the dry grass. A long, low, steady rumble filled the air, and increased in volume till it became a roar. Moments, endless moments, passed. The roar filled out like a flood slowly released from its confines to sweep down with the sound of doom. The ground began to tremble and quake: the light faded; t

oods never stirred. "Lie low! lie low!"

a peephole in the thicket, saw a cream-colored mustang bob over the knoll, carrying an Indian. Another and another, then a swiftly following, cl

ow, and slowing up, piled single file over the bank. The leader, a short, squat chief, plunged into the brake not twenty yards from the

red the plainsman

look at the sand of the stream bed would have cost him his life. But the Indians crossed the th

whispe

cautiously crawled out of the thicket and searched the surroundings with a plainsman's eye. He climbed the

with a quaver in his voice

d to himself: "We've no time to lose. There's water back here somewhere. The In

ier and scantier grew the grass; the hollows were washes of sand; steely gray dunes, like long, flat, ocean swell

waved from him down and down, in slow, deceptive descent. A solitary and remote waste reached out i

he dead gray, steely sky. "Water must be somewhere; but can that be it? It'

line of his vision. "Geese flying north, and low. There's water here," he said. He follo

ated by a force too powerful for them to resist, they followed the buffalo-hunter. All day the gleaming lake beckoned them onward, and seemed to recede. All day the drab clouds scudded bef

e him jump. It was the thump of hoofs, in a familiar beat, beat, beat. He saw a shadow moving up a ridge. Soon, outlined black against the yet

rs. The last herd of American bison was near at hand. The cow would not venture far from the main herd; the eight stragglers were the old broken-down bulls that had been expelled, at this season, from the herd by younger and more vigorous bulls. The old monarchs saw the hunter at the same time his eyes were gladdene

ters stretched a piece of canvas over the wheels of the north side of the wagon, and wet and shiv

were lumps of ice. Grumbling, Adams and Rude ate a cold breakfast, while Jones, munching a biscuit, faced the biting blast from the crest of the ridge. The middle of the plain below held a ra

od had to be eaten uncooked. The long hours dragged by with the little group huddled under icy blankets. When darkness fell, the sleet changed to drizzling rain. This blew ove

ed from under the wagon, and made an unfruitful search for the whisky. Fearing it, Jones had thrown the bottle away. The men cursed. The patient horses drooped sadly, and shivered in the lee of the improvised tent. Jones kicked the inch-thick casing of ice from his saddle. Kentuck, his racer, had been spared on

will run north against the wind. This is the right direction for u

ed, his quarry had moved northward. Kentuck let out into a swinging stride, which in an hour had the loping herd in sight. E

ed the coiled lasso. Before him expanded a boundless plain. A situation long cherished and dreamed of had become a reality. Kentuck, fresh and strong, was good for all day. Jones gloated over the little red bulls and heifers, as a miser gloats over gold an

ter. Racing on the right flank of the herd, Jones selected a tawny heifer and shot the lariat after her. It fell tru

n it circled true, and failed to close; again the agile heifer bounded through it. Jones wh

brought Kentuck to a halt in his tracks, and the baby buffalo rolled over and over in the grass. Jones bounced from his seat and j

! They were as fatal to his enterprise as savages. A trooping pack of prairie wolves had fallen in with the herd and hung close on the trail, trying to cut a calf away from its mother. The gray brutes boldly trotted to within a few yards of him, and slyly looked at him, with pale, fiery eyes. They had already scented his captive. Preci

en the legs of the calf, he fastened it securely. This done, he vaulted on Kentuck, and was off with never a backward

ver-eager, would have run himself out in short order, but the wary hunter, strong to restrain as well as impel, with the long day

esperately for freedom under the remorseless knee. The big hands toyed with him; and then, secure in the double knots, the calf l

om his brothers, stumbled and fell in the enmeshing loop. The hunter's vest, slipped over the calf's neck, served as danger signal to the wolves. Before the lumbering buffal

miles, had begun to tell on herd, horse and man, and all slowed down to the call for strength. The fifth

ut Jones darted close and threw his lasso. It struck a cow. With activity incredible in such a huge beast, she lunged at him. Kentuck, expecting just su

ght his eye; in he spurred his willing horse and slung his rope. It stung the haunch of the mother. The mad grunt she vented was no quicker than the velocity with which she plunged and reared. Jones had but time to swing his leg over the sa

ready, showing his steadfast courage. He showed more, for his ears l

He left his other boot with baby number five. The still heaving, smoking body of the victim called forth the stern, intrepid hunter's pity for a moment. S

grass; the pale sun began to slant westward. The cold

aised stiffly, gave warning. Snorts, like puffs of escaping steam, and deep grunts from cavernous

told him of peril. Never looking to see whence it came, he sprang into the saddle. Fiery Kentuck jumped into action, then hauled up wit

e. Bang! Bang! The hunter fired two shots, and heard the spats of the bullets. But they only augmented the frenzy of the beast. Faster Kentuck flew, snorting in terror; closer drew the dusty, bouncing pursuer; the calf spun like a top; the lasso strung tighter than wire. Jones strained

ull, and hauled Kentuck up. Then he leaned far back in the saddle, and shoved the Colts out beyond the horse's flank. Down went the broad head, with its

o a standstill. The calf, nearly strangled, recovered when the noose was slipped, and moaned a feeble protest against life and capti

less, coatless, vestless, bootless, the wild hunter urged on the noble horse. The herd had gained miles in the interval of the fight. Game to the back

, stopped his horse, and jumped. The calf went down with him, and did not come up. The knotted, blood-stained hands, lik

! We MUST have another! t

cked the hunter wa

g horizon; the grassy plain gleamed like a ru

is gaze. The calves were almost done; they could run no more; their mothers faced the south, and trotted slowl

rained to wheel to the right or left, in whichever way his rider leaned; and as Jones bent over and caught an upraised tail, the horse turned to strike the calf with both fro

im. He leaped and whirled, pitched and swerved, in a roaring, clashing, dusty melee. Beating hoofs threw the turf, flying tails whipped the air, and everywhere were dusky, sharp-pointed heads, tossing low. Kentuck squeezed out unscathed. The mob of bis

stiff tail, and calling to his horse, leaped off. But his strength was far spent and the buffalo, larger than his fellows, threshed about and jerked in terror. Jo

rf. Kentuck neighed his alarm and raced to the right. Bearing down on the hunter, hurtling through t

e the Colt, the plainsman willed to live, and to keep his

a shock, a jarring

fallen beside him. Lifting a heavy hoof, he laid it over the neck of the calf to serve as ad

on all sides; they prowled about with hungry howls, and shoved black-tipped noses through the grass. The sun sank, and the

sing heart, shuddered from the soft turf. Stronger they grew, till the hunter raised his head.

shouted the

urt?" cried Rude,

many-did you find?" T

in good shape, and

ords fell on u