It was a party of twenty-five
Bannack Indians, friendly to the whites, and they proposed,
through their envoy, that both parties should encamp together,
and hunt the buffalo, of which they had discovered several large
herds hard by.
Captain Bonneville cheerfully assented to their
proposition, being curious to see their manner of hunting.
Both parties accordingly encamped together on a convenient spot,
and prepared for the hunt. The Indians first posted a boy on a
small hill near the camp, to keep a look-out for enemies. The
"runners," then, as they are called, mounted on fleet horses, and
armed with bows and arrows, moved slowly and cautiously toward
the buffalo, keeping as much as possible out of sight, in hollows
and ravines. When within a proper distance, a signal was given,
and they all opened at once like a pack of hounds, with a full
chorus of yells, dashing into the midst of the herds, and
launching their arrows to the right and left. The plain seemed
absolutely to shake under the tramp of the buffalo, as they
scoured off. The cows in headlong panic, the bulls furious with
rage, uttering deep roars, and occasionally turning with a
desperate rush upon their pursuers. Nothing could surpass the
spirit, grace, and dexterity, with which the Indians managed
their horses; wheeling and coursing among the affrighted herd,
and launching their arrows with unerring aim. In the midst of the
apparent confusion, they selected their victims with perfect
judgment, generally aiming at the fattest of the cows, the flesh
of the bull being nearly worthless, at this season of the year.
In a few minutes, each of the hunters had crippled three or four
cows. A single shot was sufficient for the purpose, and the
animal, once maimed, was left to be completely dispatched at the
end of the chase. Frequently, a cow was killed on the spot by a
single arrow. In one instance, Captain Bonneville saw an Indian
shoot his arrow completely through the body of a cow, so that it
struck in the ground beyond. The bulls, however, are not so
easily killed as the cows, and always cost the hunter several
arrows; sometimes making battle upon the horses, and chasing them
furiously, though severely wounded, with the darts still sticking
in their flesh.
The grand scamper of the hunt being over, the Indians proceeded
to dispatch the animals that had been disabled; then cutting up
the carcasses, they returned with loads of meat to the camp,
where the choicest pieces were soon roasting before large fires,
and a hunters' feast succeeded; at which Captain Bonneville and
his men were qualified, by previous fasting, to perform their
parts with great vigor.
Some men are said to wax valorous upon a full stomach, and such
seemed to be the case with the Bannack braves, who, in proportion
as they crammed themselves with buffalo meat, grew stout of
heart, until, the supper at an end, they began to chant war
songs, setting forth their mighty deeds, and the victories they
had gained over the Blackfeet.
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