twenty of those who have good horses are chosen to follow him. After these, all who have horses follow if they choose to do so.
Sometimes it is better to keep at a distance from the buffaloes, until the chief and his chosen men scatter the band, when those behind follow the buffaloes and soon kill them.
The chief and party start off, walking their horses, and on the lee side of the buffaloes, until they are seen by the game, which sometimes does not occur until they ride within a few rods of them. As soon as the buffaloes see these horsemen they run from them.
The chief, riding in among them, first picks out the best and fattest animal he can find, and kills it. Then follow the others, each doing likewise. By this time the herd is scattered. These men load their guns again and follow them, killing as many as they can. In a short time as many as fifty Indians are after them on horses, and the buffaloes scatter all over the country. They can be seen in twos, threes, or in larger numbers, with Indians trying to catch up with them. Those having the best horses kill the most buffaloes.
If the hunt is near a village, which is often the case, the old men and women go out and skin the animals killed, and help themselves to as much meat as they can pack. The robe belongs to the party who killed the animal.
At one hunt there were about 400 buffaloes, the largest number I ever saw together while with the Indians.
This was the best and most exciting hunt I ever saw, and I know of no scene that I ever witnessed, either before or since, that was so exciting and interesting to me. I saw a sham fight in 1838, when 20,000 British troops were engaged for three hours, and were viewed by Queen Victoria, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Hill, Marshal Soult, and other notables. The troops were well drilled, equipped in splendid style, rode fine horses, and when moving in masses from one place to another with their glittering accoutrements, breastplates, helmets, etc., they presented a grand appearance; yet it was not to be compared for real interest to the spectacle presented by this buffalo hunt.
Each Indian had nothing but a blanket or robe around his loins, and carried only a bow and a quiver of arrows (but few having guns) for his weapons.
To see those Indians galloping at full speed, with their hair flying in the wind, after the black, wild animals, in a wild and desert country, with only nature for their instructor, was to me the most thrilling and soul-stirring sight I ever beheld in my life, and one I shall never forget. Old as I am (62 years), I would go farther to see another such a hunt, than I would to see a sham fight, such as the one mentioned.
Fifty buffaloes were killed in this hunt, and after it was over we remained in camp for three weeks, to give the women a chance to dry the meat and dress the robes, as we had no means of carrying them in their green state.
By this time I had learned considerable of their language and was able to converse tolerably well with them; and, when sitting in the evening with some of the chiefs, they would ask me to talk to them about our people, wishing to know where we were going, and why we were going so far from our white brethren, etc.
An old Frenchman interpreted for us as I talked, he knowing that I could understand enough of their language to detect it if he did not translate my words correctly. I gave them a brief history of the Church, the principles taught by the Prophet Joseph, his and his brother Hyrum's death, and also of the Book of Mormon (having one with me, which I showed them). I also told them where their forefathers came from, where they first landed, and how they, like us, had been scattered and driven from the rising almost to the setting sun.
These conversations were many, and always very interesting to them. I may here mention that, when I left the nation, the chief with whom I stayed asked me for the Book of Mormon, and told me he would keep it as long as he lived, and his son would keep it after him; for he wanted to have the book that could give the history of their fathers always with them. I handed it to him, and he thanked me, kissing the book, and saying it would be good medicine for his people, for he should feel as though his fathers were with them when he had the book.
Eating, as I had, so much fresh meat without vegetables or bread, and having but little exercise, I did not feel as well as I had done, and found a kind of scurvy breaking out on my right side. I had seen something of the kind on some of the Indians, but nothing so bad as mine. All I could do was to apply buffalo fat to the parts affected.
The time came when we had got our robes dressed and meat sufficiently dried to cache, so that we could leave the next morning. My leg was swollen, and I feared if it continued it might get so bad that I could not walk.
I prayed at night that the Lord would cause the swelling to go down, and give me sufficient strength that I might be able to walk the next day.
The next morning the swelling was gone, and I was able to walk nine miles.
Here we killed more buffaloes, and stayed a few days to dry meat, which we did by cutting it about an inch thick, and putting it upon sticks above the fire in the lodges.
We next moved on to the upper forks of Running Water River, and very near to the extent of the Poncas' hunting ground. Beyond theirs were lands belonging to the Brules, a tribe of the Sioux.
CHAPTER VI
STRENGTH IN TIME OF NEED – AFFLICTED LIKE JOB, WITH BOILS – SCRAPING WITH A POTSHERD PLEASANT – MY PRAYER ROOM – DRESSING BUFFALO ROBES – DINING ON COTTONWOOD BARK – INDIAN SELF-DENIAL.
I suffered much pain at times with the sores that covered my right side, from my face all the way down to my ankle; but, strange to say, the swelling on my knee, which would increase after each day's travel, so that I could scarcely walk across the lodge, would go down when we had occasion to travel, so that I could walk from one camping place to the next.
Some of my readers may think I imagined this to be the case, but it was no imagination of mine, for this continued for several weeks just as I have stated.
After remaining a few days in camp, I was one mass of boils, from the size of a pea to that of a small marble, and so close together that they touched each other. At times I suffered a great deal of pain, and at other times I suffered with itching, which was terrible. This was when the sores were partially healed, and the surface had become hard, and while in this state I often, on a fine day, would go where I could not be seen, get on the sunny side of a hill, strip off my clothes, and, with a flat stick, scrape my sores.
I had read of Job scraping his boils with a potsherd, and pitied him, but if he took as much comfort as I did in scraping mine, he had no need of pity; for to me it was a great pleasure to get rid of the itching, and the scraping tended to relieve me in this respect. The boils, however, would only remain healed about a week, when they would begin to swell for a few days, giving much pain, and then break out again, which caused me to feel faint and weak.
Notwithstanding this affliction I felt blessed of the Lord, and was not discouraged. A short distance from the village there was a large patch of plum bush, about two acres in area, with deer tracks through it, and a large space clear of brush in the center. This I chose for my prayer room during my stay there. I asked the Lord to bless and sanctify it for this purpose, which I feel assured He did. I went there three times a day for prayer, and I felt many times, when praying, that the Lord was there.
This was about the last of November; the weather was very cold, and there was some snow on the ground.
It was a busy time for the women, who were all engaged in drying meat, and dressing robes and skins for sale. We had killed up to date, 1,500 buffaloes, besides other game.
It takes from two to three days to dress a robe. In the first place, they scrape it on the flesh side until it becomes thin, then they
