82.50 a year. Entered at the Post Office at New York. N. Y., as Second Class Man Matter. Copyrighted in 1883 by Bums an ADAMS, January 31, 1883

' ' "w .3

PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BBADLE AND ADAMS,
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THE YOUNG TRAIL HUNTER ;  "mmfimfiifim

BY '1‘. o- 

AUTHOR OF “THE Mow-tum," “ mm; my umlm or h1l<ll<LRlA," "sxowxuoa TOM," “ may now WHALERS." mu, mo.

 

 

WHILE THE YOUNG TRAIL HUNTERS GAZED AT THE STONE A DARK OBJECT SLOWLY BOSE ABOVE IT, AND MY
PRESENTED THE HEAD AND SHOULDEM OF A BIG GWY.

 

  

 

2

 

The Young Trail Hunters;

on,

New York Boys in Grizzly Land.
A Romance of White Bufi‘alo Camp.

BY T.- C. HARBAUGH,

.su'rnon or “THE snow, TRAIL,” “snow-snow
TOM,” “THE BOY EXILES," " THE LOST BOY
WEALERS,” “run mums HUNTERS,"
“ran: BOY DETECTIVES," .

no, mo.

'CHAPTER I.
THE CAMP IN THE ROCKIES.

ALONG the wonderful sierras of the Rock
Mountains between the forty-second and flftiet
degrees of North latitude, lies one of the grandest
huntinggrounds on the face of the globe.

It is that sublime region of cascade and canyon
within WhOse boundaries rise two magnificent
rivers, the Columbia and the Missouri, whose
waters enter ‘the Pacific and the Gulf of
Mexico respectively. One river flows through
the wilds of Oregon, across the Cascade Moun-
tains, and enters the ocean almost within the
shadow of Mount St. Helen's; the other, after
watering the plains and plateaus 6f Montana.
and Dakota, courses through several of our
fairest Western States, and joins the lordly
Mississippi. The head-waters of these two
grand streams are found deep in the heart of
the R )Ckie‘i. '

Numerous herds of buffalo bathe in their’clear
waters, and the terrible grizzly roams up and
down their banks, truly the monarch of the
wild region.

Besides the buffalo and “ Old Ephraim,” deer
of all kinds, the antelope, the mountain sheep,
wolves, foxes, otters, and mink inhabit this
hunting-ground, which at this day contains
trails unknown to the feet of the most adventur-

isome white hunter. The crack of the half-
brced's rifle and the whiz of a Blackfoot‘s arrow
Often break the silence of a canyon, and deep
intbe heart of those boundless forests, the
grizzly has gained more than one bloody victory
over his untiring hunters.

It is true that civilization is fast opening up
the great West, and we are often told that the
buffalo and theelk will soon become extinct.-

This is little less than the hight of absurdity,
for between the two degrees of latitude written
above, are herds known to contain eighty thou-
sand animals each, and :the elk is almost un—
hunted in ,many places. The truehunter slays
for meat, robe and fur, not for the more plea-
sure of slaughtering. The red Indian is the
genuine Nimrod of North America; but it is
our intenti )n to introduce the reader to several
young hunters with while faces who penetrated
the great region we have briefly described in
search of the true sport of camp and trail.

It happened that during a certain vacation,
three youn New Yorkers—Jack Roberts, Tom
Turpin an Hiram Horter—read jointly that
wonderful book which gives an account of
Iiewis and Clarke’s travels across the Rockies to
the Pacific seaboard in 1805.

We need not say that the narrative, enrap-
tured them, that it filled them with a longing to
follow in the footsteps of the illustrious ex-
plorers, and that, at a secret meeting, the trio
votedrunanimously to proceed at once to the
Northern Rockies.

Having proceeded thus for, they next besieged
their parents for the desired permission, for the
thought of running away did not once enter
their heads; '

As luck would have, it, a private surveyin
party was about to set out for the Rockies, an
as one of its objective points ‘was the head-
waters of the Missouri, the three boys brought
the golden opportunity to bear-upon their pa-
rents in a manner that was not long resisted.

The expedition left New York by rail in the
latter part of August, and reached Helena,
Montana, the second week in September. .Here
the young hunters hunted up a. man named
Oliver Pardee, but evervwhere knewn as Yel-
lowstone 011, a celebrated bearrflghter and
Rocky Mountain guide, who had ‘l’arned"
under Kit Carson.

Certain letters of introduction, and the pro-
mise of good wages, secured Oil’s services, and,
fully equipped for a hunt in the, to them, term
incognttdof the far Northwest, the young New
Yorkers, sep%ratod from the surveying party
and turned 1; eir backs on Helena and civiliza—
610D. .

 

‘ The”¥oung Trail Hunters.

 

 

 

 

 

They were well mounted on strong-limbdd
horses and led several ack- mules which carried
their camp equipage, including many modern
utensils t at brought a smile to the guide’s
bronzed face. They were armed with revol-
vers and brand—new Winchester rifles, which
was on was the guide’s favorite.

“ har’s suthin about this gun that astonishes
a grizzly,” remarked the guide, as he held
Jack’s beautiful rifle up to the gaze of all. “ I
war huntin’ once on the Yellowstone when I
almost stumbled onto an old grizzly what war
takin’ his noonday nap in the sun. I had a gun
of this kind in my hands. After eyiii’ me fur a
moment the old chap got up as much as to say,
‘ I’ll now perceed to chew you u , Yellowstone.
That gun only shoots once,'a.n’ I in no lamb.’ It
war a ticklish situation boys, fur I hadn’t had
the gun ion -—-hardly ong enough to get the
hang of it. at I stood my ground, an’ as the
b’ar came at me I let drive with ahasty aim
which. seldom tumbles a grizzly, as you may
find out afore you get back to the States. Just
as I expected, didn’t make a death shot. My
forty-five plowed along old Ephraim’s neck,
mashed one shoulder-blade, and maddened him.

“‘Thet’s yer last ioad Olll’ he seemed to
laugh, as he rose on his ind feet. “Giminy
crickets! the next minute I opened the whole
magazine on him without takin’ the gun from
my shoulder a second. You never saw such an
astonished grizzly. ‘ I sent that smile of victory
from his face in a jiffy, for before he could say

‘ Jack Robinson ’ thar war four balls in his car-v

case, an’ he war the deadest grizzly in the ken-
try. Shoot? I reckon this gun kin shoot. Af-
ter the scrape I’ve just been tellin’ on about
whenever I met 8. mar he'd turn tai an’ move
off but as if he said to himself, ‘Thar comes
Oll ardee an’ his lead mine.’ It’s been along
time since I’ve been their, though, an’ Iguess
the grizzlies have forgotten me.”

The guide’s story amused and interested the
boys, and rendered them ore than evér eager
to reach the hunting-gm nds.

“ What did that bear weigh, Olli” asked Tom.

“Nigh onto seven hundred, I guess; but be
war a baby to some I’ve seen along the Medi-
cine, bn’ we’re goin’ to camp on that very
stream. Why, everything’s big in that kentry.
Natur’ put in her best licks thar. You’ve heard
about white deer an’ white buflier?”

“ Yes, hut—~”

“ They’re thar, I guess,” interrupted the guide.
"I don’t say that I’ve seen ’em, mind that,
boys; but you don’t find many liars among tlée
Blackfeet, an’ I’ve heard some wonderful .stori s
from the red~skins.” .

“ Ali! if we could but carry back with us a
white robe!” exclaimed Jack enthusiastically,
his eyes kindling at the thought. r

“It would be and, indeed!" put in Hiram;
“ but I have ran somewhere that white bufla~
1093 are sacred animals to the Indians. ~ How is
that Olli” ‘ f

“ guess they are," wasthe reply. 3“.Bu»tas
we're not likely to see one, we needn’t discuss
the matter now." - -

“That’s so, sir,” said Jack; “butI want all
to understand now that ,the sacredness of a
white buffalo is not going to save it from my
rifle if I can get within ran 9. I’m not going
to let such a priza slip throu my fingers just
because a lot of Indians are ted with super-
stition."

“We’ll cross the river when we cometo it,
not before, Jack,” said Tom, with alaugh for
his comrade’s’gravity. “I don’t know that In-
dian notions would prove very weighty argu-
ments with me if a snowy bison shoul cross my
path. But we’ll wait and see."

Jack was to recall his resolution before many'

ays.

The banks of the Medicine river, near its
head-waters, were reached a few days after the
conversation just recorded. ‘

The boys found themselves in the midst of
sublime mountain scenery such as they had
never viewed before. ,

The Medicine rises in the very heart of the
Rockies, as it seems, and .flows swiftly west-
ward toward the Mimouri. Not many miles
south of thotn, as Tom reminded his comrades,
Lewis and Clarke’s famous trail led across the
lofty ranges of the Rockies. ‘

The camp was in the heart of the wilderness,
and the clear waters of the mountain river re.
flected their white tent, and the curling smoke
of the cam fire. 1' r

Headed y the guide, the boys set to work,
and verv soon a comfortable log~cabin rose on
the bank of the stream. By common consent,
after a suggestion from Jack, the place was
christened White Buffalo Camp. ,

. ears.

 

The horses found rich pasturage near by, the
camp utensils were unpacked and arranged by
the boys, who ,worked under the spel of a
praiseworth y enthusiasm.

“ You‘re not goin’ to spiie that bird by cook-
in' it in a skillet, ar’ you .1” suddenly ejaculated
Yellowstone Oil, as om came from the tent
the second time with a cam skillet in one hand,
and a finelarge ptai‘migan in the other.

“ It will not spoil it,” the boy answered. “ I’ve
cooked some at college, and—"

“School cookin’ is nowhar among the Rock
iesl” interrupted 01]. “Give me the bird, an'
toss that skillet back into the tent."

Tom surrendered the plump bird, but reve-
rently carried the abused cooking utensil away.

“Ill show you how to cook a bird wit, its
coat on," continued - the guide. “ A Rocky
Mountain hunter is his own receipt-book, an’.
he’s no slouch when it comes to cookin’, if I do
say it myself.” '

The old guide then proceeded todraw or clean
the bird, which was well washed out, and its
feathers, which were not remOved, soused in
water. The fowl was next imbedded in hot
coals and ashes, and left to itself.

A large rabbit which Jack had brought down
with a charge of No. 7, was roasted on a stick,
but the ptarmigan was pronounced by all the
cream of the feast. for when it was taken from
its oven of coals the skin and feathers peeled off
easily, and the flesh was found wonderfully ten
der and juicy. *-

Yellowstone 011, much to his gratification,
was unanimously voted an excellent cook, and
the boys vowed that their camp cookery thence-
forward should be largely under the guide‘s
control. ,

“You can cook salmon an’ trout that way,"
said 011, “an’ when they’re spread before you
on a chip, they’d tempt a king. I tell you,

bo s—

The guide’s Observation was suddenly broken
by a shot that brought the occupants of the
camp up standing with cocked rifles in their

hands, and faces turned toward the west, from

which direction the report had come.
The (guide’s face wore a uzzled expression.
.d“ In inns?” whispered om, gliding to his
‘51 e.

“I think not, boy; but I’ll 0 an’ see."

The young hunters did not eel at their case
when they saw their mainstay disappear among
the shadows beyond the camp—fire. They drew
closer together, and watched and listened with
their fingers at the triggers of their Winches-

. ters.

Present] a peculiar laugh which they instantly
recognize was borne to their éars, and the next
moment two figures, one of them Oil’s, came
into view.

“ Thank Heaven it’s a white boy, and not In-
diansl" ejaculated Hiram. “ I thou ht we were
the only pale-faces in this vicinity, ut—”

“ Boys,” said the guide, interru tin , “ let me
ihtroduce Rocky Dave of the For 5 o the Mis—
souri—a chap,I ve mettafore when be war no
bigger than a gopher.”

CHAPTER II.
run FIRST onlzzLY. ~

WI: need not inform the reader that the un-
exPected Eigitor was cordiall welcomed to the
camp on t bank of; the Me icine.

He, was a romantic-looking youth of seven—
teen, weli proportioned, and with a jovial nature
that out of the.clear depths of his blue
eyes. . , , ' _
His garments had beeii made from the skins
of venous am which had fallen victims to
his aim and _

His cap had been fashioned from the pelt of a
young at ver fox, and was much admired by the
young New Yorkers. Tom pronounced it a

iece of extravagance, and reminded the boy
hunter that such a prime pelt as his head-cover—
ing had once been would have lined his buckskin
pockets with silver. ~

" I’ve no use for money here," laughed Rocky
Dave. “I haven’t seen a coined dollar for five
When I want'ammunition, I‘ shoulder a

ew pelts, tramp over to Helena or up to Fort
Garry, and Stock up. The furabuyer up at
Garry said I Ought to be whipped for making a
caveat of a silver fox pelt; but I guess the fur
was my own roperty, and I told him so. too.”

The boys i lied the young ’Westerner’s inde-
pendence, and invited him to remain With them
while they stayed among the mountains.

“ I never stay long at any one place,” was his
reply. “ I’m here today and gone tomorrow;

 

a

but since I think we would get along very well
of game here, lmay stay
think I was near your camp

and there’s plenty
some time. I didn t

 

The Yotmg Trail Hunters.

3

 

 

till after I had tossed a bullet after the grimly I
had been following for some time. ” r

“ A grizzly?" echoed the three boys. .

“That’s what I call him,” and Rocky Dave
sent a quick glance toward the lank guide. “ He
wasn’t a very big one—might have weighed nine
hundred, mebbe a little more. I didn’t expect
to hit him, for it was too dark to shoot, and I
would have followed him if 011 here hadn’t run
across me.”

Having been invited, Roeky Dave seated him-
self at the fire and finished the remains of the
supper while he answered as fast as he could
the many questions of the boy hunters.

They earned that he had been rinsed among
the mountains, that his father was killed by a
band of Blackfeet when he was quite small,
and that he himself fell into the hands of the
Indians. He was placed under the tender tu-
telage of acrabbed Squaw, from whomhe es-
caped at the first opportunity, and whom he
succeeded in eluding ever afterward. .

Thus thrown upon his own resources, Rocky
Dave grew up. in Grizzly Land, subsisting on
the spoils of the chase, and meeting with wild
adventures that would fill a volume. It was
true that he had encountered Yellowstone 011,
the guide, before the lpresent meeting, and it
was to the tall bronze fellow that he was in—
debted for his iirst hunting outfit—rifle, revolv-
er and ammunition.

Rocky Dave could neither read nor‘write, but
he possessed a natural quickness and intelligence
that almost took the places of the two acquire
ments. Brave almost to a fault, keen-eyed and
thorou hly posted on the country, what more
valuabfe gift could fortune have sent to White
Buffalo Camp?

“This isn't b’ar most.- by 3 Ion shot.” ex-
claimed Dave, as his teeth picked t a last rab—
bit bone. “ I say, did you eVer taste grizzly?”

This question, thrown directly into the trio’s
faces. made them blush.

Jack came to the rescue by saiing that they
had been in the camp but a few ours, and had
not yet enjoyed an extended hunt; they had
not, therefore feasted on bear-meat: but they
hoped (with a proud glance at the magnificent
rifles near by) to broil some. juicy grizzly steaks
on the banks of Medicine river.

“ There’s no occasion for put'ing oflf the b’ar
hunt another hour,” announced the boy of the
mountains, when Jack had finished. “ The chap
I shot at can’t be more than two miles down the
river. an’ as there’s a full moon hanging in the
sky, I’m sure we can have a tussle with Old
Ephraim.”

The three youths looked at Yellowstone Oll.

“ Let’s give him a bout afore we turn in,” the
guide suggested. ‘

The young New Yorkers sprung eagerly to
their rifles, and as the magazine of each was
full they were equipped for the fight without
further reparation. ‘

New ‘ uel was heaped upon the camp-fire, to
keep [our footed marauders like wolves and
mountain lions {rem committing any defied»
tions, and the whole party, gui ed by cky
Dave, saliien out of camp.

A night bear-bunt in the Rockies possesses an
interest that suffices to keep the hunter on the
alert. Sometimes the bear is hunted with fire,
but grizzl vhunting, when the unflight is that
aflorded y'the moon. is more gowns and
exciting. _

The rizzly ol' the Rockies grows to an enor-
mous size, sometimes weighing fifteen hundred
pounds, and measuring nearly twelve feet from
the tip of his muzzle to the end of his tail. He
is one of the most ferocious of Wild animals, es-
peciall when wounded or famine pressed; then

B Wil leave the mountain trail and woe to the
daring hunter. whether red or white. Who 13'
force to fight him in a hand to hand combat.

He can be killed instantly by well directed
shots although he possesses a wonderful tenacity
oi life. As many as nineteen shots have been
known to havo been withstood by him; when on
the other hand, a bullet well planted at the curl
upon the chest 01‘ at the base of the ear, will
speedil terminate his resistance.

Old phralm. as he is sometimes called by
hunters who are thoroughly acquainted with
his habits and ferocxty, W1" some times enter a
well-guarded camp and carry 011 a fat porker to
the amazement, and deslpitethe resistance of its
occupants. Traps of al kinds, pen-traps, pit-
falls, gun-traps. and snares have been set for
him much to his detriment. forthe bear is not
possessed of much original cunning, and some—
timesfalls an easy victim to the Wiles of his
bitterest persecutor—msn.

Atoll times be is on the lookout for abee«
tree, and the youthful hunters recalled several

 

stories they had read of the bear’s love of honey,
while Rocky Dave told them more about the
animal than they had read in all their lives.
Therefore, traps set for him are baited with a
chunk of honeycomb, for the grizzly will go
through thick and thin for the delicious morsel.

While Rocky Dave was leadin his new ac-
quaintanCes toward that part 0 the country
where he had seen and fired at the grizzly, he
did not regale them with any stories, but kept
a sharp lookout ahead.

Afull moon hung likes. great wheel in the
sky, silvering the ripples of Medicine river as
they danced onward toward the muddy Mis-
souri. The night, although cool, was not un~
pleasant, and would have possessed many a
charm for the hunters if the excitement of a
bear-hunt had not prevented.

With the confidence of a man who travels a
road he has often traveled before, the young
grizzly—hunter led the party to the spot from
which he had fired at the brute.

“Now I’ll show you the size of his.foot,” he
said, looking into the boys’ faces with aemile,
and thereupon he bounded away toward the
river bank where the clay was yielding.

Stoopin down at a certain placebo pointed
to a huge ndentation in the earth.

Eager to behold a fresh bear-track, their first,
Tom, Jack, and Hi bent forward and gazed with
distended eyes. ‘

Before them in the clay was the impression
of a foot which would have done credit to
Jumbo.

“Ifthere were elephants here I would pro-
nounce that the track of onel" ejaculated Tom.
“ It cannot be a bear-track.”

“ It’s nothin’ else," averred the mountain boy.
“ An’ big as the track is, the b’ar’s a powerful
sight bigger.” .

“ Thats an observation noneof us will dis—
pute, Rocky. This is my first grizzly-track,
you know, and it astonishes me. Let us follow
aha trail and bring the animal to boy,” urged

om. .

The hunt was resumed.

For some distance down the river the huge
tracks were easily discerned in the moonlight,
but when the grizzly left the stream and went
toward a gulch, well-shadowed and lofty—walled,
rifles were cooked and the pursuit was continued
with much caution.

. “Thar’s a break in this canyon about half-
way down it," observed the tall guide. “ I
guess an ’arttquake once tore the walls apart
just to let the moonlight in on such a night as
this. We’re apt to find the grizzly somewhar
nigh the break if he took to the canyon. I met
a h’ar in a gulch once, an’ I ran."

The three bongo looked astonished.

“ Yes, I act lly showed m moccasin—soles
to a grizzly, but the story will eep,” continued
011, noticing the looks. “ When you want the
yarn spun. just let me know. Yes, Old E’phraim
has entered the canyon. Now look out.

The three words of caution were not needed to
keep up watchfulness, for the young hunters
were on the quinine.

The gulch or canyon was not the most desir-

able lace for an encounter with a. full-grown
gr: y.
The wall on either side was precipitous and
seemed to tower to the sky. Here and there a
few stunted bushes grew, and even seemed to
thrive, from crevices in the solid rock; but, for
the most part, the walls were entirely bare of
verdure of any kind.

The New York boys had been informed in
whispers by Rocky Deva that at the foot of the
volcanic cleft in the wal stood an immense
Fowlder on which he had once shot a mountain
ion. v
He had just impfirtsd this information. when
alow exclamation from Yellowstone Oll told
all that a discovery had been made. ‘

“ Thar’s Old Ephraim!” whispered the guide,
sendingaquick look at the boys who had sprung
to his Side. “He-war on the big bowlder, but
he isn’t tbar now. I got a glimpseof him as his
hind-quarters left the rock."

A cautious crawl forward of a few yards re-
vealed the large stone to all. .It lay in the
moonlight that reached it by passing through
the cleft which led up to the topof the rocky

wall. . , - _ .
While the Young Trail Hunters gassedva

stone adark object Slowly rose above ifi‘and

presently presented the head and shoulders of a

‘lfi‘ grizzly. . ' ‘ '

. he apparition looked grotesque 1n the moon-
11 ht, for just beyond the 'bowlder was the
w itlsh side of one of the walls of the fissure, and
the grimly’s «head. threw a clear-cut shadow

upon it.

 

It was evident that the bear was standing on
his hind feet, with his fore paws resting on tin--
top of the stone like the hands of a man. He
had not seen his hunters who had neared him
from leeward, and were standing among 'the
deep shadows of the main gulch.

After showing his head for a few moments,
the bear leaped u u the rock with the agility
of an acrobat. 9 was an immense creature
and gave his enemies a good view of his body.

“ That grizzly’s gsgt a funny streak on to—
night," remarked ellowstone Oll, watching
the bear, who was performing a number of ludi-
crous antics on the table‘like surface of the
rock. “ He ought to be a circus b’ar, but we’re
here to spoil his fun, so let’s to business.”

The three boys were eager to try their Win-
chesters on the bear, and were overjoyed when
the guide suggested that hostilities open.

“ Let the Yankee lads do the shootin’, Rocky.
We’ve had our share of it in the past,” whispered
Oll. “ Now, boys, thar’s'lyour first grizzl .
Don’t get the buck fever. ake him behind t e
fore shoulder or back of the ear. Make sure of
Old Ephraim.”

Conscious of their ability to shoot with ef—
fect, Tom apd his comrades lifted their rifles to
their shoulders, andtook dehberate aim at the
monster target. ,

The three weapons cracked together, and the
beat, well shot but not killed, owing, Fm
,afrald, toa slight attack of “buck fever”on
the part of the marksmen, fell from the bowldpr
with a sharp growl. \ 

“Hurrah! our first grizzly l" exclaimed Jack
dashing forward.

“ Hold! that’s a. lively b’ar yet!” called out
Yellowstone Oll; but Jack did not hear him.

A moment later the impetuous bog realized
the truth of the guide’s remark, for t e grizzly
llzllad regained his feet, and madly confronted

1m.

 

CHAPTER III. ,
A WOLF-HUNT sPOILED—REDSKINS. ,

“A GRIZZLY is not dead till you’ve killed
him,” is a remark heard often among the hun—
ters’ camps in the Rockies. , 1

Jack Roberts, whose enthusiasm had carried
him forward after the volley just discharged at
the bear on the bowlder, was destined to have
the truth of the above saying forcibly impressed
upon his mind. ‘

He executed an aim: t halt when he found
himself confronted by t e enraged and bleeding
monarch of the mountains.

Full of fight, the grizzly saw nothing but his
young aggressor, who was rushing between his
distended jaws. Raisin suddenly on his hind
feet, he advanced upon ack, Who still held his
well~charged Winchester in his hands, but de—'
prived seemin lyof his powers of action. .

“Shoot quic , or run! ’ shouted Yellowstone
011, who saw Jack’s peril. ,

“ I’ll not run without shooting. that’s certain."
was the plucky response, for the uide’s words
had broken the spell and given ack the nerve
of an old hunter.

He saw the towering form of the advancing
bear and clapped his rifle against his shoulder.

“Steadyl stonedyl” called out the guide who
saw Jack’s action. . _ ‘ r

The youn amateur stood like a statue inthe
clear moon ight, not a muscle moved, not a
hand uivered. , -

Old phraim was not two rods distant when
J ack’s rifle spoke.

Thebo fired at a curl on the animal’s bre"st,,
and quic 1y sent two more balls after the first,
as the bear staggered back like a giant shot

through the chest.
Althou h the grim] y struck the gé'ound heavily
and lay t ere already dead, Jac did not a —

vance. He had acted hastily before, and was
not disposed to repeat an indiscretion which
might have cost him his life.

Yellowstone 011, however, knew that the last
shots had putan end to the bear’s career. and
while Jack still maintained his position, be
rushed forward, knife in hand, and soon stood
over the carcass. ‘

It was found upon examination that not one
of the first three sham had inflicted a mortal
wound; they were of the kind that madden
a grizzly and almost craze him with pain, ren-
dering him one of the most terrible antagonists
that man can encounter. v ,

The “ firstbeur” secured by the tenants 9f
White Buffalo Camp was an animal rs ,,
above average size and Weight. He would have
tipped the. beam at one thousand pounds. The
skin which 011 and Rocky Dave took ofi in an
incredibly short space of time, much to the

Eastern boys’ astonishment, was enough to

 

  

4

 

The Young Trail Hunters.

 

weight a stout man down, and after some
steaks had been cut off, the remainder of the
carcass was left to the coyote and wolf.

,That night yet—the hour was not late—the
boys tasted their first bear-meat, which Rocky
Dave was permitted to cook to suit himself, and
the su ' er was voted superb. '

f‘ Wgfil go down to the carcass about the time
the moon goes down an’ pay our res acts to the
wolves,” announced the guide in t e midst of
the sup er.

“ I‘d ike that!" cried Tom. “Nothing would
suit me better than to send a few bullets

whistling among a pack of wolves. But will
they scent the carcass?”
" Bless you, yes I" was the reply. “ I’d wager

mg knife that the old heads already sniff it.
'i‘ e wolf of the Rockies has a nose for business.
Natur’didn‘t sharpen it for nothin’, boys."

The prospect of a brush with wolves kept the
young New Yorkers awake and in excellent
spirits as the hours sped away.

The light of the camp-fire struggled toward
the middle of the stream and tipped the waves
with subdued crimson, now that the moon was
fast' sinking westward, and her soft silvery
light no longer fell where it had lately ain.

Stretched on a blanket in front of the fire,
and resembling an Indian b0 hunter in his
romantic garments, lay Rocky ave‘, his trusty
rifle within reach, and his tongue moving glibly
over some of his adventures His interee
auditors seemed to listen with bated breath,
while Yellowstone 011 was mending a broken
belt. preparing for some tough work in the
future. , v

Ever and anon the old guide would glance up
at the young story-teller and his listeners, to be-
stows well-pleased smile upon the little group,
and then resume his work.

When the belt was pronounced mended by a
satisfactory nod from 011, and when
Dave finished his third story, a wild reminiscence
ofBlackfoot land, the moon was deemed sum-
mently low to start on the wolf—bunt.

The little party moved straight toward the
mnyon.’ Now and then the long howl of a wolf
was borne to their ears, and at each detonation,
Yellowstone 011 would glance at the amateurs
asmucb as to sayr “ They‘re gathering to the
feast. We'll have some rare sport if nothing
misca ‘” ‘

The quarter from which the wolfish sounds
came, told the hunters of ’tbe Rockies that a
large pool: of these mountain marauders bad
scented the carcass, and were hastening to the

feast.

The five redoubled their pace, and not long
afterward bad the leasure of looking over the

canyon wall where it was lowest upon a writh-
ing mass of wolves that had already attacked
the slain hear. The vicious brutee could not be
seen distinctly, but collectively they made a
mass visible enough for a targe

The amateurs were eager to e ty their
rifles amongthe animals, and thrustt e barrels
doanard over the edge of the clifl.

“ Are we all to fire at once?” asked ,Tom, look-
ing at Yellowstone 01], whose face at that
moment was turned 'away as though he had
heard a sound that did not emanate from the

[grill ggling wolves three hundred and fifty feet

ow.
The guideraised his hand indicative of silence,
but made no re 1y.

“What’s up whispered Hi at Tom’s ear.

“ May I be hanged if I know,” was the an-
swer in alike tone. “ I shall not be surprised,
however, if we see game larger than wolves
'before'weget out of this lace. Awhile ago I
saw Rocky Dave touch 01 ’5 arm sififlcantly,
and the two excban ed glances that ad a deep
meaning. Neither t inks that I saw them, and
(my discovery wus’ the’meresteccident. Truth
to tell, Hiram. if we are in Grizzly Lam! we
are not far from a part of Indiandom. Maybe
Old Kin-we is on the lookout for Rock Dave. "

“ She’s the only living creature the y seems
to fear. I hope the may never meet.”

Kiowa was the B ackfoot hat: towhose tender
mercies the boy hunter of the Rockies had been
consigned after his capture by the Indians, an
event referred to in the foregoing pause.

At the. close of one of his narratives, Rocky
Dave had told the boys that “Old Kiewa,”as
he always called her, was surely hunting him
still, for he was aware that she had sworn to
hunt him down and subgect him to terrible tor—
tures of her own invent on.

Yellowstone Oll paid, no attention to Tom’s
question about firing on the wolves, more than
to command silence, and the boy bear-hunter
was listeuiu like the guide. ’ ‘ ‘

“ I‘m gett ng restless!" at last ejaculated Hi,

 

in a tone that drew a quick, reproving glance
from Oil‘s eyes. “ This thing is getting a trifle
monotonous. I’m for giving the gluttona down
in the canyon a volley before they finish the
carcass and take to their heels.”

At that moment Yellowstone Oll turned half-
way round, and his great band fell upon Hi’s
shoulder.

“ We’re not goin’ to make sieves out of wolf
hides tonight, he said. “We’ve got to go
back to camp at once, or else somebody may
beat us thar.’ I

The (young amateurs felt like springing to
their feet instanter.

They seemed to understand the last sentence
as quickly as it was spoken.

" lndiausl” fell from their lips.

“I thought you‘d guess it, though I didn’t
inst say lnjunl” re lied 011, who was not the
east bit excited. ‘ Thar’s a gang of Blackfeet
near us ust as surely as thar or wolves clown
thar. ou mightn’t bear ’em if you’d listen an
hour, boys, but I’ve heard red-skins afore.
The ’re out on a sneakin’ trip of some kind,
au’ don’t, want to scare you when lsay that
they‘re headin' for White Bufller Camp; but it’s
a fact nevertheless. Come 1"

Thellittle band left the wolves to their me of
rend and tear at the bottom of the go h, and
glided from the spot with a l; deal more
paution than that with which ey had reached

t.

Could it betbnt a band of'thieving Blackfeet,
the honest hunter‘s dread was about to swoop
down upon the camp, thus ending the hunt
which had opened so successfully!

Everywhere among the northern range of the
Rockies before it enters British America, the
wily Blackfoot wanders at will, bent on molest-
ing somebody. He is the white hunter’s evil
genius and constant too. He will tmcka trap-

r mile after mile to possess a coveted scalp or

enrich himself by the acquisition of a ew
paltry pelts.

It is no wonder that the hunters hate the
Blackfoot bravebnor that an unceasing Warfare
has been waged y the two races, from the day
when‘a white foot first crossed the Missouri to
the resent time.

ell armed and naturally fearless, the Black-
foot is 'a. fee equally to be dreaded with the
wounded grizzly.

When you In down in your camp in the
Rockies, you do not know that the eye of the
red depredator is not upon you and on have
no assurance of seeing t e sun rise in t e morn-

ing. .
Such is the character of the enemy now di-
recting his steps toward the camp we have lately

left, to enjoy a wolf-hunt with], its five inhab«
itante. . ‘

Had not the Indians watched the little bend
on its toilsome journey from Helena to the
hunting-ground?

They had robably dogged their steps with
the pertinacigy of the wolf, and were now mak-
ing: midnight descent u )on the camp.

.d by Yellowstone ll, and between him
and Rocky Dave. who brou bt u the rear, the
young New Yorkers found t emse ves returnin
over the same ground they had lately traver

Not a word was spoken, for all realized the
im rtance of silence. ‘

he camp was reached without accident or
incident of any kind.

The camp-fire was burning low, and the flick-
eringvblaze made ghostly shadows.

“ e‘re here safe,” said Yellowstone Oil,
turning his face defiantly toward the c ‘nyon.
“ Now let the Iniuns come." ‘

An hour passed away, but nothing roused the
hunters.

The horses and mules had been brought in and
oorraled near the cabin, and the hunters watch-
ed sleoplessly, and with their fingers‘at the trig~
gem of their rifles.

The fire went out entirely, and Tom dropped
asleep, for be was not accustomed to such
ion by viglls.

. ellowstoue 011 and the rest watched on.

All at once a yell penetrated Tom’s ears, and
he leaped up; rifle n band, prepared to repel
any attack.

The next moment a peel of boisterous laugh-
ter saluted him, and he saw his companions
plainly in the breed light of another day!

« The night of terror had passed, bringing no
Indians to the camp.

“ Ahl you were trying us, Oll,” said Tom, nip-
proaching the old uide. and smiling as e
ruched his arm and ooked up into his honest

ace. » .

“ Tryin' you?” was the echo. “ I never say I

hear Injune when I don’t, boy. True as gospel,

 

I heard the sneakin’ redekins last night. If.
they missed us it may be because they wanted

. Do you want to go back to Helena i”

“No!” answered the three boys in a breath.
“ We came out here for a hunt and a lot of In—
dians shall not fnghien us away.”

“I like that kin of grit. Its the kind that
cleans out grizzlies un’ Injuns. We’ll stay,
boysl” ,

This was a decision which the occupants 01"
White Buifalo Camp were destined to recall be-
fore many days.

Time was to prove whether or no Yellowstone
01] had heard the movements of a band of,
Blackfeet down at the canyon.

 

CHAPTER IV.
JACK ms A 'rnRILLmo ADVENTURE.

THE keen guide’s discovery rendered the ten—
ants of White Buffalo Camp doubly watchfuL

They never went abroad unarmed, and were
constantly on the alert for Indian “sign.”

Game of all kinds was plenty, and once or
twice during the week that followed the killin
of the grizzly in the gulch, several elk appea
Within sight of the camp, but not within what
Rocky Dave called good shooting distances

One morning, however, Jack found himself
the sole tenant of the cabin. .

Tom and Hiram, or Hi, as he was almost um.
vex-sally called. swompanied by the gmde and
the boy bearhunter, had gone away on We trail
of a cinnamon bear which had passed near the
camp during the night. ‘

It was a clear, crisp morning, just the kind
that sends one's blood tingling through one’s
veins, and Jack stood before the cabin inhaling ,
the bracing atmosphere and enjoying the ro-
mantic scenery of mountain and stream that
cflemd itself for his inspection and admiration

The hunting party had been gone an hour;
but the reports of their rifles had not been borne
to the Sta -at-home’s ears.

Suddenly Jack saw an ob t hinge into the
river from the opposite ban an swim toward
the share on which the cabin had been erected.

That it was a deer of some species Jack well
knew, but so intent was be upon watching! its
movements that be quite forgot‘ his rifle w ich
stood within easy reach.

The cabin stood directly behind a number of
lofty firs that lifted their on crests Skyward,
and was rtly concealed mm the view of any
person w 0 might be looking toward it from
the river.

For awhile the deer swam directly toward
the about and Jack thought it would strike the
shore in rout of him; but, all stance the ani—
mal veered to the right, and reached the bank
some distance below the camp.

Jack could scarcely repress a cry of admira-
tion when he saw the noble swimmer show him-
self a state] stag, with the finest set of horns
ever carri through the forest by one of his
kind. '

“Ah! if he was but within range!” ejaculated
the young hunter, still eyin the deer, which
seemed totally unaware of is resence. ,“I
wonder if I could ‘ creep’ him an get a shot at
him? ’

The question was a so gestion which was
acted upon at once, for Jac stepped back into
the cabin to reappear the next moment ready
for the deer-bunt. _

The stag had not left the spot where it had
last been seen shaking the water from his
drenched coat. «

Jack immediately placed Several trees be-
tween him and the animal, and crept forward
with more skill than Yellowstone 011 would -
have 'ven him credit for. He approached
from eeward.

His final success with the grizzly had inspired
Jack with the hope that he might yet become
more than an amateur hunter.

If he could but (impI the stag what a tziophy
he could exhibit to is friends upon ther re-
turn! '

Nearer and still nearer to the. buck crept
Jack, his he of victory increasing each mo
ment, and e at last found himself within fair I
dgeéshot, though not as near as he would have
1i 9 . .

Indeed, he had reached the end of his crawl;
he could not proceed further Without exposing
himself to the animal. .

“ I’ll risk a shot anyhOW,” he said to himself.

“ The book must be two hundred yards 01!, but
it’s now or never.” .

Jack rose and resteu the rifle alongsidetbe
tree, and began to take deliberate aim.

As if to insure his success, the back had
turned so u to give him an excellent shot attbo

 

 

heart, an accommodation for which the boy
murmured his thanks.

“ Pshawl I never thought I'd have an attack
of the buck fever,” exclaimed Jack as he raised
his head and saw the rifle shaking in his nerve-
less hands. “ If I were to shoot now i couldn’t
hit a barn-door at fifty yards. I’ll try it
again.”

Once more his cheek dro ped to the stock of

'the gun, and he covered t e buck again, this
time with better success.

' When he touched the trigger a loud re rt
awoke the echoes of his surroundings, an , to
his gratification, the stag gave a great leap for-
ward, and then pitched headlong to the earth.

“ It was hit and not miss, and that in spite of
the buck fever!" Jack exclaimed leaving his
"tree and springing toward the fallen quarry.
“The boys will open their eyes when they see
my buck-horns."

A few bounds brought Jack to the spot where
his victim lay.

.Never before did a deer look so beautiful in
his eyes; but perhaps it was because his cun-
ning had secured it.

The buck was not dead, though evidently
gasping his last; so Jack placed his rifle against
the nearest tree and drew his knife for the pur-
pose of bleeding his price.

Now, Jack had never bled a deer, but he had
seen Rocky Dave perform that essential opera-
tion, and thou ht he had mastered the art.

A moment ater, improving a little as he
thought on Rocky Dave’s method, he stood
.astride of the deer, and was about to plun e the
hunting-knife into the throat, when wit the
:zuddenuess of utorpedo the quarry s rung up,
carryin Jack clear of the ground, and actually
tossing iim into the air!

This ungentlemanly conduct on the part of
the buck fairly dazed Jack.

When he alighted some flfl'eeii feet from the
spot where he had stricken the buck, he found
himself completely unarmed, for the knife had
been knocked from his hand.

The deer stood between him and his rifle. He
looked fiercer that any deer had ever looked
before, and Jack knew that he had a wounded
and maddened stag to contend with.

The proud victor of a few moments before
was now in great ril.

This time his 1" e was not
terminate the combat in his favor.
tell. the buck had the advantage.

Jack had but few seconds for preparation.

He looked around for a weapon, but saw
nothing buta fir—stick which looked stout and
capable of rendering some assi<tance.

“I’m ready now! Come on!” he exclaimed,
as he clutched the stick firmly and looked defl-
anrly at the deer. " I can‘t choose my weapons,
but I’m not going to slnrk the fight on that ac-
count."

His challenge was almost instant] accepted,
for he had scarcel braced himsel when the
buck with lowered head rushed upon him.

Jack delivered a good blow, but the treacher-

y one club instantly snapped, and he was tossed
backward b the deer.

“Heaven elp me howl” rung mechanically
from his lips as he clutched the pointed antlers
as though he would deprive their owner of their

at his shoulder to
Truth to

wers.

He was lifted up and borne some distance
through the forest without touching the ground.
if the deer was fatally wounded, his strength
would soon be exhausted, but this thought was
not very consolatory to Jack. and there in-
stantl y rushed across his mind several stories of
the deer’s wonderful vitality after receiving a
death-shot. '

Jack held on to the antlers, however.

He knew that to fall would he to receive the
borne in his body, and he still hoped that the
deer would soon ve up the ghost.

He was can-i fifty yards when the enraged
brute dashed furiously toward a iant lir.

Jack saw his awful danger an uttered a cry
of despair.

If he were dashed a ainst the tree victory
would speedin declare n favor of his anilered
antagonist. He therefore resolved to try his
fortunes on terra firma.

The boy hunter had to think and act rapidly.
Not a second was to be lost. ‘

Jack threw himself from the when“
lei-s, but the change from an- to earth not
benefit him. 

deer stooped and draw back with blood-
Shot eyeballs that looked like coals of fire.

Poor Jacki F'Acape seemed impossible now.

A second later those flex-y eyes were d
over him he  up to
again, but his weak arms were knocked aside,

ant-

clutch the m‘

x

A The Young Trail 

and he felt himself being pressed into the
ground as it were.

At that moment, when Jack had ,been forced
by the horror of his situation to surrender the
last vestige of hope, the woods rung with the
clear report of a rifle, and the charging buck
fell back quivering in the death-ago?!

The reader may rest assured that ack lost no
time in regaining his feet.

His first lance was at the deer which was
already den , then he turned toward the direc—
tion from whence the shot had come, anxious to
see his rescuer. '

Jack really expected to See the well—known
figure of Yellowstone Oil backed by Tom, Hi,
and Rocky Dave; but instead he beheld a stal—
wart red-skin warrior, who was advancing upon
him with Ian thy strides.

The boy’s st thought was of his rifle, for he
instantly recalled the guide’s estimate of a
Blackfoot‘s character, but the Indian, instantly
divining his intention, lea toward the tree
a ainst which the weapon eaned.

t was now a race for the rifle.

The twain gained the tree at the same
moment, and Jack reached for the weapon only
to see a red arm interpOSed, and his trusty fire-
arm was boldly captured.

“ White boy no shoot Red Bear!”
Indian. “Blackfoot save his life,
thank Injun.”

“I do thank you,” spoke up Jack, quickly.
“fll am for peace if you are; but I want my
ri e. ’

“ White boy shall have it," was the red—skin’s
answer, and with the last word Jack found his
gun once more in his possession.

The Blackfoot’s action took him by surprise.
He did not expect to recover his rifle so ,easily,
nor could he account for the Indian’s generosity.

“Where camp?” was the question that fol-
lowed at the heels of the Blackfoot’s last sen-
tence. '

Jack made no reply.

Whatl tell that evil-eyed Indian where
White Buffalo Camp was, that he might go
thither to find it tenantless and un rotected?

if he had saved his life, might e not belong
to the band Yellowstone 011 had heard at the
canvon, its chief, if not its

“White boy can’t carr
Red Bear carry it for
Indian, noticing Jack‘s reticence.
carr horns, hide an’ meat all down."

“ on don’t catch me with that bait," thought
the boy, and then he said aloud:

“ The deer is ours, you killed it. I don’t
want a und 0 meat. I am going back to
camp. e want no visitors there just now.”

He stepped back as be finished, leaving the
Blackfoo amazed at his audacity.

rowled the
hi; him no

spy?

eer-ment to cum .

im,” continued t e
u 

 

CHAPTER V.
THE snor BETWEEN THE EYES,

Tm: exact location of White Buffalo Cams
was no small puzale to the Blackfoot brave, an
Jack began to see through the red-skin’s gener—
osity when he saw the frown that overspread
his painted features as he turned away.

“ M ust have plenty of meat at camp "
ed the lndian, in tones that reached th
PHYS.

To this Jack made no reply; he had deter-
mined to lengthen the distance between the In-
dian and himself. -

He would lead no Blackfoot warrior to the
unprotected camp.

At first the savage seemed inclined to follow
J nck, but reading correctly the look in his eye,
he allowed him to move away unchecked.

“ I’ve lost a buck but at rid of an Indian,"
he said to himself, as 6 increased his gait,
eager to reach the cam as quickly as possible.
“ now believe that ii heard a red-skinned
hand down at the canyon. We must redouble
our vigilance from this moment. Indians are
about. ’

More than once Jack
der, fearful that he was
willy Blackfoot; but no glidin figure was seen,
an be soon afterward reache the camp safely.

He found everything unmolested, reatly to
his delight. The hunting party he not re-
turned, and Jack had time to think over his ad-
venture before they put in an appearance.

He had not been absent from the camp for
more than an hour, but into that brief space of
time such h peril and incident had been crowd-
ed to last lm six months.

There was nothing particular about Red
Bear‘s rsonal appearance to distin uish him
from at er, braves of the Blackfoot t Jack
would liked to have gassed some much by
which the Indian con d be recognized, for the

growl-
e boy's

lanced over his shoul-
ing followed by the

 

5

 

 

boy felt that he owed him much for his timely
interference. ' .
The'snn was mounting toward the meridian
when the hunters came in with some plump
tarmigan, several mountain hares and ayoung
Ifar which Tom had had the good fortune to
s oot.
Jack soon imparted his adventures to the

ou .

gr“ Ip told you so the other night l" exclaimed
Yellowstone Oll. “Left our buck, home an’
all, to the redvskin, eh? 6 must get those an—
tlersl"

“ They are not there now,” said Jack, quickly.
“The Indian stepped toward the deer befox c I
got out of sight. ’

“ It isn’t his buck!” cried the guide. “ The old
lioofer war a dead deer when the red-skin sl ct
him.’

"1 must say that he was the liveliest corpse I
ever saw," and Jack smile-d grimly. “Think of
a and buck carrying a fellow fl t yards, and
t en attempt to gore the life out of him, boys.”

“ I mean that on had given him a .mortal
wound, Jack, an’ hat consequently he b longed
to you, not to that Injun. I‘ve seen bucks not
just that way for a little while after ham re»
ceived a, deathvshot. You‘ve got to have t em
hgms’. They’re just whar you left’em. Iknow
t at.

As Yellowstone on was determined to recover
the antlers, Jack offered to guide him to the
spot; and leaving Hi an Rock Dave in camp
to watch it and repare t e free game for din—
her, the rest of t 0 party started 03.

“The mean, sneakin’ In ‘un I” grated the old
guide. “Don t I know a lackfoot as well as
he knows himself? He’s too lazy to hunt around
for the camp. an’ so he wanted you to guide him
to it, Jack. I wish I had been within rifleshot
about that time." V

" What would you have done, Dill"

The guide gave Jack a' significant look which
was answer en: 0'h; but he would have replied
in words if Tom iad not exclaimed:

“ Yonder’s your buck, Jack! The Indian has
skinned him, and hung the carcass out of reach
of the wolves.” , , .

Sure enough the carcass of a deer was seen
hanging from the bougli of a tree some distance
ahead, and on coming up, the, little party saw
the hide and the home also stowed away near
the bod '. ,

“Re B’ar’s not so mean after all,” said Oll.
“ He knowcd you’d come back for your prop-

erty, Jack am’ so he,thou ht- he’d do you a. I

favor. ewl what buc horns!” and the
speaker held up the spreading trophies of J‘e rfk's

- prowess much to the boy‘s satisfaction and

pride.

“ I’d be willing to meet a Blackfoot to kill
such a deer as that!” said Tom, as he examined
the horns. “Jack, you’ve been getting all the
big game since we settled dovin on Medicine
river. Hi and I will have to put a stogto your
achievements; we want to bag someth glarger
than a bear cub before long.

“ I shall not stand in your road "answered
Jack. ” But look yonder! what is t at?”

011 and Tom instantly turned to the west, to-
ward which Jack was pointing.

About fifty yards from the spot where the
stood, the long trunk of a flr lay on the groan .
It had fallen along time before that day, for its
to was quite brown and dead.

ised above the body of the falleh monarch
of the wood, midway between to and butt, was
a huge black head. This was e object Ihat
had attracted Jack’s attention, for he had seen
it appear suddenly above the tree.

“ It’s a b‘arl” exclaimed Yellowstone Oil.
“ It’s no grizzly, though; but he carries good
steaks un er his skin, just the same. Do you
claim the shot, Tom 1!"

The guide’s question was called forth by seeing
Tom bring his rifle down from his shoulder as if
getting ready to fire.

“ Yes, shoot, Tom !” said Jack; “it is a splen-
did target, equal to the_ one my buck presented.
Give ,him a center shot between! his evil little
6 es.

“ I will!” and Tom's rifle was lifted to his
shoulder. ,.

A tree stood two feet from the young hunter,
and, the next moment he was aim ng at the bear'
whose ogrish head was still above
habigas satisfying a curiosity,_or gratifying a
w

Tom’s rifle rested against, the tree just
of, and Jack and the guide were waiting m:

  

lonely for the shot.  ..

Suddenly thereport of the rifle went cob;
throw the little ade in which the tribe! f .
and bear’s hea instantly 

 

helogaslfx,

 

  

8

 

“There’s a center shot for you!” pnclaimod
the boy hunter, throwing a proud glance at his
{riegds “You’ll find a dead bear behind that
02- , ,

- A broad grin appeared on 011’s face. '
’ “What are you grinning at, Yellowstone?”
cried T m.

“ You missed the b’ar.”

“MisSed him? I guess notl”

1 “ZXVhat’s that running through the wood you-
r or.

Tom, blushing to his temples, looked over the
guide’s outstretched hand and saw a, dark object
that looked very much like a bear making tracks
through the wood beyond the fallen tree.

“ It was a miss, sure enough,” Jack remarked.

Tom was too perplexed to anSWer for a mo—
ment.

, He was mad at himself.

“ If I can’t shoot any better than that, I’ve
no business in Grizzly Land,” he growled.
" How did I come to miss such a head as that at
fifty yards? Can you explain it, Olll”

t~‘lldebbe I kin after we’ve followed the bul—
let.” and the guide strode forward, followed by
the boys. ‘

y“I took the best of aim, I thought,” Tom
said, as they neared the log, Yellowstone Oll
diligently stepping the distance. “This is one
shot I do not think I will record in m diary.
Here we are,” and Tom leaped upon like tree.
" Great heavensl a bear 1”

He sprung from the 10 with the startling ex-
clomntion ringing from is lips, and cocked his
gun for an emergency.

r-"‘By hookeyl a b’arl—but a dead one,” ex—
claimed Oll, who was peering over the logz with
one of his bronzed fingers at the trigger. ‘Yon
didn’t miss your” b’ar after all, Tom. There
must have been a air of ‘em.”,

Tom Tur in fe t like sending ashout of vic-
tory throng the forest. Boldly advancing, do
spite a. possibility that the bear might not be
dead, he sprung upon the log again, and gazed
down upon his trophy. ,
' He had not thrown away his shot after all,

for at his feet lay one of the largest black beers
that had ever traveled the dark deflles of the
Rockies.

The ball had entered the forehead directly be-
tween the eyes.’producinginstant death. There
had been two beers behind the log, and it was
the male that had cowardly fled at the death of
his companion. '

“ That shot’s 9. credit to you," said the guide,
bestowing a look of admiration upon the ex—
ultiut vouu marksman. “Thar was a time,
when I coul n’t shoot as well. You’ll drop an-
telopes on the run before we leave the Medicine
country.” ,

“_f the Indians mind their own business,”
putin’ Jack, with a. smile. ‘

‘_‘ The Indians? Oh, we’ll take care 0! them,”
replied ’Tom, confidently, from the carcass of
the bear, on which he had seated himself. “I’m
premier of this shot, Jack, than I was of m_
victory in the Latin examination last winter. ’

“You ought to be for Latin nevor killed a
War,” said 011 seriously. _ “ But we’re goin’
back to camp.” ‘

, Tom sprung up and in a short time the best

portions of be two carcasses were reudy.for
trans orb to White Buffalo Camp.
' Ye lowstone O l declared that the Blackfoot
after skinning the deer had struck oil? in a.
northerly direction, evidently with the inten'
ticn of rejoining other members of his nation
who were doubtless roaming somewhere in the
neighborhood.

That night White Buffalo Camp was the
scene of jest, song and story as it tenants
gathered round the rudd flre utter a supper
that Would have delighte the most fastidious
epicure. . '

Bear steaks, grouse and mountain hare make
dishes not to be despised, and we! need not say
th A; the partakers of the feast mentioned did
justice to the occasion.

The light of the fire crept far up toward the
branches of the stately trees that surrounded
the camp, and now and then, when a. new
stick was added to the glowing bed, myriads of

sparks would seek the stars.

_ It Was the story telling hour, and‘one relished
by every hunter who has com d in the woods.
whether on the banks of the u Sable, or deep
in the heart of the Rockies.

Jock, Tom and Hi had no stories to spin.

I therefore Yellowstone Oil and Rocky Dave
had'to open their budgets of adventure.

In the wellrspun yarns of grizzly and buffalo
huntathe three amateurs forgot the sneaking
Blackfeet and finally turn in without a.
thought the red meanders.

 

The Young Trail Hunters.

Side by side they slept undisturbed while Yel-
lowstone 011 and Rocky Dave, two faithful
souls, guarded the camp with sleepless eyes.

CHAPTER VI.
A TURKEY THAT WAS NOT 'A FOWL.

CAMP life in the rookies is varied by many
sports and pleasures which serve to turn the
hunters’ minds from the dangers by which they
may be surrounded: and during the three days
immediately following the adventures last re-
corded, the tenants of White Buffalo—the boys
at least for at entirely the proximity of man’s
red foe, an reveled in the excitements of the
chase.

Not for a moment after Jack’s encounter
with the Blackfoot was the camp left entirely
unprotected. Its occupants watched it by turns
so that while a hunt was going on, somebody
was always at home.

Yellowstone Oll’s belief was that the prowl-
ing Indians ’ object was theft and not massacre,
for the Blackfeet had lately made a new treaty
with the Government in which they agreed to
take no white lives rt all.

The presence of one person in the camp,
therefore, might keep it from being plundered.
but let it be deserted for an hour, and the red
thieves would swoop down upon it with the
veracity of vultures.

“Don‘t let anything take you from camp,”
was always Yellowstone Oll’s last command to
the camp guard when the rest were ready to
depart on a. hunt. “ Them Blackfeet nr’ up to
more tricks than a clown, an’ they’re shrewder
than foxes, besides.”

These words fell upon Hiram’s ears one after-
noon, when his companions had equipped them—
selves for a bear-hunt on one of the forks of the
Medicine, about seven miles from the camp.

“Yes, keep close watch, Hi,” said Tom. “ It’s
my turn next, and then you‘ll get a chance at
some big game."

Hiram was left alone just as Jack had been
left on a similar occasion a few days previous.

He amused himself in various ways until the
sun began to nerr the western horizon. Then
the minutes grew into hours of extreme dull-
ness, and the youth put up the book he had been
reading, for its pages no longer interested him.

He did not know that all the while the keen-
est of eyes had been regarding him from the
trees that grew near the water’s edge not for

 

o .

If he had looked toward the river occasionally
he might have caught glimpses ol' several figures
as they flitted from tree to tree, gradually up
proaching the camp, but he did not catch’sig t
of a single one.

The long shadows of evening came, and the
young guard begun to look for the hunters’ re—
turn. ,

He replenished the fire, which had been ul~
lowed to smolder during his reading hour, and
got everything ready for the supper, which he
was confident the hbsent party would bring in.

All at once the clear gobble of a wild turkey
saluted the boy’s cars. The sound was so dis-
tinct that Hiram turned round more than half
expecting to catch sight of the bird.

‘Don’t let anything take you from camp,”
sounded as distinctly in his ears at that moment
as “Yellowstone 011 had just 3 oken them; but
Hiram was inclined to so , “Ps aw! a few steps
out 3f the way for a. in gobbler will harm no
one. >

He listened to the turkey’s call with aburnz

lug desire to bag the lordly fowl. He was satis—
fied that it was stationed in a clump of bushes

about two hundred yards from camp, and di—

rectly behind the cabin, and not for a. moment
did he imagine that the call was the belt of a.
cunning trap.

After it brief interval the cry was repeated,
and this time with a distinctness that kept Hi-
ram in doubt no longer as to the cock’s where-
abouts. He was certainly among the bushes we
have mentioned.

Satisfied as to this, the boy hunter took a
bone turkey-caller from among the mnnv helps
for hunting they had brought from the States,
and answered the call. But the wary turkey
did not leave his retreat, and Hiram called
again and again with the same result.

“ If you‘ will not come to me I’ll make you
pay dearly for your stubbornness l” be ex-
claimed at length, as armed with an excellent
rifle and shot-sun combined, he crept from the
cam intent on bagging the gobbler.

“ run no risk of bongl gored. to death f I
don’t kill m game,” e'
Jack’s sdven re with the wounded uck.
Ikill‘theturkey I’ll have to patch upia yarn for
on when becomes back; but thit will not be

a

thought, recal in:
It 

 

hard to do for there was aflock of turkeys in
the trees above the cabin the other morning. I
can say that the flock came back, and that I
got the one I’ll have roasted when the boys get
in." .
Thus communing with himself —— counting
chickens before they were hatched, as it were—
Hiram proceeded after his turkey, still sending
forth his peculiar notes at intervals from the
bushes. ‘

Both barrels of his firearm were ready cocked,
and his senses were on the alert.

When he reached the ed eof the clump of
bushes the sound ceased, and e listened several
minutes without having it repeated. Had his
movements frightened the bird?

The wild turkey is a wary fowl in his native-
State, and often baffles the skill of the best
hunters. He is not found west of the Rockies.
and seldom be and the eastern slopes of that
lofty range. me of the States, notably llli»
nois, Wisconsin and Michigan, com r-se his fa-
vorite habitat; but he is hunted in nude, and
at times even to the edge of the clime of Ice
and snow.

IHiram during a vacation had hunted turkey is
in his own State, on damp, hazy, moonlight _
nights in autumn, when several can he s 0t ‘
from the roosting trees without frightening the
flock. and he fancied that he could stalk one in.
the Rockies, for was it not the some bll'd he had
hunted among the Adirondacks?

As he did not hear the call repeated for some
time after reaching the bushes, Hiram put the
caller to his lips and sounded the notes of the-
turke ~hen.

To is delight he was almost immediately an—
swered from a. spot just beyond the patch.

The boy crept on again over a path which had
doubtless been made through the bushes by
grizzlies ior to the erection of White Buffalo
Cam . ll: was certain that he was approach-
ing t e turkey.

Suddenly he stopped, for a noise at his right
had attracted his attention. - »

What was it?

Hiram partly raised up for the purpose of as—
certaining the meaning of the noise, and the,
next moment visions of roasted turkey and well-
picked bones vanished from his mini.

There were Indians among the bushes, for he
saw the looting faces of three Blackfoot braves. ‘

“ I’ve walked blindly into an Indian Vrapl’”
said Hiram. “ I have mistaken a Blackfoot for
a wild turkey, and I ought to suffer for it.”

It was true that the wily red-skins had de—
cayed the young New Yorker into their power
by imitating the notes of the wild turkey. The
trap had been cunningly set and the game had,
been caught. ‘

Jack’s adventure again rushed across his
mind.

Would he escape as well?

" Hunter boy give up?” asked one of the Indi—
ans, a young brave not much older than Hiram.

“ I reckon resistance would prove useless;
but I don’t see what right you have to demand.
my surrender,” Hiram answered.

“ Hunters come an’ shoot all Indians’ game.”

“Just asif you can kill all these mountains
afford. I think I know what all this means. I
am to be detained here while some of your
comrades plunder the camp. I can tell you:
nowthat i a thing is molested there, the thieVes
will sufl’er for it l” " ,

At mention of the camp the Indians’ glittered
eyes in a we whiz-h told that Hiram had hit the-
mark; and t ey came forward until they were
near enough to touch him. ,

“Fine gun hunter boy has,”sald the yourg
Blackfoot, admiring the handsome weapon
which had been fired but a few times. “What
take for it?” _

“It is not for sale," said Hiram as he in-
stinctive] removed the gun from the red-skin’s
reach. ‘ You sha’n't have it.”

The Indian seemed disposad to spring upon
Hiram and wrench the gun from his grasp, and
would robebly have done so if one of his older
comm es had not spoken. ,

“ Hunter boy Blackfoot’s prisoner for awhile.”
this red-skin said. “Him shwll keep his gun if
he no try to shoot Indian. But hlm must go
away fromlhere.” , _

Thereupon Hiram was ’seined by “7001 In}?
captors and hustled over the ground at a glut
in no degree agreeable. ' . 1

His blood fairly boiled in his veins. He felt-
that while he was being conducted from the
camp, :1 lot of, Indians were plundering it of-
ever thing that would love 0 value to them.
He thou ht of the cost y, ' a there, the largo
supply ammunition, an the beautiful blank-
ete, to say-nothing of the horse: which had our

 

 

\

ried them from Helena and on whose backs
the expected soon to enjoy a bufl'alo—hunt.

be red plunderers would make sad havoc
among these things; they would leave but little
of value in the camp. *'

Hiram’s captors conducted him a long dis-
tance from the scene of his surprise before they
stopped. He fancied that he could find his way
back tocamp by observin a_number of trees
which he had marked wit his eyes asbe was
hurried along. _

The sun had set, and he was in a most lonely
part of Grizzly‘ Land, yet his captors showed no
signs of releasing him. .

Were they gomg to conduct him to one of
their villa es at the north?

At lengti the red trio came to a halt.

“A stop at last, thank fortune!” ejaculated
the boy hunter. “They’ll probably release me
now as the cam has been ransacked ere this,
and the thieves ve got safely away with the
spoil.”

Hiram was right.

He was to be released, but not until the In-
dians had searched him, and removed from his
pockets his comb, pen-knife, turkey-caller, and
a few other articles of great value to him in that
part of the country.

He could not resist, and submitted with the
best grace he could assume.

When he had been sufficiently robbed, the In-
dians caught him by the shoulders and began to
twirl him around until the landscape swum be-
fore his eyes, and he reeled like a drunken man.

The boy hunter was then released.

He sawthe Indians run of! and leave him. but
he could not have followed even if he had wished
to, for the treatment to which he had been sub—
jected completely unnerved him.

Unluck Hiram!" ,

When 8 recovered sufficientl to rise, he

found that his gun had *been 1e t a few yards
away, and a moment later he clutched it once
more. .
“ Now for ca?!” he exclaimed, as he s rung
awn , but he b not pro ressed more t an a
bun red yards before he elt that he was mov-
ing in’the wrong direction.

Objects like trees and rocks were rapidly be-
comgng indistinct. Night was fast closing about
the oy.

He turned and sought the camp in another
direction, and after ii long tramp he found him—
self at the ver spot from which he had‘started
after discover ng his first mistake.

“ l have made a complete circle!” fell from
his lips; as, tired and weakened by the tramp,
he leaned against a tree, ready to sink exhaust-
ed to the ground. Iain lost, and that in a coun-
try utterly unknown to me. This is what I get
for mistaking an Indian for a wild turkey! I
wish I had given these three red-skins the con-
tents of my gun.”

Regrets were useless now. ,

Hiram had to accept his terrible situation.
knowing that he might never see White Buffalo
Camp again.

 

CHAPTER ‘VII.
LOST IN THE ROCKIES.

THE three Indians who had captured and
robbed Hiram Horter were hurrying away to
rejoin their com anions. who would have gutted
the camp, if Yel owstone 911 and the boys had
not put in an appearance in time to prevent the

cod

For some time Hiram stood at the tree where
we left him at the conclusion of the foregm'ng
chapter, trying to' collect his thoughts and plan-
ning for the future.

The spinning which the Indians had adminis-
tered had helped to bewilder him, and 1115 head
felt heavy and sore. . .

It was almost certain that he would be com-
pelled to pass the night where he was, for to at-
tempt to find the cabin now would be folly, in—
volvmg him in new peril and increasing his mis-
fortunes. .

He had had anumber of lucifer matches in his
pockets, but the Blackfeet had appropriated
them to their Own uses, as recollection and a
search told Hiram. ‘

“ I must start a fire somehow,” passed through
his mind. “ I cannot pass the night here in the
dark. This is the heart of Grizzly: Lan . and I
will be called upon to entertain dangerous visi-
tors if I do not kindle a fire.”

Without match or flint, how “758.110 to strikw

~ a light?

After some study, Hiram plucked some cotton
from the warm lining of his hunting jockey
and placed it between two roclm, having previ-
ously gathered a few dead leaves. Then he

' /

/.
I

 

The Young Trail Hunters.

withdrew the shot fiom the barrel of his gun,
the muzzle of which he placed near the cotton.

The next moment the inflammable material
was filled with glowin particles of fire, for
Hiram had discharged is gun among it, and
he soon fanned the light into a tiny flame.
the fire increased in volu e, he added more
light fuel, until he could c.n ribute large sticks,
which, being dry, burned with great brilliance.

The leaping flames showed Hiram his sur-
roundings, grandly picturesque, but lonely. He
had descended into a glade thickly wooded and
flanked on one side by a lofty mountain crag
which rose higher than the boy could see.

He walked a short distance from the fire and
encircled it, armed with his gun, for the pur-
pose of noting his surroundings.

When he returned it was to seat himself at
the foot of a tree to keep watch and ward till
dai‘in' posed th t h b

e an a e waspro ably ten miles
from VJhite Buffalo Camp; but he did not
know, neither had he a definite idea in which
direction it lay.

Two hours must have passed before Hiram
saw or heard anything that interrupted the
lonesome monotony of his watch.

All of a sudden a slight noise behind him
made him turn his head, and he beheld a pair of
eyes staring at the camp-fire.

They seemed to bee evated about four feet
from the ground, and were not more than forty
yards away.

The body of the animal, whatever it was,
was not visible, but the eyes seemed to twinkle
like two mild stars above the rim of the hori-
zon.

Hiram sat and watched the orbs for many
minutes. They possessed a strange fascination
which his situation might have increased, and
he could not remove his gaze from them.

, All at once they vanished to reappear a little
further to the right, but about the same dis
tance fro/m the camp, shining ith the same
brilliancy, and still an enigma o the boy.

“Confound it alll I can never sit here with
those eyes glaring at me!” at last exclaimed
Hiram. “I will treat the inquisitive brute to
the contents of my rifle barrel. ’

So saying, the young hunter picked up his
gun and steadied his nerves for a shot.

If the animal should prove a deer he might
secure a good supper, and his long trump and
wearineSS had sharpened his appetite. '

Loud and clear, reverberating on every side,
the crack of Hiram’s rifle rung out when be
pressed the trigger.

In an instant the gleaming eyes disappeared,
and an exclamation of victory fell from the
boy’s lips. *

“ I fancy that I’ve put a ’stop /to some
animal‘s curiosity,” he said as be reloaded his
gun before be stirred from his tracks.

His first move was to glide cautiously for—
ward, and he soon came upon a. beautiful young
fawn which 'lay pierced between the eyes, and
Consequently quite dead. ' '

Hiram forgot his situation for a moment as
he gazed proudly upon the results of his shot;
but he soon proceeded to business and out
several juicy steaks from the hind—quarters,
af er which action be [secured the carcass as
best he could from the wolves. '

If he had home it to camp the wolves might
have scented it there, and given him much
annoyance.

A few minutes later Hiram satin the ruddy
glare of his cam -fire broiling a piece of venison
which his appetite craved. Of course he would
be compelled to devour it without salt, but he
did not think of this while the tempting hunk
was cooking to his satisfaction.

Need we say that the hungry boy fell to
almost ravenously when his judgment pro-
nounced the meat done?

He ate with the zest of a hungry hunter, but
seldom looking up from the chip which served
him for a plate.

“Que can almost afford to be lost in the
Rockies to enjoy a supper like that,” exclaimed
Hiram When he had finished the repast. “I
shall have a splendid breakfast when the time
Cam’s-s if the wolf and the bear do not molest
inn. .

It was a long while till dawn and many
strange scenes might take place be ore then.

Having satisfle his hunger. Hiram settled
back once more against the tree to resume the
lton and dreary watch which the fawn had dis-

ur .
Suddenly a lonely howl came to his ear like
the faint echo of a very distant cry.

“ Wolves!” ejaculated the boy, quickly inter~
preting the sound, and he began to heap sticks

 

i *1

 

upon the campfire until it blazed up with ten-
fold brightness, and threw its glar'e further into
the depths of the glade.

The " wolf’s howl was speedily followed by
another, and still another, each succeeding one
increasing in distinctncss, telling Hiram that the
animals were approaching, and warning him
to be on his guard.

Presently the defiles of the mountain at his
back seemed to swarm with wolves.

Hiram upon several'occasions had obtained

limpses of the huge gray wolf of the Rocky [
Elountains, and he knew tli t it was no pleasant
visitor to the hunter’s camp. Yellowstone 011
had told him that the gra wolf was once
scattered over the whole of - orth America to
the Gulf of Mexico: now he is not to be found
until one reaches the vast prairies of the West or
the slopes of the Rockies. In the South, on the
plains of Sonora and New Mexico, the wolf is
almost black; but as one advances toward the
Arctic circle the color changes to gray, until in
the further North the prevailing hue is white.

It was the gray wolf, then, that was rushing
through the mountain-gulches toward Hiram’s
lonely camp. The boy stood erect with a de—
termined countenance turned toward the pack
and the gun clutched firmly by both hands.

“ I guess I’m in for it.” he murmured, smiling
grimly to himself. “The mountain pests shall
pay for their inquisitiveness if they venture
too near.”

Five minutes later he knew from certain
sounds that the entire ack, which must have
consisted of several hun ed wolves, had found
the carcass of the fawn. By means ofa stout
cord, the only thing the Indians had left in his
pgckets, he had drawn the body up to a tough

yond reach of the wolves’ teeth, and the mad
animals were now leaping at it amid bowls and
yelps that made the scenes. perfect bedlam.

Hiram could just see the swaying masses, and
once or twice he was disposed to send a ball and
a charge of buckshot among them: but he with-
held his fire for a desperate emergency which
he felt was near at hand.

At last one wolf, more agile than his com-
panions, caught the fawn, and the following
moment Hiram’s breakfast dropped into the
center of the pack. ‘

Of course it disappeared in the twinkling of

an eye.

The boy hunter knew what had’ happened,
and uttered an exclamatlon of rage. '

“They’ll pay their respects to me next,” he
murmured. " Well, I’m ready for them.”

Having despatched the carcass, the still fam—
ished pack turned to the camp-fire, and Hiram
was soon surrounded by wolves.

Everywhere he saw their glaring eyeballs and
savage visagcs. The leaders approached the
fire as near as they dared, where the sat on
their haunches like dogs, and watched with
eager eyes.

The young New Yor': er did not let the fire
burn down for a moment. He often replen-
ished it with the fuel he had athered prior to
the wolves’ arrival, and savg them shrink from
the increasimr light. — '

To be watched in a wild country and at night
by three hundred mad wolves is not a pleasant
situation to contemplate, much less to endure.
What if Hiram’s wood should give out? .

Whenever the leaping blaze fell earthward
for a moment. the wolves would contract their
horrid circle, thus telling the lost boy hunter
that his safet depended on abright fire. ’

“It’s an 81 night job, I see,” Hiram wrs
forced to observe after several hours of his un-
pleasant experience. Will my wood hold out?
That is the question.”

He looked at his watch and noted the hour.
It was exacth midnight, the loneliele part of a
night in the Rockies.

Four hours stretched between him and day—
break. ' F

His stock of fuel had already dwindled to an
insignificant beep, which state of efiairs the
wolves seemed to notice, and if Hiram did not
mistake the language of their eyes, they ex-
pected to conquer before long. .

From that moment the boy harbored his
wood, but the time came when he threw on his
last stick. Then he stepped back and watched
it burn with an expression of despair on his
face. '

The ,last faggot did not last long. When it
broke and fell apart on the glowing coals, Hiram

Started as if a ghostly voice bad pronounced-his

corn. 4
He saw the wolfish circle .coutmet' Be-
more

gird it lay plenty of fuel; Min, not
1: he could burn. ,
Nothing? - '

.2»

1' x:- «m; I.

c

8' - 

 

If he could hold out another hour, daylight
and his gun would drive the wolves away.

Hiram suddenly divested himself of his hunt-
ing jacket which he threw upon the fire. The
lining had given him a light and the garment
itself should perpetuate it.

The fire caught the jacket eagerly, and leap-
ing u once more, sent the disappointed animals
shrin ing bacli.

“Not yet, my gray devils!" grated Hiram.
“I will sacrifice all my clothin to cheat you
out of the meal you want; then ’11 try the vir-
tue of powder and ball on your bodies. ’

The coat lasted longer than the boy hunter
anticipated. It was a beautiful garment, made
expressly for the present hunting trip, and its
owner, we may be sure, parted with it with
many regrets.

Would daylight never come?

As the jacket fell back burned away, and the
light dropped once more, the wolves came for-

, ward more determined than ever.

Fire would subdue them no longer; their eyes
told Hiram this.

Thebo saw that the last hour had‘come,
and the rs“. streaks of dawn had not yet ap-
peared on the sky.

He did not retreat, but stood erect in the
contracting circle with his gun ready for the
death hat! 8.

0n, on came the snapping, snarling pack.

Hiram raised his weapon and poured a. charge
of buckshot into the masses before him, then
wheeling before the smoke had cleared away,
he sent axifie ball through the head of another
brute.

The ack drew off for a moment, durin
which time Hiram reloaded. Again he repeated
the dose just administered. and was about to
deliver the third volley, when several loud
shouts reached his ears. ,

The wolves drew back and pricked up their

ears
“Saved! thank heavenl" said Hiram fer-
vently. V

 

CHAPTER VIII.
A omzzu'mr AND WHAT rr CAUGHT.

Hmm's rescuers, who turned out to be Yel-
lowstone Oil and Jack, had found him ,in the
nick of time.

The lost boy hunter answered the shouts with
an exclamation of joy, and a moment later the
wolves received the contents of two repeatin
rifles which stretched a score of them dead an
wounded on the ground.

The remainder, followed by the last bullets
Hiram carried in his belt, sought safety in

fli ht.

g How’s the camp?" was the rescued youth‘s
first question when Cl] and Jack stepped over
the dead wolveshand showed themselves to him
in the light of his dying fire.

“ It’s all ri ht now, ut it war in a bad flx
when we got ck,” answered the guide.

Hiram held his breath, not daring to proceed
further. -

“ We got back just in time to prevent a lot of
Blackfeet from carr ing of! everything valu-
able,” said Jack. “ hey had full possession of
White Buffalo Camp, and were in the act of
plundering it. We gave them several volleys
which made them ut off without ceremon .
Three were hurt, I t ink, for we did not aim
kill, as that would have opened a deadlly war,
something we do not want while we remain
here, you know."

“Certainly we do not. I am glad that the
cam is safe.”

“ he redskins carried off afew things, and
two horses and one mule, Jim the Kicker.”

“He’ll kick some of them sky-high, too,”
grinned Oll. "They couldn’t have taken a
worse rize than that crittur. Just wait till he
523a ickin’ fit on him, Hi, uu’ef an In‘un

’t sail through the air you can use old el—
lowstone forahitchin’- est. We’ll 0 back to
White Bufl'ler now. mm the 100 of things
’round here, we didn’t come a moment too

soon. a

“ Indeed you did not " replied Hiram, grate-
fully, as in company with ack and the guide
bent out for the camp, which a short time be-
fore he did not expect to see again.

During the mummy back the boy hunter told
theater of h capture. not emitting a full ac—
count 0 the decay turkey by which he had been

. lured from the cabin.

Yellowstone Oil listened with an expression
between a mile and a frown. .
“ “That war an old Blackfoot trick.” he said.
much to Hiram's disgust. “ They tried it on

The Young  Hunters. y

me once up on Maria‘s riveri but I got my
turkey, all the same, an’ he didn t wear feathers,
either!”

Contrar to Hiram’sexpectations he was not
re roved or deserting the camp. Tellewstone
0i seemed to make allowance for a young
hunter’s enthusiasm, recalling, perhaps,the days
when he first played Nimrod among the moun-
thins.

Hiram‘s safe return to camp was hailed with
joy by Tom and Rocky Dave, to whom, of
course, he had to narrate his adventures.

“ We didn’t follow the red—skins, H1, because
we knew they hadn’t you. After a long hunt
Oll struck your trail and he and Jack took itu .
leaving Dave and f to guard ti o camp. e
heard a turkey out there in the bush, but it
wasn’t the breed that hoodwinked on for
Rocky brought it down with his .ri e, and
brought it into camp. You got back just in
time for we‘re oing to catch a grizzly."

Hiram opens his eyes.

“ I see that I have astonished you," continued
Tom; “but by to-morrow morning we’ll own a
live grizzly, and he will not be caught by our
forty pound Newhouse either."

Hiram’s curiosity was of course excited. 7,

The huntingparty h d carried on horseback
from Helena steel tr ps of all kinds from the
small muskrat trap to the formidable Newhonse
whose jaws spread sixteen inches, and is capa‘
ble of holding the largest bear. ,

But this “ bear-tamer" was not to be used in
the capture of the rizzly whose frequented
trail the hunters of t 9 previous day had dis-
covered about n mile from camp, and at a place
where nobody expected to find a single track.

A trap of another kind was to be prepared
for the bear and after breakfast preparations
were made for its erection.

Having‘repaired to the trail, the bear-trap-

rs proceeded to erect a pen wh-ch was made

y driving a number of stout stakes into the
earth. When finished the inclosure measured
nine feet deep, ‘three feet wide and four feet
high, and was ample enough to accommodate
the largest grizzly. The trap thus far looked
like a log cabin, for the top had been built in
with the sides. The back was well shut up and
rendered strong, and two posts were set up at
the entrance. At the latter end, in a manner
which cannot be described without an actual
diagram of this formidable bear pen, a strong
sliding door was flied.

When the trap was set, this door remained
poised above the entrance, but a slight deflec<

ion of the trigger from its notch Would send

the door down between the uplfightt‘iposts, ef-
fectuallieblocking up the open gun captur-
ing the ar. .

The 1) ‘lding of such a trap occupies much
time. ellowstone ,Oll su rintended opera-
tions, and the boys worked ke wood-choppers
under his instructions.

When the trap was finished a piece of meat
armed with burnt honeycomb was fastened to
the bait stick, and every thing nicely adjusted
for the expected victim.

The bear is a dear lover of honey, and will at
any time risk his neck for the Sweet morsel.
He is ever on the lookout for beetrees, and woe
to the hive if he can get one of his paws into it.
He has been caught following a honey bee
through the forest with the pertiuacity of a
human bee hunter, and oftentimes he is re-
warded by finding a feast of sweetness that
throws him into ecstnsies.

Yellowstone Oll expressed himself as being
sure of catching the bear, and the tra builders
returned to camp with great expectations.

Night came on, with its story-telling hour.
and powed pleasantly to the tenants of the
camp on the anks of the Medicine.

The first streaks of daylight found them on
the way 10 the trap.

“ We've got him, sure enough i” suddenly ex-
claimed Tom. whose eyes were the first to no-
tice that the trap had been sprung. .

“That trap an’ the smell of one always
gets Old Ephraim,” answered Oll, wit a smile;
and the party soon stood before the pen, which
undoubtedly contained a bear.

The guide now uncniled a long stout rope,
which he had carried from camp. One end of
it be fastened around the trunk of a tree near
by, and then approached the trap with a noose
dangling from 5 hand.

“Now,” he said, glancing at Rock{ Dave,
" rpm the pen and l t Old Ephraim ou "

he amateurs storied back amazed. '
Was the bear to be actually turned loose upon

them?
“Don’t think I‘m I
.said On, divining the thoughts.

l

“ We can’t

 

 

ng to play the tech”,

"T—fiu—h . .._.  a“

handle the b’ar while he‘s in the pen, so we’Ve
got to let him out to get a whack at him. Stand
baclk,”my lads, for he may come out with a
ma .

It is needless to say that the amateur bear-
hunters withdrew to what they called a safe
distance, nor that they stood ready with rifles
cocked, ready if not very eager to receive the
pre '.
ellow'stone 01] had taken up his station at
one side of the door. His on] was on was the
sheathless knife stuck in his hue skin belt.
His hands held the double-strength lasso. whose
noose he was ready to throw over bruin‘s bead.

Rocky Dave had gone to the rear of the trap,
from whence the door could be raised without
much difficulty, and awaited the old guide's
signal.

“ All right, Rockyl I‘m ready for the per‘
formance. Let the grizzly out."

The guide was seen to brace himself more
firmly as the door shot upward.

“ The bear! the bear!" cried Jack.

At that moment, with the fiercest of growls
and a lavish display of teeth, an immense
grizzly bounded from the trap.

The three boys instinctively recoiled.

Oll threw the lasso, or more rcperly, drop.
ped it, over the elevated head 0 the beer as be
cleared the threshold of the trap, and then
sprung aside as the caught brute wheeled to at~
tack him.

The lasso tightened as Old Ephraim, catching
sight of the boys, dashed toward them, thus
bringing himself to the end of his tether.

A loud laugh rung from 011’s lips as the
grizzly began to claw at the choking noose with
the desperation of n snflocating person.

"Tth rope’s thar to stay, old pard l” he called
out to the bear, now maddened beyond descrip-
tion. " You might as well try to claw of! the
collar of fate.”

For some minutes the grizzly continued to
expend his rage and ,stren th on the noose; but
suddenly desisting. he ma e a dash for the tree
to which the other end of the lasso had been
made fast previous to his capture.

Jack, Tom and Hiram raised their rifles.

“ Don’t shoot him yet i" cried Yellowstone Oil,
springing forward. “Let’s see all the fun We
can. ' I haven‘t caught a grizzly this way for a
coon’s a 9."

By this time the grizzly had reached the tree,
and begun his attack on the lasso.

‘ Look!" suddenl ejaculated Tom. “ He has
loosened the re . eavensl he will be at large
in a second. ow is the time—" "

Tom’s sentence was cut short by an exclama.
tion from Yellowstone Oll. - -

The grizzly had unfastened the rope and was

at largel

“It smy fault!” said the guide. “ I ought to
be kicked for rot vin the rope another coil.
Thar goes the b’ar, ut ’ll stop him 1”

The rifles of the amateur hunters were at
their shoulders, but they did not fire at the re-
treating animal for the old guide had thrown
himself before them. .

The grizzly, unwilling to stand and fight, was
making of! throu h the woods with the noose

still over his hes , and dragging the lasso be-

hind him.

Yellowstone 0n bounded me; him.

A few bounds brought the Rocky Mountain
guide u to the loose end of the rope, which he
jerked rom the ground and pr to map
around a tree that stood near by. '

This action instantly checked the bear's speed.
He wheeled with a growl of fury, and dashed
strai ht at 'is foe. .

Bu 0]] had secured the rope to the tree, and
was beyond reach of the temble claws when
bruln reached the spot.

The escape and daring recapture was the work
of a minute, during which the boy hunters had
held their breath.

“Now, thar’s our b’ar!” said the guide, int—
ing roudly at t e monster which stood g arin
at tge party. “ It doesn’t seem fair to sh
him down as he stands—3’ ‘

“It isn‘t fair 1" interrupted Jack. “ He‘s help-
less and at our mercy. Give him a chance for
his life.” .

“ I’ll do it!" and Yellowstone Oll sprung to-
ward the tree, knife in hand, for the purpose of
severing the lasso at a single cut.

, Bruin eyed him until be bad mrly reached’
the tree, when he dashed at him with open jaws

and a bond of vengeance.
Yellowstone Oll turned from his errand to
fight, for his life, for the mad beast was upon
in.

“ImMW

on a show.” he

i to y
said to the bear which ad raised on his hind .

The Young Trail Hunters;

9

 

 

feet to embrace him. “ But, since you won‘t
take a favor, I’m ready to give you the knife."
In another moment the two would have met
if the three New York boys. alarmed for the
'de’s safety and at at risk of wounding
lm, had not dred a vol e at the bear.
Sorer wounded, Old hraim dropped on
his feet, and Pardee whirled and severed the

rope.

“ Now git, or fight!"

The hear was inclined to do the latter, and

as about to advance toward his assailants,
when a ball from Rocky Dave‘s rifle sent him
sideways to the ground.

The last shot settled the combat, and the
trappers soon stood around the carcass of the
monster.

Yellowstone on said that he had seen few
larger grizzlles, and Rocky Dave guessed that
their prize would weigh fourteen hundred
pounds.

As the camp boasted of no appliances for
weighing game, the party was obliged to acce t
the young mountaineer‘s judgment, which t e
guide indorsed. I

“I wonder when we are going to get a shot
ata buffalo?" asked Jack on the way back to
cam .

" o-morrow," said the aide.

“Good! Maybe I'll fin a white one.”

“ You’d better look out if you do, J ack." re—
marked Tom. “You know what the Blackfeet
think of white buffaloes.”

“Just as if I’d let a chance to drop one on
their account slip through my flngersl No,
sireel Show me a white buffalo to-morrow,
and I’ll show you a trophy worth winning!”

Jack always grew enthusiastic over this sub-

ject.
If he had known what was about to happen,
he might have curbed his desires.

 

CHAPTER IX.
m BUFFALO-HUNT—JACK'S Filter.

TEE southern limits of the lordly buffalo are
Northern Texas and New Mexico, while his
Northern habitat extends to the waters of the
Saskatchewan, or even into the vast and almost
22ndin region lying to the north of this great'
river.

Time was when the red-man was the only
hunter of the buffalo, when the few hides taken
were dried by the squhws and used for tepees
and blanketszvbut since then other hunters have
come upon the scene, and whole herds annually
disappear before the echoing crack of the white
man s rifle.

Washin n Irving once saw a herd which in
man conl number. For two days and nights.
the animals kept crossin Smoky Hill river in
an unbroken mass, us ing toward the rich
pasturage of the park lying to the north. They
did not stop until they had penetrated far into
British America. At the ap roach of winter
they would wheel about an seek the sunny
meadows of the Rockies and the grassy plains
of Texas.

Few such herds as the one just mentioned are
seen now, although in some places the buffalo
still reigns su reme, and seems to increase in
numbers deep to the ride of the white hunter
and the wiles of wolf and Indian.

Men cross the sea to chase the wild herds over
valley and plain, and our own hunters merci-
lessly assist in the slaughter. Thousands of car—
cusses are left to rot w are the hunter gains his
victory, and enough food to winter millions of

eople is annual y thrown away in Buffalo

:1 . '

This slaughter will go on until some day but
few buffaloes will he left to roam over the vast
region of the far West and North. The Cree
Indians of British America will have to seek
other food, and the savage Blackfeet of our own
country turn their attention to other game.

W8 '9"? the youn hunters of White BuEalo
Camp overjoyed a the prospect of a buffalo
hunt, and the expected sport was discussed
guritng the return DO the cabin from the grizzly

un

As every member of the company was ex-
pected to take part in the com day‘s sport,
the cabin was secretly aband during the
night, and its contents were removed to a well
concealed cave, whose existence up to that hour
Yellowstone 011 had shared with no one.

There was no telling when the prowlin
Blackfeet would return. and it was deemed bee?
to let them flnd~an empty shanty and a deserted

camp. ,
Thain tflmh torsrdliedthemselvea
intheir “guildueptontholeeddoofna.

 

mountain, without fire. The horses had been
prepared for the hunt, and everybody longed
for the dawn of another day.

When the carols of the earliest bird awoke
the young, New Yorkers, they dispatched the
breakfast which Rocky Dave had prepared, and
announced themselves ready for t e hunt.

If the Blackfeet had robbed them of two
horses and one mule, they still had enough
steeds for the chase. and these were mounted
long before the sun came up:

Away went the little band, led by Yellow-
stone Oll, whose horse was an old buffalo—run-
ner. The animal seemed to share the enthusi—
asm of the crowd, and it was not long before the
rest of the horses caught the infection.

About ten miles from the starting point lay
one of those beautiful parks which a ways di—
versify Rocky Mountain scenery, and wherein
the buffalo finds rich pickings and cool water.

“ We'll find them pasturin’ themselves," said
the guide, with co. fidence, as he replied to a
question from Tom. “Thar’s about six thou-
sand in the herd, I should judge. Don’t waste
your fire on spikes (yearlings), but take in the
fat cows and shag y bulls. You don’t know
as much about butt" er as your horse does. Let
the animal have pretty muCh his own way, an’
he’ll leari you all that’s necessary for you to
know." ' ,

“ What do you think about Jack finding Old
Whity, as he calls the animal he wants?"

“It’s just possible that he may.” answered
Oll. “It is a fact that an old white hull bulf’ler
has,been seen in this kentry off‘ an‘ on for ten
years. He is big medicine to the red-skins, an’
that’s no tellin’ what they would do to the man
that killed him if they got a chance. Tha‘t bull”-
ler has a heard that almost touches the ground.
an’ it? as white as snow; his eyes an’ muzzle ar’

ink.

“ An albino!” exclaimed Tom.

“ Yes, that’s what you’d'call him.. We be-
lieve out here that it’s a case of hreediu’ back to
the old stock of native cattle that ct mixed u
with the Kansas herds years ago; at your no a
19 e men don‘t believe that story.”

om smiled at the old guide’s frankness.

“ I never saw but one white robe an’ that war
when I first began to hunt this kent ,” contin-
ued Oll. ” A young Shoshone njun who
wanted to do something brave ot up a hunt all
by himself, an’ left the camp. e was gone six
weeks an‘ we bean to believe that a grizzly
had finished him, when all at once he turned up
with—what do you suppose?”

“ A white-buffaloskin?” .

“ That‘s just what the youngster had. He
wouldn’t tell how he got it nor where, but
there it was all the same, the biggest huff’ler
hide i ever saw, an’ the rettiest too for it war
as white as snow. Wha did the tribe do with
the younglaw-breakeri I shudder today when
I thinko it. No Injun would touch the skin,
for it was “medicine,” so they held a council
an’ decreed that the boy should die. Now the
red chap had robably killed the bufl'ler Without
knowin’anyt in in rticular about its sacred-
ness, but that gldu t excuse him. A strong
party took him toward the nearest bufi’ler
ground. I went along for I wanted to see what
was to he done. It war gettin’ warm again,
an’ the herds war comin‘ down from the Saskat-
chewan kentry by thousands. We wasn’t long
flndin’ all that war wanted. ,

“ Wal, after a little huntin’ our party killed a
cow an’ skinned her in a jiéfvv. The rest of the
herd war not molested. hen the fleshy side
ofa green hide is exposed to the sun the skin
becomes almost like iron. Them lnjuns knowed
that. They went to work an‘ seWed the white
bufr’ler-shooter up in that green hide with the
raw side out an’ left him on the plain! That’s
the way they served him. I pitied the young-
ster for he showed the grit of an old brave, but“
that couldn’t help him., Whew! The sun was
hot that summer an’ made me think a thousand
times of the young Shoshone sewed up in his
bufl'ler shroud on the plain. an’ at last I went
back to the place out of curiosity. Thar lay
the stump coffin, hard as iron an' something
rattled in tlike peas in a dry pod. That was
the end of one white buff’lephunter, an’ I see
that we’ve got one in our party.” And Yellow-
stone Oll sent a swift glance toward Jack who
had caught a few words, but not the run of the
storyr just finished. ,

“ The Indians wo‘uldn’t serve one of us that
way if we should kill Old Whity and after-
ward fall into their hands?" ueried Tom.

“ I wouldn’t trust them, hu we’re not likely

 

to run across Old Whity. I have told you the
story Plume ’ use wewar talk-
in’ a .w washes. e‘n goin’ down

into the park now. Look ahead an' tell me if
you see anything l”

Tom turned from the guide and allowed his
gene to roam across the vast expanse of beauti-
ful country whose boundaries they were al-
ready crossing. Far away rose a lofty chain of
hills that looked white against the calm sky,
and between their base and the hunters a sil-
very river coursed through the park. It was
the pasture ‘ground of the buflalo, and the re»
sort of elk, cot, and antelcpe. -

Sheltered from the cold winds that sweep the
lower plains, these meadows, or “parks ” as
they are called, en ‘oy a splendid climate which
tempts man as wel as beast, and they often be
come the hunters’ camp while he preys upon
the noble game they al‘forra.1

Such, in brief, was the untingground Yel~
lowstone Oll and his companions were enter-
ing. The sun was peeping above the eastern
horizon, drinking in the pearly dew that hung
from the long grasses, and the hunters involun—
tarlily unslung their arms amid exclamations of
de ight.

“ What is that dark mass yonder?” sudden
asked Jack pointing toward a well defined line
of blackness far away.

“ Buffaloes,” replied Rocky Dave who had
noticed it long before the young amateur spoke.

' “ There is always game in this park when you

can’t find buffalo you are sure of chasing up
some antelope.”

When Yelloxwtcne Oil had pronounced the
discovery a herd of buflalws, he moistened his
finger with saliva, and held it for a moment
above his head.

“ We must change our course," be said a mo—
ment afterward having ascertained the direc-
tion of the wind, and the entire party went
galloping through the rich grass toward one of
the flanks of the grazing herd.

The experienced buffalo—hunter knows that it‘
will not do to attempt to approach a herd of
grazing huflaloes With the wind. The move-
ment to be successful must be made from lee
ward. and then either as swift) as an Indian
arrow' flies, or with the cent on of the ay
wolf that glides serpent-like through the rig

grass. .
The herd on this occasion numbered thous-
ands, and seemed intent on getting a cood sup-
ply of grass. A slight rise intervened between
the hunters and their prey, and the horses were
ur ed toward it at the to of their speed.
ellowstone Oil had a ready given the boy-
hunters their instructions. _

They waste to select ltheir fictitngs, make sure
shots, an not exposet emse ves unnecessary
dangers. Especially had he cautioned them to
beware of the rage of wounded bulls, if any such
animals should turn upon them. '

“ Take them just back offhe fore—shoulder,‘
lettin’ the bullet range u ward if pomible," be
said. “ That’s the only oath-shot on can de-
pend on. Don’t shoot at the fore . . You
mi ht as well fire against a monitor."

ith these words in their ears the three boys
dashed down the rise upon the herd, Which until
that moment seemed totally unaware of their

presence.

A few old bulls at first cast onlyalook to-
ward the hunters but they soon showed signs of
stampeding, for the spikes irritated the cowshy
rushing to their sides for protection, and the
whole herd thus became alarmed. '

Jack, Hiram, and Rocky Dave rode to ether
upon one part of the herd; Yellowstone and
Tom charged the other.

As there was no need of silence, the hunters
set up loud shouts, and soon came up with the
herd, which had started off toward the river
flowing between the grazing ground and the
mountains.

J ack’s horse, bein the best runner, soon came
alongside of a fat, umbering now, which was
brought down bv a shot from the saddle.

The fleeing buffaloes kicked upa terrible cloud ,
of dust, which for a time almost blinded the
hunters.

It was no trouble for the boysto get separated
from each other; indeed it was the easiest thing
in the world, and Jack had no cause for surprise
Whenlie found himself riding after an old bull
which he had wounded, and far from his com-
panions.

The wounded buflalo k ton theedgeofthev
lard, and put the powers Jack’s horse to the

. t.
The two shots which the boy had adminis-
teredhad taken eflect. One, as could hem,

would fa forblood was flowing
fromthe d‘s nosmtlgl’amiresignthatflfefor
himwunearitsciose.

Eagertoclouinupon 

 

A.
‘1
l
t
.
_r_ .

   
  
   

  

10

   

combat, Jack urged his home forward with
word and spur.

The gallant runner shared his enthusiasm, for
he strained every nerve in the exoiting race.
Jack knew that his friends were still peppering
the herd elsewhere, for shots almost continual-
ly reached his ears.

At last he found himself nearly alongside of
the buffalo, and in order to deliver the shot
which Yellowstone 011 had told him invariably
proved fatal, he slung his Winchester and drew

is heavy revolver for close work.

A minute later Jack came up with the lum-
bering monster, and was leaning over to give
the can , when the buffalo stopped suddenly,
wheele and charged!

The trained horse realized the danger before
his exalted rider could act, but the infuriated
buffalo could not be avoided.

The boy hunter found himselffnlling with his
steed before he could collect his thoughts.
Struck by the lowered head of the wounded
bull, the horse was lifted bodily from the round
and sent some feet through the air wit Jack
clinging frantically to his mane!

It was aterrible mement.

The b0 hunter picked himself up more
frighten than hurt, while his faithful horse,
almost disemboweled by the bison, was unable
to rise.

Havin lost his revolver, Jack unslung his
rifle an looked for the buffalo, which stood
some distance away with head lowered, threatr
ening another charge.

The rest of the herd had passed on, and were

first disappearin .

All at once t e bull’s legs gave way, and he
fell to the ground.

“ Thank Heaven i” cried Jack.

The buflalo’s wounds had proved mortal. ‘

 

CHAPTER X.
IN WHICH JACK nucouurnns om) wmrv.

Ta]: relief that welled up in Jack Roberts’s
heart when he saw the old buffalo lying dead
among the grass dyed with his own lood, can
be imagined not described.

He had providentially escaped the dangers of
another charge. Being on foot, he was at the
mere of the bison, though he had resolved to
stem his ground and fight to the bitter end.

Certain that the buffalo was dead, Jack up-
proached him, not without 3. 00d deal of cair
tion, and soon stood over his p ze.

He roved tobe an enormous hull one of the
ca talus of the herd thundering riowli the park,
to owed no doubt, by Yellowstone 011 and his
companions. '

Jack had been deprived of his horse. The
animal hadbeen feta ly ' ored by the enraged
buffalo, and was then in t e agonies of death.

The boy hunter went back to look after the
gallant steed. He found him very near his end,
and while Jack knelt dud stroked his forehead,
he gave one gasp and expired.

, l at onpe Jack sprung erect and turned his
face toward the mountains. '

“More buffalo, and obtain this way, if I am
not mistaken!” he said alou , as he listened to
the unmistakable sound of buffalo-hoofs. “ I

» wonder if the boys have turned the herd back?

Such things have happened, I_ believe."
Standing beside the horse that would carr
him never more, Jack Roberts listened wit 1
batedybreath to the sounds that the winds bore

to his ears.

He knew, although not an old hunter, that a
in e herd of buffaloes was rapidl nearing him,
an numerous stories of hunters ing trodden
beneath the animals’ feet rushed across his_mind.

He already saw the vast Clouds of dust dis<
turbed by the oncoming band; but still he stood
his ground like a person willing to die the hor—
rid death that threntened him.

“ I must get away from here!” was forced
from his tongue by the Ominous sounds that
preceded the rushing bisons. “ The hard is still
a goodly distance away. It may not possess n
lengthy front, and I may be able to gain one end

of it by starting nOW."

Forced to leaVe the buffalo he had killed, as
well as the horse, Jack grasped his rifle more
firmly than ever, and started on the race for
l1t'e. . He ran parallel with the front of the herd,
hopin toreach one of the flanks and thus es-
cape estructibn. ’

Jack exerted himself. He ran with all his
might, straining everv nerve, and constantly
tee mg “ the best foot ” forward.

"A. it a while the cloud ,of dust grow larger
and approached nearer, and the bellowmg of
the. maniacs added to the thunder‘of their

enemas 3 din utterly indescribable.

The Young Trail Hunters.

J Fig-nuns seemed to take pity on and favor
ac

Painting and almost exhausted, but confident
of having succeeded, he halted at last beyond
the herd, toward which he turned expecting to
see it dash by within rifle-shot.

He was not disappointed, for the buffaloes
soon came up and began to rush by not more
than fifty yards from the boy hunter.

It was a grand sight for Jack, who had found
and mounted a little mound from which he
could see over the herd.

What he saw appeared to be a vast, billowy
sea of animal life. As far as his vision could
stretch he saw buffaloes pushing, jamming and
crowding one another as they fled from some in-
visible foe. The herd seemed to stretch to the
distant horizon, and Jack mentally congratu—
lated himself over and over on his lucky escape.

The Eastern lad had heard of single herds of
buffaloes containing as many as three hundred
thousand animals; but until that time he had
not believed it possible. Now he was willing to
believe anything.

For one whole hour Jack stood on the natural
mound, fascinated, as it were, by the countless
hordes that constantly rushed past. He forgot
that he held a. read rifle in his hands, and
many a good shot he at slip, fortunately for the
bisons that formed the flank of the herd.

Were all the buffaloes in the great Northwest
rushing by?

Jack must have thought so as he watched the
herd that seemed to have no end.

“ Ah! if Tom and Hi could but see this
sight!” he suddenly exclaimed. “ If they could
stand here they would never argue again that a.
few more years will settle the doom of the but-
falo. There must be half a million animals in
that herd. It has no end."

For a while longer Jack continued to gaze at
the wonderful spectacle, which had already

rown monotonous, and he was about to leave

hemound when there burst upon his vision an
object that sent a thrilling sensation through
his veins.

The monotony of the scene had suddenly
been broken.

There was a white buffalo with the herd!

Jack looked twice before he believed his eyes;
but he had not deceived himself.

The famous “ medicine " of the red tribes
was lumbering alon , his snowy beard sweeping
the ground like the ard of a veteran, and his
sides panting heavily, as though age had stif—
fened his joints.

,He still looked majestic, despite his dust and
sweat-covered hide, and reminded Jack of an
old king, silver-bearded and tottering, trying to
lead his people forward. _ I

“ Mv chance for a white skin 1” exclaimed the
New Yorker, ext-ited almost beyond control, as
he raised the rifle, which he might have emptied
with deadly effect into the herd long before.
“ I told Tom that I would not let Indian super~
stition deprive me of a white buffalo-skin if I
saw one. 1 will keep my word goor .”

The old animal was within easy rifle-shot,
and Jack took deliberate aim at the vital spot.

When the rifle cracked Old Whity pitched
forward heavily. but managed to keep his feet,
much to the young mnrksman’s su rise.

“ I‘ll try you again!" muttered ack behind
his weapm, and forthwith he sent tWO bullets
in rapid succession after the albino.

At the third report the white buflalo pitched
forward again, this time to strike the ground,
from which he made several futile attempts to
rise.

A loud cheer rose from Jack’s lips.

“ A white buffalo so_easily§ I was not ex—
pecting it,” he said.

No: the boy had expected to kill Old Whity
at the end of an exciting chase, but here he lay
dying before him after three shots which had
been attended by no ersonal danger.

We must confess t at Jack was a little cha-
gr'ned at his easy success; but he soon forgot
that, for he sprung forward eager to deliver

white robe.

His shots seemed to have alarmed the buffaloes,
and turned them from their course. They yvere
now rushing away obliquely from the straight
line in which they had traveled, so that the
spot where the white one had fallen was already
far remwed from the flank of the herd. I

Jack reached, his game in time. to see it fall
over and die on the spot.

Old Whity did not possess the vitality that
belonged to the brown bull that had nnhorsed
him. Jack was glad of this, for he did not
1am: another charge by a wounded bison.

T umph blamed in the boy Nimrod’s eyes.

 

the coup which would insure him the coveted’

l

He stood over one of the rarities of the North—
west—a genuine white buflalol '

He stooped and stroked the long silvery
beard flec ed here and there with gouts of
warm blood, and admired the beast’s strangr
pink eyes fixed in the stare of death.

Jack saw nothing but the prize he had
obtained. It is doubtful whether he heard the
thunder of the hoofs of the herd which he had
robbed of its white~bearded king.

If he had listened he might have heard noises
that were not the sounds of buflalo-hoofs.

Eager to possess himself of the much—coveted.
hide, Jack drew his skinning-knife, and went lo
work. He labored under a reat disadvantage,
for he was alone; but be ad determined to
de rive the snowy buffalo of his valued coat.

9 was hard at work, and was making good
headwa at his task when he heard a noise
wonder ully like an ludian “ugh” that made
him raise his eyes.

The next instant the skinning-knife almost
dropped from his hand, and he started back to
stare into the countenance of a thunderstruck
Indian seated upon a heated horse.

Jack had not heard the red buffalo-hunter
gallop up, which rendered his surprise all the
more complete.

“White boy kill medicine, eh?” queried the
red-skin, eying the partly skinned buffalo.

“It looks like it, I should say,” was the re—
spouse.

Without replying, the Indian spoke excitedly
to his horse, which immediately ore «him
swiftly away. .

“That means something,” murmured Jack,
gazing after the redskiu, who was soon a flying
speck in the West. “Maybe I have got into a
sun after all.” . ‘

e continued to watch the savage, who did
not entire] disappear.

By and y the he saw a number of objects
advancing across the park toward him. As
they came nearer they developed into mounted
lndians who were urging their horses over the
ground with rent rapidity.

Jack had a ready seized his rifle, and as h-
took his station between his buffalo and the rwl
Arabs, his ii 5 met resolutely and his eyes
seemed to emit s arks of fire.

Suddenly the ndian band scattered, but a
moment later, so near that their painted visagss
could be observed, they were galloping around.
the white boy in a wild circle.

Their intentions could not be kept in the do! lc.

“ White boy shoot the Great Medicine,” crir d
one red-skin who stond erect on his horse wilh
bow and arrow in his hands. “Him shall in
wrapped in the white skin an’ leftto the sun m.‘
the wolves!”

“ We’ll see about that,” grated Jack defiart-
ly, as he suddenly lifted his rifle anrf covenri
the Indian. “1 am not entirely defenseless as
you will discover if on advance nearer.”

A number of wi d 9113 was the response,
and every horse dashe ~straight at the young
Nimrod.

“ I am doomed, but here goes for one Indian!”
muttered Jack.

At the same moment be pressed the trigger,
and the red-skin who had sentenced him to the
most terrible of deaths pitched backward from
his horse.

It was Jack’s first and last shot, for before
he could “cover “ another living target, he was
surrounded.

A dozen red hands shot forward, and he was
jerked across the half-skinned buffalo and treat-
gd in a manner that assured him of a speedy

com.

All this for shooting a snowtwhite buffalo!

,Jack had already repented of his boasts.

CHAPTER XI.

' mum’s WILD STEED—THE HIDE norm.
, WHILE Jack was meetin with the adven-
tures we have just descri d, certain other
members of the hunting-party were having thril-

lin Atimes. '
fter losing Jack by reason of his pursuit of
the first wounded bull, Hiram and Rooky Dave,
the boy mountaineer, kept on steadily after the

mals which they had selected for destruction.
They believed that Jack .was able to take
care of himself, and never dreamed that the
ambitious boy hunter would fall in With a lot of
rovin Indians who held the life of a white man
as a t ing of little value. -
While riding slap the outside of the herd,
Hiram had succeede in lanting two balls into
the bod of his huflalo; ut the animal did not
dr number of buffaloes were between the

 

bo§p£md his victim and kept him from deliver-

plunging herd, eager to secure two noble ani- .

 

l
f
l
l

 

_*n__ ., “mm”:-

inf,r the coup, or death-shot, with his heavy re-
\’I) ver.

Unwilling to give up the chase, which by this
time hadgrown to be very exciting, Hiram kept
on, closely followed by Rocky Dave, whose
steed. an experienced bulfalorunncr, under-
stood the situation as though he was endowed
with human understanding.

“Hurrah! that shot brought the old codger
(i-anl" shouted Hiram, when, after delivering
the third shot, he saw his game totter as ,‘f
ready to fall. . _

The oung mountaineer was at his sule.

“I ear that, I’ve missed my bull entirely,"
Dave said. “A moment ago I saw him with
blood running down his fore shoulder, now I
cannot see him at all."

“That is too bad. But look yonder at my
buffalo,” was Hiram’s response.

“ He would have fallen before this if the but-
faloes that surround him had not held him
up. He is down at last, though, and the herd
is rushing over him."

It was true that Hiram’s animal had fallen,
the third shot having brought him to the
ground.

“ As I have lost my first I must try another,”
and Rocky Dave spurred his horse alongside a
s lendid animal on the outside of the herd, and

elivered a shot from the saddle that brought
him at once to his knees.

“ Bravo!” cried Hiram, who had witnessed
the shot from the spot where he had halted for
the purpose of waiting for the herd to pass over
hisbuifalo. “I believe I shall have to follow

our example. Rocky. My rifle is not empty.
{will pump several more balls into the herd.’I

The next moment Hirnm‘s repeater was at
his shoulder, and he was firin rapidly into the
plunging mass of buffaloes. he youth had a
marksman’s eye, and several of his shots would
have won the admiration of old sportsmen.

The only animal brought down by this rapid
firing was a spike which was shot through the
heart and dropped in its tracks, while a mag-
nificent cow was so hard hit that a short pur-
suit would have secured her.

' A buffalo-chase always heats one’s blood, and
the excitement tingles every nerve.

You reek not of dan er, fear flies. from your
heart, and you see 0 y the noble game before

on.

It is not until the wounded animal turns 11 21
you with lowered head and blood-shot eyes t at
you discover that a buffalo-chase is‘ not unat-
tended by dangers, that the shaggy beast some
times turns the tables and becomes the hunter.

Many an ambitious amateur has perished on
the field of his first, and last, hunt, and that
before he had. secured a single trophy; others
owe their lives to their horses, which have been
brought up to the chase, and are capable of out-
witting the hard-hit bison, and of avoiding his
maddened charge. .

A horse of this kind was the animal ridden
by Hiram. The be had paid a good price for
him at Helena on t 8 ground that he was an
old hunter, and future events did not belie the
guarantee.

Wounded bulraloes do not always charge
but the one first shot by Hiram. the same old
fellow over whom his companions leaped after
he had fallen, no sooner found himself left he
hind than he turned to v‘ent his anger upon his
hunter. I .

Hiram had waited _qmetly for the herd to
pass on, and the first 1nklmg he had of the old
stager’s intentions, was o’charge so sudden and
impulsive that his face Instantly grew white
with fear, and he tried to turn his horse aside.

Quick as the frightened hey was, the buflalo
was quicker still. The horse realized the (lan-
ger, and sprun to one side, thus fortunately
avoiding the )nfuriated beast, which passed
clear beyond, but soon came back to the
charge. ‘

'The buffalo came on with fire flashing from
his eyes, and determined to put a speedy end to
thficombat.

iram presented his rifle but the only target
seen was the WOOUY head at which he con-
cluded not to fire, as the shots would be only
thrown away- ,

Ina moment, almost before the boy could
collect his scattered thoughts, the’monarch of
the lain: was upon h1_m. . -

lth aw'ild snort Hiram’s horse attem ted 'to
avoid the brute as he had done beforefbut in
doing so he presents his side to the buffalo
at a moment when he danger was most im-

m h I \

In the twinkll of an e Hiram felt himself
mad fro the dle. iii; heard a cry of her-
ror from Il‘hbcky Dave, who had been a specta-

The Young Trail Hunters.

13

 

 

tor of the charge, and the next moment he
alighted not on the ground,-but upon the shaggy
neck of the butfalol

His horse, fortunate] unhurt by'the animal’s
charge, although the th had been broken and
the saddle lost, plunged awa , but some dis-
tance from the scene, with {fire feet planted
firmly in the earth, and neck arched and eyes
flashing, he glared at the bison. '

We need not say that a cry of horror rose
from Hiram’s lips as he alighted on the buffalo,
and 1instinctively buried his hands in the matted
woo .

“ Helpl help!” pealed from his throat, for as
he struck the body of his strange steed, he was
carried forward with what seemed the speed of
the wind.

Instantly Rocky Dave wheeled his horse and
darted in pursuit.

“Hold fast!” he called out to Hiram. “If
you dro you may break a bone, or get tram-
pled to eathl”

Hiram made a reply. but his words did not
Ire-8051 Rocky Dave, as they were going with the
Win .

The forced rider felt that his buffalo was des-
peratel y Wounded; but he still possessed a great
deal of strength, enough. perhaps, to let him
re‘oin the herd still in sight in the distance.

ocky Dave fol owed as fast as his horse
could bear him on ward. ’

“I am coming, Hi!” he shouted. “Lean
over to the left, and let me get a. death-shot!”

With a murmured prayer for the success of
the young mountaineer’s shot, Hiram obeyed
the injunction, and a moment later Rocky Dave
dashed alongside.

The bufllalo was rushing onward at the top of
his speed, but Dave leaned toward him and
thrust a heavy revolver almost against his very

side.

Hiram held his breath for the report.

It came at length, dull but deadly, and he
gnaw at once that the bullet had been driven

ome.

The buffalo executed several bounds after the
shot, but he was at death’s door. A stream of
blood poured from his nostrils, and his legs re-
lfused to support the weight of his body any
onger.

Despite these signs of approaching death,
Rock Dave delivered another shot just as the
bulls o fell.

45. the brute staggered, Hiram, ‘who had been
waiting for the moment, threw himself to the
ground and s rung back.

‘_‘ Free, an saved! ‘1 have to thank you for
this!” he said to Rocky Dave, who met him
with a smile as he came up.

The boy mountaineer-leaped from his horse
and gave his hand to Hiram.

“I reckon the old fellow was able to carry
you a long ways," he said, with a. glance at the

ufl’a‘o alread dead, for the revolver bud done
its work. “ onder is your horse, but we’ll
have to ride back for the saddle.”

Hiram looked and saw his horse which had
followed Rocky Dave in his exciting pursuit of
the buffalo. When he called him the animal
cairne forward, and Hiram once more held the
re Its. ‘

“We will go back and hunt for the rifle and
the saddle together,” continued the mountainevr.
“By the time we get back here we will see
something of our iriends. I wonder if Jack
found his white buffalo in this herd?”

The boys now returned to the spot where
Hiram had been unhorsed, and found both
saddle and rifle in the grass.

The broken girth was speedily mended, and
Hiram had just mounted to his perch again
when a faint shout came from the south.

“ Here they come l” exclaimed the young New
Yorker. catching sight of horses that were rap,-
ldly nearing them. “We shall now henr what
success croWned the efforts of Tom and J u ck. ”

“Some one is still missing, for if my eyes do
not deceive me but two ersons are comin up,”
said Rooky Dave, while 9 gazed at the orse—
men.

The two boys watched the figures with in-
creasing eagerness until they discovered that
Jack was not one of the part '.

Yellowstone 011 and Tom rode up, and drew
rein in front of the anxious pair.

“Where’s Jack?" was the
simultaneously from Tom and ram’s lips.

“ That’s what none of us seems to know,” re-
s nded Oll. '“ The boy war with you last,
Ilzbky. Whar did you leave him i"

The boy mountaineer replied by detailing
Jack‘s pursuit of the wounded bull until be dis.

 

a penned from view, bid by clouds ol‘. dust and
t e rolling ground. -

cation that fell -

 

Since that moment the young bufialo—hunter
had not been seen. _ ,

Tom and Hiram scanned the plain with a
great deal of anxiety, but Oil’s features did not-
betray much alarm.

However, it was deemed a wise move to hunt
for Jack, who might have been conquered by a
Wounded buffalo, and who at that moment
might be lying helpless somewhere in the grass.

Tom reported for himself and companion,
Yellowstone 011. that they had met with. good
success, having killed five buffaloes before quit-
ting the herd.

“That beats us, Tom ” observed Rocky Dave,
after a sly glance at ' am. “Vile got three
animals, but one of them came nigh getting a
bov.
Hiram essayed a smile, but he could not:
laugh, for his heart was full of anxiety for Jack,
and Dave, seeing this, did not continue the joke.

Guided by the boy ranger, the part moved
toward the spot where Jack had been ast seeb.

The dead horse was soon afterward discov-
ered, and the boys’ fears for Jack’s safety in-
creased until Yellowstone Oll struck the trail
that led through the grass.

“Look yonder!” suddenly exclaimed Rocky
Dave, whose gaze had Seen riveted for some
time on a certain object far ahead. “If I’m
not mistaken, I see a buifalo carcass on the
plain.”

All turned their eyes in the direction indiv
cated by the boy’s outstrelched hand, and grad—
ually saw the object that had attracted him.

The horses were now urged forward, and the
hunting party soon gazed from their saddles
upon the freshly-skinned carcass of a buiialo
that lay on the grass in the glare of the warm
noonday sun.

“ Indians have been here,” said Rocky Dave,

inting to unmistakable signs of horses’ hoofs
In the grass. -

J “ Indians?" echoed Hiram and Tom. “Then
ack—” ~ ‘

A sudden exclamation from Yellowstone Oll
broke the sentence.

“ What did I tell you about the young Shosh~
one that killed a white buflalo, Tom?” asked the
guide, glancing at Tom. “Didn’t the red skins
sew him up in a fresh hide an’ leave him to the

n

“ Indeed they did, 01]; but—”

“That’s just what they’ve done with Jack.
That buff’ler bad a white skin when be war in
runnin’ condition. We must let the Infrins go
an’ hunt for the hide. Thar’ll be found —-
mind I tell you.”

The faces of two of the guide’s listeners grew
white with fear as he thus delivered his opiu—
ions; but they were not permitted to give ex—
pression to their thoughts, for 011 dashed may
as if he had suddenly sighted an object on the

lain.
p If the two youn amateurs had glanced up-
ward the would ave seen several dark mové

able spec sthat seemed to sweep the sky. These

were vultures, the disgusting scavengers of the
)laigs, and the objects which the guide had no—
ice . ,

Yellowstone 01] led the party three miles at a
swift gallop, and when he drew rein, it was to
leap to the ground and stoop over a reddishob-
ject that ssessed an oblong shape not unlike a.
coflin. om several interstices alongabailiy’
sewn seam, bunches of white hair protrud ,
and rendered the grotesque objtfct recognizable.

“ Here’s the white skin an’ ere’s Jack, too.”
exclaimed Yellowstone 01! looking up at his
companions as he drew his knife. .

“ Dead '9'"

“ Wal, I guess notl"

Every hunter now sprung to the ground and
gathered round the sewed up hide, the seam of
which the guide’s knife was cutting.

In a very brief time, the fast hardening skin
was parted, and yellowstone Oll he] d Jack
from what might have proved a terril: Cl flip.

The warmth of the hair coupled to the stench,
arising from the hide had almost suffocated
Jack. who was found insensible, apd of course
unable to return thanks for his deliverance.

A loud cheer soared skyward when the old
guide announced that the young white buflalo-
hunter Would soon he himself again.

Jack recovered in doe time and related his
adventures to a breathless crowd. I

‘It seems that after his capture by the Indians“
he was compelled to shin his rize in whose hide
he was inclosed, and carri to the spotme
he was found. ,

The most vindictive at his ,
Red Bear, the Indian who as
wounded

m an eventalmady recorded.
“Well, .Ivgot the whitest-ineme finished

 was
from the

 

    
  
 

  
 

s
‘.
l
.

12

 

’The Young Trail Hunters.

 

 

, Jack; “ but it will be a long time ere I attempt

to rccure another."
I should 'think so,” replied OlL “ The sun
would have made short work of you.”

 

CHAPTER XII.
11m Email. or THE HARD-mums.

TEE fortunate rescue from the buflalo~hide
‘coflin terminated the adventures of the day,
and, ladend with the skins of all the animals
killed during the chase, along with a supply of
meat, the hunters resought the cams).

The place had not been visited uring their
absence. If it had been, the Indians would
have discovered nothing of value, for the goods
had been removed to a place of safety prior to
the beginning of the hunt.

Jack’s white hide was staked to the ground
alon with the other skins to be dressed after
the ndian fashion, which Yellowstone Oll
thoroughly understood.

" You don’t want this hide to become a trade
robe, I reckon," observed the guiie with a
smile as he lanced up from his work of scrap-
ing the whi skin, and met Jack’s watchful

ace.

“ I should say not,” was the quick response.

“ I’ll make it a body robe, then.”

Trade robes and body robes are entirely dif-
ferent articles.

The former are made for trading purposes;
the latter, elaborately painted and trimmed, are
worn by the Indians themselves.

Trade skins are not painted. After having
been fleshed, brained, washed and rubbed by
the s uaws, they are ready for the l: trader,
who uys them at the tribe groun s for from
on» to three dollars each, and ships them East,
where he realizes enormous profits out of them.

The body robes are beautiful, and would com-
mand high prices if the Indians could be in-
duced to part with them. The tanning of these
robes takes time and patience, and when the
have been finished they are found to be beaut -
i'ull decorated with scenes of camp and chase.
and often become family heirlooms which are
never sold.

0! course Jack would not have his elegant
white robe become a common trade skin; such
a fate should not befall it, and Yellowstone Oil
was commissioned to prepare it to the best of
his ability.

When the old ide finished his task, one of
the bandsomest uffalo-robes ever seen in the
wild West was submitted to the camp’: inspec-
tion and renounced splendid Aside from the
silvery w iteness of the hair it was a handsome
robe, and Jack, when he saw it tanned, almost
wished that he could meet another “ Old
Whit " regardless of consequences.

“I you boys can turn out afore day to-
morrow mormn’ we’ll give the hard-heads a
whirl,” remarked the guide, one night when the
boys, were about to wrap themselves in their
blankets and seek dreamland.

" The hard-heads?” echoed Tom. “ We are
always ready to tackle w kind of game. Try
us to-morrow and see. e’ll sleep on our arms
so as to be ready." I

Two hours before day, therefore, the amateur
hunters were awakened from sound slumber and
told to get ready for a sheep hunt.

It was a cold morning, and no fire warmed
them as they 0 pt from their blankets and be-
gun to follow t e ide’s directions.

A heavy dew, a most like rain—drops, him on
blade and bush, and the wet leaves, W on
touched by the naked hand, sent a shiver
through the hunter’s frame.

The horses were well corraled—for a horas
amounts to nothing during a she hunt—and
the rty stole from the camp aong a trail
whic Yellowstone Oil followed with wonderful
ease, considering the hour.

Durin their various hunts, the occupants of
Camp bite Buflalo had seen a few mountain-
nheep, or “hard-heads,” at a distance and far
beyond gun-shot.

This game is the ibex of the Rockv Mountains.
swift, sure-footed and wary. When ursued.
he will flplunge down a precipice of lfty feet

h, ght on his horns, and bound away
again before the hunter can deliver a shot. The
flesh of the hard-heads is much prized, being
sweet and juicy, and is always welcome at
the camp-table which is generally the green

sword. .

‘As the mountain sheep prefers high altitudes,
the hunt becomes more ban child’s play, is at-
tended by man dangers, and very often
p m 235nm handgun the [lofty peaks of
the ‘kie‘s wheurtheiln big-horn hunters

 

reached the spot from whence the wearisome
toiling up the mountains was to begin. '

It was, indeed, a toiisome ascent through the
damp bushes and over wet rocks; but the
plucky boys did not murmur, knowing that

ellowstoue Oil knew just where he was lead-
ing' them. '

he sun came up and dissipated the pearly
dew wherever its rays penetrated, and the hun-
ters halted for breath and a breakfast on jerked
bear meat far above their camp.

They were now among the high trails of the
Rockies, and Yellowstone Oll assured them that
they] would eoon obtain a sight of the game.

e old guide‘s prediction speedily came true,
for Rocky Dave saw two sheep standing on a
rock about three hundred yards away and
slightly above their position.

“ If they think our rifles can’t reach them
they shall discovvr their mistake,” said Tom.
“ Comel are we not going tochance those hard-
heads? We may not get another such chance.”

“ I’m willin’ if you think on can drop one
from here,” answered Oll. ‘ They don’t see us
yet, but they will presently; then we‘ll see tails
an’ not horns.”

This admonition to shoot quick brought the
rifles of the three New Yorkers to their shoul-
ders, and three reports sounded as one.

In an instant the big-horns disappeared, and
the young marksmen looked at one another
very much chagrincd. '

Oil’s countenance said very plainly: “Just as
I expected "’ but he did not speak until the
boys had blamed their rifles, not themselves,
for their failure.

“ I used to shoulder all the blame on my
gun," he said quietly, but in a tone that abasbed
his listeners; “buthuit it when I found out
what was the matter. The guns ar’ all right,
boys. i guess the fault b’longs elsewhar.”

“ I own up, Oil,” said Hiram, smilin . “ For
my part I think if the hard-heads had icon but
fifty yards off the result would have been just
the same. Jar-k and Tom won‘t acknowledge
it, but I’ll be honest with you.”

“ We'll go an‘ see if any of you hit," and Oil
sprung toward the rock from which the sheep
had vanished.

“ Who savs we missed 1’" exclaimed Jack.
“ Look here!” and be pointed to several spots of
blood on the clifl.

“ A scrape, I reckon, nothin’ more,” returned
the guide. “ But, by my soull here Des a
bloody traiL Well follow it an‘ sue w at it
leads to."

Ea er to come up with the mountain sheep
whic seemed to have been rctty hard hit, the
boys set off at the guide's eels, and followeg
the trail for morelthan two miles until it was
lost at the edge of a preci ice over which the.
animal had thrown himsel , thus escaping from
his hunters.

This ending of the trail filled the big-horn
hunters with disgust, Toward the last their
hopes had risen to a degree that inspired all the
figrtainties of success, but the sheep had. eluded

em.

“ I am disgusted l” ejaculated Tom. “ Let us
go back to camp.”

At that moment Rocky Dove, who seemed
destined to discover all the game, Caught Tom
by the arm and whirled him half-way round as
£6 (pointed to an object almost directly over-

ea .

“ Another sheep !" exclaimed the boy. “ The
old fellow meme to be looking down u 11 us.
What are the chances for bagging him, eliow-
stone?"

“ They ar’ good ones if you can shoot straight
enough.” said the guide. “ He ain’t more than
eighty feet above us, an' he doesn’t know we’re
here. We want sheep-meat, an’ this one may
be the last chap we’ll sight."

“Then bring him down.”

Thus invited to fire, the old guide proudly
iaisgd his rifle, and brought it to bear on the big

on .

“I would be willing to go without my dinner
to have him miss," whispered Jack at Tom’s
arm. ‘

“Ten to one that he docs." returned Tom,
who still smarted under the reproof the guide
had lately administered.

At that moment the rifle crrcked. and the
next the four boys bounded toward the monn~
tain wall that rose above the narrow trail they
had been threading.

The body of the bard-head was falling down-
ward, wbirling over and ovar so rapidly that
one could scarcely discern its revolutions, and
while the young hunters held their breath it
struck with a thud on the rock at their feet.

Instantly Yellowstone Oil pounced upon it

 

and seized it by the horns, thus preventing it
groin falling from the trail into he gulch far
e ow.

“ I didn‘t calculate to miss him,” be exclaimed,
with an old hunter’s pride. “ We’ll have mutton
for supper after all. ’ .

The sheep turned out to be a large one of the

lee, and the last at which the party was
estined to get a shot.

Yellowstone Oll fell at once to dressing the
carcass, watched by the boys, who were tired
and sore, for the hunt had been conducted over
some of the roughest ground in that part of the
country.

“We shall probably see no more game to—
day," remarked Hiram. “I would liketo bag
something after this terrible tramp."

“ Then drop that bear," said Tom.

Hiram looked up.

“No join 8, sir," he said.

“ Who is joking? Can you not see an object
as big as a bushel?” '

Hiram leaped to his feet.

“A bearl—a grizzly l” he shouted.

CHAPTER XIII.
A YOUNG BEAR KILLER minim.

SURE enou h, at a certain spot about thirty
yards down t e trail, the huge head of a grizzly
was visible.

Tom had discovered it but a moment before
he called Hiram’s atteption to it, and a minute
afterward it disappeared. '

With his exclamation of “ a bear l—a grizzly !"
Hiram sprung after the animal, rifle .n hand,
gnxious to deliver a shot after the retreating

gure.

“Bring that boy back!" commanded Yellow-
stone Oil, looking up from his task of skinning
the mountain sheep. “If Old EphItakes a no—
tion to turn on him in that narrow mountain
trail, thar’ll be somebody hurt.”

But Hiram had already passed out of sight,
and was treading close to the bean heels.

The discovery of a grizzly at that hight had
astonished all; but bun er will sometimes carry
the bear into strange p aces. ‘

Hiram, whom we are oing to follow, reached
the spot where the bead ad been seen in time
to catch a glimpse of a darkish object lumbering
along the gradually descending trail some dis
more a“ ay. ,

Knowin that this was the grimy, be kept
on, re Var less of danger. He woul soon get
to sen a shot after the monarch of the Rockies.

The trail in some places run near the edge of
the old! or terrace, from which could be seen,
far beneath, one of the loveliest little valleys in
the whole region. A few stunted trees grew
alongbthe edge of the terrace, and leaned over
the a yss as t (ugh in the act of falling. 'i'lm
trail between their roots and the solid mountain
well on the left Vi asnot more than‘fourfeet wide.

Hundreds of loom stones, the largest not big-
ger than a man‘s list, were scattered along the
trail. thus rendering running exceedingly dan-
gerpus; but Hiram and the bear got along Very
we] .

At last the exoited young hunter turned a
bend in the trail, and came‘ suddenly upon a
sight that made him bait and draw back. '

Not one grizzly but five were before him, two
old ones and lhrec cubs, whose teeth were sharp
enough to do a good deal of damage.

The grizzly he had chased had ined the
family, and the aspect of the old are told
Hirasn that his further progress was to be dis-
pute .

To turn and flee toward his companions was
to have the condition of affairs reversed; he
would have the savage family at his heels.

The old she beer was already shoulng her
teeth, and the lord of the domain was not averse
to an attack. “

“I‘m here, and I’m gem}:r to fightl” muttered
Hi, determined to open the battle before the rest
of the party could come up. “ Yellowstone says
the she beer is always the worst customer to
handle, so I’ll take her first.”

The old animal presented an excellent target
for Hiram’s aim. She stood sideans to him.
but with her head turned toward ‘him. Her
cubs stood near by, and about ten feet away the
male grizzly faced him with flashing eyes

The boy hunter took deliberate aim at the

mother not more than forty yards distant, and

then pressed the trigger.

The grizzl ' staggered under the shot. but
managed to lzeep her feet, while the cube: set up
a chorus of groWIs and snarls that rendered the
place a perfect Bedlam. They danced frantic.
ally round the wounded mother, who clawed

 

,.
l
l
.s
i
i

 

 

madly at the wound Hiram‘s rifle had inflicted,
while the male bear dashed forward, bent on
vengeance.

Hiram stood his ground with the coolness of
a veteran, and fired twice straight at the charg<
ing brute. One of the balls took effect_ in the
face, breaking the lower jaw and causmg the
grizzly to give vent to a Lerrible roar of pain,
while the second struck him in the breast just
below the fatal curl, sending him beautlful'ly to
grass, where his huge body locked the trail.

These shots were the most fortunate ones the
boy hunter could have delivered, for they
placed one of the old animals hora Llu combat,
and gave him a breathing—spell and time to re
treat.

Hiram accepted the former, but spurned the
latter, being elated b his success and'eager to
finish the mother of t e cubs.

When he turned his attention to her, he saw
her moving toward her dead companion, fol-
lowed by the cubs, almost aslarge as Newfound-
land dogs. The young bears were still snarling
and showing their teeth, and whenever they im—
peded the mother’s pro ress by their demonstra-
tions she would knock m aside with a sweep
of her paw, sometimes sending them to the
very edge of the terrace.

Hiram withheld his fire until the old bear
reached her mate, whom she nudged and ex«
amined with almost human instinct. 1

Every now and than she would raise a pitcous
howl and look at the boy, while the cubs, ren-
deredfrantic by the scent and taste of blood,
were fighting among themselves.

All at once. an i suddenly discovering that
the bearin the as was dead, the enraged fe-
male uttered a cry, and bounding over
the carcass dashed straight at Hiram.

He had but a moment in which to take aim,
mg he alienated"? inime it. h

e pressed 9 w1 an engrossed 0
that the shot migh prove fatal; ut alas! lg?
stead of finishing the mother“: life, it wounded
one of the cubs, which fell over uttering the

_ wildest cries imaginable. I

Attracted h her cub‘s condition, the old bear
turned to ren er it all the assistance she could.
She caught it up in her arms, and havin found
the wound-be to lick it while the lit e one
still continu to bowl.

At this moment Hiram, takingadvantage of
the situation, fired again, and planted a ball in
the mother’s right foot, ahatterin it and cane-
‘iingdher to drop the cub, which ay still as if

on .

Despite her shattered foot the old grizzly
came at the court; eons boy hunter again, and
recei ed a shot un er the hide on her fore shoul-
der which inflicted no damage, but increased
her fury.

Hiram was now tting into close quarters.

He realized that f the grizzly was not stopped
by the next shot, he would have to fly for his
life before her jaws.

If his friends were comgg‘g toga rescue. they
were not making very g be way. It was
just possible that they had turned into another
trail for the mountains contained many such
paths, and allot them showed bear “Sign ” in
Wllmn... .1 ~ ... W.

9 0 presen .a terrible t as
she dashed atgiram the last time. With dis.
tended 1‘1"! already bloody, and ears thrown
back with bloodshot eyes and hi expressed in
every wrinkle, she came on like .t-hunderholt,
an object horrible enough to unnerve the coolest
marksman.

, ‘i Heaven direct this shotl" Iv acnlated Hiram,
fully realizing his danger. as a tried to cover
the plunging animal. '

He touched the trigger with some mlsgivinga
REth his head to see the result of the
s o

. Horrors! he had not checked the boat’s speed
in the least.

Had he. missed the monster entirely?

There was no chance for another shot, for
the she grimly and her cubs were upon him!

Hiram turned and ran, but a second later he
stepped on a loose stone, and fell headlong to
ward the edge of the terrace, loain his gun and
landing at the foot of- one of t e trees that
leaned from the trail.

0! course the young hunter picked himself Us
as quickly as possible. and sprung. not ahea
again, but at the tree. toward whose branches
he crept with all the Speed he could command.

When he reached the limbs and cast a look to-
ward hh enemies, he found that be had not left
the trail a moment too soon. for the old zly
won at the root of the tree whose trunk was
feelin with her unwounded new as it she in.
ten to follow her enemy in“ “‘9 top.

 

* v ~~~~~r

This was an aspect of aifairs that had not oc~
curred to Hiram before. He was driven to the
tree without forethought, and before he had ex-
amined his perch. , .

He now saw that the tree was not the most
Substantial of retreats, for whenever the bear
placed her foot upon it, it shook and leaned fur—
ther over the abyss.

What would happen if the animal should
throw her whole weight upon the body!

Hiram clung desperately to a limb, and drew
his only remaining weapon, a heavy Colt re-
volver. His own weight was causing the tree
to lean far out of line, and the bear seemed de~
tel-mined to reach him.

A terrible grew! announced to the tree-d boy
the grizzly’s intention, and a cry burst from his
heart as the tree bent under her foot.

“ Merciful Heavens! I shall go down with the
tree!” he exclaimed, and then, thrustin his re«
volvel‘ forward, he fired three shots ln rapid
succession, and drove the‘giazly .from the tree.

“ Courage! courage! e are coming, Bil”
came a voloe from a spot overhead as the last
crack of the revolver died away.

Hiram uttered an exclamation of joy, and the
grizzly, who had heard the voice, turned her
head and looked up, but only for a moment.

As if aware that assistance was approaching
the tread boy hunter, she put her paw a sin on
the body of the tree and pleased down der
than ever ’

Hiram bad to Eat up the revolver and cling to
the boughs for l e. be grizzly was going to
shake h m 0!!!

The tree swayed and cracked as he held his
breath seeing which the old vixan redoubled
;ver edema, until Hiram gave himself up for
out.
Suddenly three rifles changed the scene, and
the old bear whirled with a row] of rage, then
g (:11 herhind feet,” gimefigures leaped

Wu’ .

"The boys! not a minute too soonl”gas
Hiram, whose stren h was nearly gone. ped

“Give the old ady another shotl” cried
Rocky Dave, as Jack and Tom, who had sprung
intoi the path with leveled rules, wok aim
at a n.

he two ho a obeyed, and the grizzly fell,
pierced through the breast.
\ The cubs sprung, away, eager to eflect their
esca now that he mother was done for; but
the y mountaineer-’3 rifle ended the career of
one, who, in the agonies of a death. wound,
rolled off the terrace. The last one got away.

Hiram ore is from the tree as expeditiously as
possible, an was greeted by his companions“.

“ We struck the wrong trail,” explained
Rocky Dave. “We heard your shots all" the
tine, but the sounds deceived us. The [noun-
tain abounds in bear signs and that also helped
tobaffle us. But we got here in time to hell:
at the deJt ."

“If you had remained awe another five
minutes you would have foun me at the bot-
tom of the gulch,” responded Hiram. “The
old hear was going to shakeyme out of that tree.
The limbs to which I was clinging were actually
breaking, and dirt and stones were d ing
from the roots. We might have gone wn-
ward to ther—the tree and l—but I am afraid
I would ave tumbled overboard alone.”

“You will not run after another grizzl ‘s
head soonr' asked Tom, whose eyes twinked
merrily.

“There! 1'd rather you would not cite until
I have fairlv recovered,” retomd iram, se~
riously. “ think I can say, however, that I
prefer to hunt any other game than bears."

The boys followed the back trail until they
reached the male bear which Hiram had shot.
The carcass was skinned by the time Yellow-
stone Oll came up, and a feast of mountain
mutton and grizzly steaks was had on Hiram’s
never-to—be-forgotten battle-field.

" You boys ar’ learnin’,” said the old ide.
“I had to learn many hard lessons when first
came to this he t . I once ran after a
grizzly just like 13d and what did I get!—
a broken leg. 3 mashed arm an’ other little
bruises too numerous to speak of. The next
b’ar I hustled from with the speed-of an'Injun
pony, an’ I think yet that I can outrun the fast»
est grizzly in these mountains."

No one disputed Oil’s declarations who glanced
at his long limbs, but all thought of the ridicuv
lous figure he would cut when in full flight be-
fore the open jaws of Old Ephraim.

The day was far spent when the huntin -
part returned to cam , and a. visit to the cab n
old {he guide that In ‘ 5 had been there dur-
in their absonoe.

6 did not mention his diqoovery to the boys.

The Young Trail Hunters. .

13

CHAPTER XIV.
KICKING JIM AND THE PEG n‘onmum.

IF the redaskl'ns had paid the deserted camp a
visit, they had not disturbed the cabin nor its
surroundings at all.

Yellowstone Oll, whose keen eyes nothing
seemed to escape, examined the ground unbe-
rknown to his young com anions, and noted the
direction taken by the udians upon their de-
parrure.

When the cache was reached, and everything
left; behind, horses and all, had been found se—
cling] the guide stole away and went back to the
cab .

The Rocky Mountain hunter is generally no
friend to the Indian. There continually 
between the two a strong hatred, increased by
little depredatious by the red-skins, and by rt.L
taliation from the white trapper.

Yellowstone 011 was one of those who cor—
dially hated the Indians, especially the Black-
feet whom he constantly called the meanest
nation near the head-waters of the ' '

Museum.

In order to track the camp visitors a short
distance, as well as for the purpose of die
covering their numbers, the guide had gone back
to the cabin where he had seen the imprint of
moccasins in the soft earth there. .

An hour later he suddenly presented himself
tothe fonrboys withagrin on hisbronzcx face.

“ Ef you want to see a bit of fun—a regular
circus, come with me,” he said, before he could
bequeshioned. "ltisn’toften onegetatoseea
show in the Rockies, but of I haven’t discovered
one equal to Dan Rice's actin', you can call me
a sucker. 1th only about two miles from hyer,
an’ it doesn’t cost a cent.”

With their curiosity excited by Yellowstone
Oil‘s words, the four boys sprun up and an-
nounced their willingness to f0 him any»
where.

“ It must be a boar-show—a cub dance,” said
Rocky Dave, at Jack’s elbow. " We run am
such sights here occasionally. When all the
members of a g'riuly family are in good humor
they have jolly times. young bears

leap-{mg and catch paws and da on t r
hind feet in a manner truly lau while
the old bears look on much amused. came

suddenly on such a scene summer before last.
It was near the bank of a river, and all the
gallon save one were havin a lly goodtime.

e one I have mentioned idn want tohave
any thing to do with the fun. I guess he didn’t
feel well, for he laid down mo y “tagged
wouldn’t grin once. The old she to
make him join in the sgn't, but it was no go;
the young bear got etu born, an’ if he could
have talked, he would have told his mother
that be was goin’ to do as be pleased. Well,
what do you think the old bear did?"

“ Cuffed the cub’s ears, I suppose.”

“ Worse than that. ' When 5 e hadnsed mild
means long enough, she got up, bbed the
baby bear and rmrwith him town the river.
The next moment she was at the edge of the
water. and in went little Eph. head over heels.
and almost to the bottom. it was really funny
to see him come up to the top, nmn’ an blowin'
like a youn Injun. After aw ile he swam to
the bank w ere his mother awaited him, an’ a
betterbearyou never saw. He went bath to
the camp as meek as a kitten an’ danced all the
water of! his coat. Some bears almost ham.
human nndcratandin,’ but when it comes to
in pin’ them they lose all that.”

he part b this time had left the cache far
behind, a ellowstone Oil was leading the
oung hunters over a rough trail which prom-
sed toleed them to a spot from whom they
wring] beahle to look down into a mountain
gu c .

“ It isn‘t the kind of shew Rocky’sbeen tellin’
about,” the guide declared. glancing at Jack
and 'Dom, who had‘ just listened to the young
mountaineer’s story about fhe dancing bears.
“Quite the contrary; it’s an Injun performance
with a mule in it.”

The boys exchanged significant g but
said nothing, although at the mention of Ir ians
they looked at their firearms to see that they
were repared fora red-skinned foe.

As ortdishlnce further on Yellowstone Oll
halted theparty, and crept to the edge of the
trail where be some bushes and gazed
downward. ‘ A ‘

“They’re at it yet,” he remarked over his
shoulder, and the boys speedily joined him.

About fifty yards below the trail was a bean—
tiful mountain plateau, or table-land, covering
forty mos. Atgeutliixzuiant growth of grazing
gram grew over e plain, which was not
nninhabihd. »

Almoatdirectly underneath thohuntera ma,

 

 

   
 

 

14

com ny of Indians numbering twenty souls.
The. they made upa hunting party and not a
war band was easily seen by several deer
which lay dead on the ground. The horses that
had carried them to the spot grazed a short dis-
tance away, but the red—skins were enjoying a
dangerous sport if they were not pursuing
game. .

A vicious mule was held by three stalwart

. voung bucks at the end of a lasso, and the rest
' of the band, one at a time, were trying to

mount the animal. Whenever one would steal
'up for that purpose the mule would hurl his
hind-feet in that direction, and render the at-
tempt a risky business for the warrior.

The Indians tried ever artifice known to
gain the mule’s back, but 1; e a ile heels always
came to the animal’s rescue. EI'hey would ap-
proach by stealth, creeping through the grass
like wolves, or dash forward from opposite di-
rections, but without success. .

While the young bear-hunters looked on, one
ova-anxious youn brave advanced too near
and received a kic that doubled him up and
sent him flying through the air.

“That is our mule, Kicking J iml” suddenly
exclaimed Jack. “ How the Blackfeet ever got
him from camp the time they first visited it I

could never understand; but those Indians down ,

there don’t look like members of that nation.”

“They‘re a lot of Pen d'Oreille reds, a little
of! their course,” observed Yellowstone 011.
“They’re not a bed set of chaps, when you get
in with them, for they like fun wherever they
find it.” '

i For some time longer the hunters watched the
savages in their attempts to mount the mule.
The brave who 'had been kicked had picked
himself up and sneaked away to nurse his hurts
and wrath beyond his comrades‘ eight.

Kickin Jim seemed to enjoy the fun with the
same see that animated his tormentors. At
times he would stand like an exhausted animal,
and present the picture of an utterly “played~
out’ mule, but let a red;skin ap roach-too near
whether by crawl or bound, an his heels wouli
whiz through the air uncomfortably close to the
Indian’s head.

The leader of the Pen d‘Oi'eilles stood on a

bear-robe, well out of harm’s way, enjoying the

scene before him.

At last he took a spear and planted itflrmly
in the ground, point downward, and huu on
theother end a beautiful body robe, whic he
had taken from his own shoulders.

“Somebody will at kicked to death for that
robe," murmured ellowstone Oll, as the red—
skins drew off to listen to the chief’s offer of the
who to the brave who should first seat himself
on Kicking Jim’s back.

All at once, with a loud yell, that echoed in
the mountain deflles around them, the Indians
rushed at the mule from all sides.

- Kicking Jim was taken somewhat aback b
this movement, but he soon took in the si «

' nation, and the next instant he was kicking fast

and furious, scattering his red tormentors forci-
bl in every direction.

e seemed to stand wholly on his front feet
his hinder ones being constantly in the air, am
more than one buc picked himself up many
feet away. -

But one warrior reached the covetgd seat, and
aloud cheer rent the air.

The braves at the lasso now relinquished their
hold, and Kicking Jim was left to unseat his
rider if he could. .

He set himself at once to this task with a will
that seemed certain to accomplish his purpose;
but the red-skin was an old horsemen, and Jim
Egg-Is obliged to acknowledge himself mastered at

When this exciting performance came to a

close the bod robe was given to the victor by

the chief, an the red hunters preceeded to pre-
pare a tempting feast.

“ We’ll go down now.” said Yellowstone Oll.
“ The show’s over, an‘ Kickin’ Jim is ready for
the next performance.”

The {gang New Yorkers at first objected to
going low, tint when Rocky Dave told them
that the aide had spent many months amon
the Pen (1' reilles, they demurred no longer, an
the whole company accordingly descended to the
plateau. '

The meeting between 011 and the Indians was
very cordial. He was at once recognized by
the chief, Burnt Arrow, who told him that his

‘ nation was then at war with the Blackfeet, and

that while his band had ordered the country for
a." hunt they would not object to a brush with

their old enemy.
As for Kicking Jim—who was offered to his
owners by the chief—it was stated that

 

The Young Trail Hunters.

he had been discovered running at large the
night before, and that a lasso had secured him.

*‘ Thor‘s no telliu’ how many Blackfoot heads
he broke afore he gave ’em the slip," said 011
with a laugh as he glanced at the mule, now as
motionless as a horse cast in bronze. “ I wish
the old codger could talk, but as he can’t we‘ll
say twenty, an’ thank ’im besides.”

The boy hunters joined in the general laugh,
and Kicking Jim became the hero of the hour.

 

CHAPTER XV.
A BRUSH WITH THE BLACKFEET.

THE Pen d’Oreilles became greatly incensed
when they learned that their enemies, the Black-
gaet, had attempted to plunder White Bufl‘nlo

amp.

They offered to follow the trail, overtake the
marauders, and punish them severely; but the
boy hunters did not care about getting into any
difficulty with Indians, and wisely declined to
accept Burnt‘Arrow’s proposition.

Kicking Jim, the mule, was returned to his
first owners, whom be ap cared to recognize,
while those who had fell: his heels eyed him sav-
agely, as though eager to give him a Roland for
his Oliver.

As the Pen d‘Oreilles were found to baa lot of

cod-natured Indians, they were invited to

bite Buffalo camp, which was taken oss’es-
sion of once more, and the young New orkers
felt safe from Blackfoot invasion. -

When in ht came, the horses of both Cparties
were corra ed together and guards poste .

Burnt Arrow was the only member of the red-
skinned hunting party that had been made ac-
?uaiuted with J ack‘s capture of the white but-

lilo-Skin, and the opportune rescue on the

am. .

p At the close of Yellowstone 011’s narrative
the old warrior shook his head and replied:

“Blackfeet find out, mebbe, that white boy
no die in the snowy robe. Then their hearts
wilil get mad, and they will hunt for camp

n .

“ That's what I've been thinkin’, Arrow,” said
the guide, ” but I liaVen’t said a word to the
boys. I ima ine that Rocky Dave thinks about
the same as do. Wal, of it, warn’t fer a few
things. I’d like to have a brush with the reddies
nforo I trot the boys back to Helena, whar my
contract ends. We've set day after tomorrow
for leavin' the old camp, an of the Blackfeet
would find us here, they must come soon."

“Come tor-ni ht, mebbe," and Burnt Arrow,
not the least excited, took another whifir at his

pi e. . . .

IAfter hearing Yellowstone 011’s story, the
guards Were doubled, and the horses moved to a.
corral nearer camp. .

“ I wonder who all this recantion means!”
asked Hiram of Tom, after 8 had noticed all
these movements. “ To me it can mean but one
thing—Indians." _

“Burnt Arrow has become our Jonah, you
think?"

“Something of that sort. I am confident
from what I have seen that an attack of some
kind is expected. I do not like the idea of being
shot while sitting in the light of our camp-fire.
I‘d rather stand guard.” ‘

“ So would I. Rocky Dave and one of the Pen
d'Oreillesnre guarding the camp somewhere, and
Jack has a post with another. Let us form a
picket- cat and watch awhile. Yellowstone
Oll wil not object."

When the two boys applied. to the guide for
permission to stand guard until midnight, leave
was granted, and they selected a place not far
from the, camp near the Medicine, but within
sight of the fire-light. ‘

It was rather a lonely post for the two boys,
and time hung heavy on their hands. _

Tom leaned against a tree with his rifle rest.
ing in the hollow of his arm, and Hiram was
near b with every sense on the alert like a
we ch 111 sentry.

efore them ran the river which, miles and ‘

miles away, mingled its waters with those of
the Upper Missburi. Beyond the stream

stretched a prett level piece of country, slight--
ly timbered, an a fair grazing ground for the '

herds of buffalo that sometimes visited it.

Over all hung the canopy of night, anda light
breeze blowin from the south stirred the grass
at the feet of be young guards.

All "of a sudden Tum saw a flash of fire
against the sky beyond the furthest bank of the

river.

Thinking it a meteor, he did not, call Hiram’s
attention to it and permitted it to pass unques-
tioned.

But several minutes later another flash up

 

 

peared at the same place, then two more in such
quick succession that the boy hunter started.

They were not meteors, but signals of some
kind.

Were they not Indian fire arrows!

Tom was about to speak to his companion
when a hand fell upon his arm and he saw Hi-
ram looking into his face.

“Did you see those stars, Tom?” asked Hi<
ram. ‘ ‘

“ Stars? Were they meteors, Hi?”

“That’s what I have just called them; but—7'

“They were signals! 1 am certain of that.”

“ The kind 011 has told us about no doubt. "

“ I think so."

Yellowstone 011 had told the boy hunters a
great deal about the various tribes of Indians
that inhabit the Rocky'Mountain region. In
one of his narratives he had described the fire
or signal arrows of the,Blhckt'eet and Modocs,
which are made by dipping the shafts of the
arrow in gunpowder mixed with glue. Chewui
bark mixed with dry powder is next fastened
to the stick; this composition is fired just before
the arrow is sent whistling into the air and
when at a certain hight the shaft suddenly
burns with a bright light and continues burningr
until it falls to the ground.

The Indians have a regular code of signals.
and dispatches are sent from one hand to an—
other after night by means of these fire-arrows.

The boy' sentinels very naturally recalled
what Yellowstone 011 had told them about fire~
arrows; but the continued to watch with their
pyis turned to t 9 spot where they had seen the

ig ts.

They wondered if the signals had been seen
by any other persons belonging to the camp,
and, as nobody came out to the post,~they con-
cluded that the were the sole observers.

An hour ha nearly passed since the flashes
in the sky, and Tbm and Hiram were thinking
about withdrawin to the camp where warm
blankets awaited t em, when a slight noise in
the water a short distance down-stream caused
them both to turn in that direction.

“A beavar,” said Hiram, after listening a

moment.

“ Indians, more likely ” was'I‘om’s response.

Need we say that the boy guards cocked their
rifles and leaned forward with eyes’strained» to
catch sight of the maker of the noise? .

For sewral moments no further sound was
heard. The beaver had probably taken to the
water, and was noiselessly steering himself
across the stream.

“ Hark! look yonder!” whispered Tom, as he
griped Hiram’s arm and pointed toward the
grass that grew between them and the water’s
e .

go.

At first Hiram saw nothing, but by and by he
found that what he had deemed a short log was
endowed with life anddnotion.

“You don't call that a beaver, do you 2” con—
tinued Tom. smiling. “ I say that a dozen _In~
dians are creeping toward the cam , one behind
the other. It means a m ht attac . We shall
suffer with the Friendl s f the camp is taken."

“ Certainly: What 0 you re doing?"

" I’m in for firing into the ndians, and then
running to camp.”

Hiram‘s reply was not delayed an instant.

f‘ I am ready,” he said, as his rifle was lifted
to his shoulder. “ I see the creeping line barely
well enough to fire at. When you have taken
him T0111. 1;” e the signal.”

The dark 0 jects creeping serpents-like through
the grass were not more than twang yards
away. They were indistinctly reveale by the
stars, and were evidentlya preaching the camp
for the pu of chuckling its inmates, and
now was the time to frustrate their design,

Tom and Hiram had, fortunately selected ll.
spot for guard duty which otherwise would
have been left unwatched. Indian spies' ha“
doubtless visited the vicinity in the ear] n;
of the hi t. and found no sentries posted t are
.._bencer air crossing of the Medicine at that

mt. , .
poAll at once the reports of the 'boya’ guns
startled the mountain echoes, and without stcp~
ping to inquire into the eflects of their shots,

hey wheeled and fled campward a8 tastes their
limbs could carry them.

As they bounded into the flrelight, they found
the Pen (1’ Oreilles and Yellowstone Oil on the
alert with ready rifles and faces turned toward
the attacked post. ' ' ‘

“ Indians 1” shouted Tm. as he rm up to the
guidatmgw: Bulre‘kafbfltfl’: to be attacked by 9,

org 0 so so '

“S'er ylikely,” anew Oil. calmly, as
he smi ed at the boy hunter’s excitement.
“They war creepin’ like black snakes through

 

l

 

 

 

you saw ’em, eh? That’s a

the
Blackfoot’s attack 10!‘ all the world, the sneakin‘
red-skin !” ~

The other guards came in at the reports of the
b0 5’ guns, and the fire was .ut out so as not to

grass when

oi the enemy. The Pen d’ reilles were mostly
armed with the bow and arrow, but several
carried excellent repeating rifles, which they
knew how to handle: _ 1

As if disconcerde at being discovered, the
sneaking enemy held off, thus giving the occu-
pants of White Buffalo Camp an Opportunity
of perfecting their plans.

Suddenly a shower of arrows came from
toward the river, but most of the missiles were
badly aimed, and did little damage beyond
wounding a Pen d'Oreille and two horses.

The alliés re lied with a volley of firearms
and ,a few feat ered shafts. that scattered the
fog-rand forced him to shelter himself behind
the trees that grew near the water.

From'thence they kept up a hail-storm of
arrows, mostly fired mo high, for the defenders
of the camp had thrown themselves ou"the
ground, thus escaping death. ,

Knowing that the enemy could not be dis-
lodged by an attack in front. Yellowstone Oil
and Burnt Arrow secretly divided their forces,
and sent one part from the camp forfihe pur-
pose of flanking the Blackfeet and drivmg them
from their pomtion.

The flanking arty was led by the boy moun-
taineer, Rocky ave, and the young New York-
ers crept at his heels. v ~

A panther-like cra-wl brought the party to
within sight of the dark figures among the trees,.
and all at once. at a loud about from the young
trapper, the flankers poured a destructive volley
among the Blackfeet.

Again and again the deadly repeating rifles,

sent. their contents into the ranks of the foe, and
when the force left at the camp came down upon
them like a whirlwind, they tied toward the
river. .

The attack on the camp had failed, and the
prowling Blackfeet, ‘were glad to withdraw
across the Medicine, where they considered them-
selves safe.

But the Pen d’Oreilles mounted their horsies
plunged into the river with loud yells, and
dashed straight at their foes.

A stubborn fight, lasting a few minutes, took
place on the opposite ban , but the maddened
Oreilles were not to be withstood, and the Black-
feet were forced to continue their retreat.

The enemy was forced to leave his dead and
wounded behind. His total loss consisted of
thirteen braves, seven of whom had been slain
outri ht, and the six wounded were speedily
toms wked by the friendly reds. Such in-
human conduct disgusted the boy hunters, but
as it was the custo l of the tribe, and as a re-
monstrance could have done no good, they kept
silent. and turned from the scene.

If the fire-arrows which Tom and Hiram had

' seen from their post were signals to another

band of the enemy approaching the camp from
another direction, nothing came of it; for the
morning broke beautiful and clear with the
victors still in possession of the field, and. not
one ff thfiur gambler lost. .

“ rec on at the Blackfeet have t non h
of us,” ejaculated Yellowstone Oll. gait agy
rate the at more than they bargained for last
night, ecan take our last hunt to-morrow
just as we intended dom’, an’ the next day, be!
for theS tesl" _- _ ,

The old guide’s prediction turned out a correct

one.

The intended hunt was taken in com any
with the Pen d’ Oreilles, and not a Blue foot
was seen.

The hunt proved very successful, a number
of elk and several antelope being 1aken,and the
hunters reached the camp at sundown heavily
laden and in the best of spirits. .

“ You told us once that you ran from , a griz-
zly, 0‘11" said Tom at the cam fire that night,
“ and you romised then to telllythe story when-
ever we a éd for it. We are all together now,
so is ’s have it.” I

“ t isn’t much shakes of a arn, nobow,”
said the old guide, “an’ then finessit’s my
turn for a stOIjY, 30 here 8088. urnt Arrow
thar has heard it; but he can listen 88),,”

CHAPTER XVI.
THE LAST YARN—BACK 70 m , gum.

“ I WAR huntin’ up .on the Yellow Medicine
about twenty year ago,” continued the Ian];
:tuide, “ 9.117 had got pretty well acquainted at a
Shoshone camp which werp’t far from one. of
the deepest canyons in that kentry. B’ar Sign

 

 

The Young Trail Hunters.

war plenty, but somehow or other. we couldn’t
set our peepers on the animiles. The Injuns
hunted day in an’ day out, but all they could
see war tracks, au’ they war thick enough.

“I sometimas had for my companion a Sho-

shone boy who had but one arm. He had lost
t’other in a b’artrrap some years afore, but he
didn’t seem to mind his loss ‘much, for he could
shoot b restin’ his gun on the stump of his
arm. is name war Ka-lis—ke—Ia, the One—
Arm'ed, an' be had an eye in his head that an
eagle might be proud of. We war a good deal
together them times for I had taken a fancy to
the youngster, an’ be to .me.
' “One day when I came into camp from a
tramp alone, a squaw told me that Ka-lis-keJa
had seen a b’ar doWn in the deep canyon, an’
that, as his gun was out of fix. he had. gone ar-
ter it with nothin’ but his knife. Of course I
knew that the boy wouldn’t be now h’ar with a
grizzly in the condition be “for, so I put of! fer
the canyon to help him bag his game.

“ lt war gittin’ dark when Igot to the gulch,
but I knew the ou'ngster war ahead of me, fer
I had noticed h s moocasin-tracks‘in the ground
whar it war soft. The high walls of the canyon
seemed to reach to the skies. In many places
they war as bare as my hand, but elsewhar a
few bushes war growin’ from the cracks, with
no earth at all at their roots.

“ Wai, I looked everywhar fer Ka—lis—ke—la,
for, as the ground had become hard, I had lost
his trail; but not a ha’r could I see of the young
Shoshone. I got to the middle of the canyon
whar tbar wara big bowlder like the one we
saw our first grizzly on, boys—the one Jack
shot. I stopped thar, an” presently got up on
the stone to wait awhile for the One-Armed, fer
I kneW‘he would have to come that way goin’
back to camp. Night came on an’ found me
thar, but a full moon war in the sky right above
me, an‘ the old canyon wasn’t such a dreary
place arter all.

“ I waited an’ waited, but Ka-lis—ke-la didn’t
come. At last I dropped to sleep, suthin’ I never
did store in Vibe grizzly kentry when I war on a
hunt; but thar I sat on the big bowlder, sound
aslee like a greeney.

“ ll at once, Great Jehosaphatl I war sent
flyin’ from the stone b suthin’ that seemed to
flatten my head an’ .w en I 1picked myself up
about twenty-live feet off,
grizzly that ever made a track, standin’ on
the bowlder on his hind feet, lsughin’ at my
tumble. His impudence made me mad, an’
then I war ashamed of myself fer lettin’
him steal such a march on me. Thar he stood,
full in thermoonshine which made him look big—
ger than he really war, perhaps, an' the worst
of it war th t my rifle lay at the foot of the
rock, leavin’ me with no weapon in my belt
but a knife whose handle were loose.

“ I hadn’t much time in which to decide what
I war goin’ to‘do, fer all at once the rizzly
gave a growl which said, ‘Look out, allow-
stone! I’m comin’1’an’ down he jumped, an’
came straight at me with his mouth ii an’
his eyes on fire. as Ididn’ stan’t st' a sec-
ond arter that, to? had no business wbar that
old bunker war, so I turned an’ out dirt with all
my might. .

‘I used to run a good streak up in the Sho-
shone kentry them ays, an’ I resolved to show
the grizzly that be war no match fer Oll Pardee,
but somehow-another, the old fellow war so
plied with leg machinery equal to mine. a
cl‘ared ground at a rate that war a caution, an’
I managed to kee about three feet ahead of
the bar for save hundred yards. I wore a
close fittin’ jackct that night, but one of the
chief’s daughters had trimmed it with long
fringe to make it look fancy. Wal, I soon lost
that fringe, for the b’ar got so close that he tore
it ofl' with his teeth, which r'iled me more than

ver.

“I don’t know how that race would have
ended it I had not stumbled. All of a sudden,
down I went, an’ Old Ephraim pitched headlong
over me to pick himself up a piece off, looking
as foolish as I did; and ab ut as hand. He
didn’t ionitend to leave me, for he came back. an’
I turn an’ bolted toward the bowlder from
which he had knocked me with one of his side
wipers. .

“You may b’lieve that Lhad suthin’ to run
for now, {er I war goin’ toward my rifle, an’ the
h’ar seemed to know it. He came on fully de-
tarmined that I should not finish the tussle with
aload ill, while I had made up my mind to

, stop it n no other way.
|

B dint of the hardest runnin‘ I ever did in
my ii a I got to the stone with the grizzly ri ht

at my heels; but the rifle warn’t tharl t,

war no time for conjecturiu’ vwhat had become

saw the biggest _

 

15

of it, an', madder than ever. I whipped out my
knife. broke as it war, an’ turned on-the b’arl

“My turnin’ seemed to take the old bunker
by surprise, but it didn’t last long. line got up
on his hind feet an’ we went at it. It warn’t
my first b’ar-fight, of; I soon thought it war
goin’ tobe my last. . he first blow I made with
that knife, all? went the handle, just asIhad
expected, an’ the b’ar and I fell to theground,
what he got in the bug on me in spite of all I
could do. I felt my shoulder give way, then
my sides seemed to fall in, an’ Isays, ‘Good—
by, Oil Pardee.’ , .

" But just at that moment I heard the crack
of a rifle that nearly split my ears, an’ the
warm blood of the h’ar poured over my face.
That war all I knqwed until I came toag’in,
when I saw a sight that I see at this very min-
ute just as if it war in reality before my 9 es.

“About three feet from me lay the War, end
as a door-nail, an’ between histforo" feet war
Ka-liS-ke—la, the Injun boy, all ma ed up an’
dead, too. Ithen knowed that the, no 1' _
had taken my rifle an’ left in pursuit of , _
b’ar with it, but had come back in time tom»
my life and lose his’n. Of course he didn‘t kill
Old Eph when he shot, for the monster-bad
grappled him an’ killed ’im aforo he went un—
der. I don’t know how the. news of that fight
ever got to camp, but the Injuns told me'atter-
ward ihat I fetched it myself, an‘that'Ka-lis-
ke~la came when I did, of be war dead. I
must have carried the boy with me. »

“'When we skinned the grizzly we wra ped
the One—Armed in the peltan’ buried him ‘ the
canyon, under the big bowlder. Iused. to
thar once a year an’ sit on the rock an’ think of
him, but since I left the Shoshone kentry for
good I haven’t visited the place. - ,

“ That’s how I ran from a grizzly once. ‘ It‘s
no disgrace to show the white feather under
such Circumstances. boys. I would have given
one of my arms if Ka-lis—ke-la had come out of
the tussle with his life, but I guess it warth to
be that way, an’ I had no right to murmur. I
will say this for him: A braver young Injun
never ,carried a heart behind a red skin. I

‘don't except any warrior that ,walks the

grnund." ' -

Thus ended the last an: destined to be spun
within the precincts of bite Buffalo Camp, for
the next day traps and everything pet’rainin
to a hunter’s equipment were packed, and wit
three parting cheers the young New Yorkers
turned their faces homeward.

Burnt Arrow and his braves accompanied
them beyond the Blackfoot region, and than de-
parted on their way with a number of presents.

Rocky Dave was induced to visit the East
with the New York Nimrods, but he did not en-
joy himself. The Adirondacks, he said, were
foothills compared with the magnificent Rock-
1

es.

He'soon returned to his old trappin nd,
Where; let us hope, he will not meet 01 wa,
the Blackfoot vixen who rendered his captivity
unendurable.

We have not narmted all the exploits of the
boy-hunters in Grizzly Land, but have taken
from among the niany a few which they doubt-
less consider the most thrilling. '

Yellowstone 011 still inhabits the wild region
of the far ~Northwest, havin retumed _ to it
after taking leave of the boy imrods.

Jack rizes‘ his white buffalo-hide above all
the tro ies that he brought from the Rockies.
but he never looks at it without recalling with
a shudder the terrible event that followed its
capture. ~ 2 .

Tom has a bear-skin and several pairs of
buck-horns to remind him of his adventures in
the Rockies, and Hiram has decorated his study
with some trophies of the chase.

Here we take leave of the Young Hunters of
Grizzly Laud. ' r

m m.

 

Sunnyside Library.

 

 

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1 Adventure. of Buflhlo Bill. Prom Boyhood to Man
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2 The Ocean Huntem; or, The Chase of the Leviathan. A
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An infra large nmnber. fl

3 ventures of Wild Bill. the Pistol Prince. Remarkable
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The Prairie Ranch; or, The Young Cattle Borders. By Joe.
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Tom Jack. the Mustang . Thrilling Adventures in
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Cruise of the Plyawnga or, Yankee Boys in Ceylon. By C.
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Joe: The History of a Young “ Border Ruffian.” Brie!

Scenes from the Life of Joseph E. Badger. Jr. By A. H. Post.
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10 The Snow Trail; or, The Boy Hunters of Fur~Land. A Narra-
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l 1 Old Grizzly Adams, the Bear Tamer; or, The Monarch of
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12 Woods and Waters; or, The Exploits of the Littieton Gun
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18 A Rolling Stone: Incidents in the Career on Sea and Land as
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14 Adrift on the Prairie, and Amateur Hunters on the
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16 Red River Rovers ; or, Life and Adventures in the Northwest.

17 Plaza. and Plain; or, Wild Adventures of “Buckskin Sam,”
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Wide-Awake George, the BoyPioneer; or, Life in :1 Log

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Custer, from est Point to the Big Horn. Bv Capt. F. Whittaker.

Bl Deadwood Dick as 3. Bo ; or, Why Wild Ned Harris, the New

22 The Boy Exich of Siberia; or, The Watch-Dog of Russia.
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Snow-Shoe Tom; or, New York Boys in the Wilderness. A
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27 Yellow Hair, the Boy Chief of the Pawnees.
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29 The Fortune-Hunter; or. Roving Joe as Miner, Cow‘Boy,
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30

Buffalo Range. By 011 Coornoe.
15 Kit Carson, of Guides ; or, Mountain Paths and
By C. Dunning Clark.
(Major Sam 8. Hall.) By Col. Prentiss Ingraham. .
18 Rifle and Revolver: or, The Litileton Gun Club on the
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The Dashin Dragoon; or, The Story of General George A.
England Farmland, became 8 Western Prince 0! the Road. By
Edward L. Wheeler. ’
28 Paul De Lacy. the French Beast Charmer: or, New
York Boys in the Jungle-l. By C. Dunning Clark.
25 Round the Com Fire 3 or. Snow-Bound at “Freeze—out Camp.”
A Tale of Roving 0e and his Hunter Pnrds. By Joe. E. Badger, Jr.
26
The Ad-
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Walt Ferguson's Cruise. A Tale of the Antarctic Sea. By
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32 White Beaver, the Indian Medicine Chief z or, The Ro-
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33 Captain Ralph, the Young Explorer; or, The Centipede
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35 The Lost Boy Whalers : or. in the Shadow of the North Pole.
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36 Smart Sim. the Lad with a Level Head; or, Two Boys
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37 Old Tar Knuckle and His Boy Chums: or, The Monsters
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38 The Settler’s Son; at, Adventures in Wilderness and Clear»
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39 Night-Hawk George, and His Daring Deeds and Adventures
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43 Bronco Billy. the Saddle Prince. By Colonel Prentiss
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52 Honest Harry; or, The Country Boy Adrift in the City. By
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53 The'Boy Detectives: or, The Young Californians in Shanghai.
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54 California Joe, the Mysterious Plainsmnn.

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55 Harry Sonnets, the Sailor-Boy Magician. By S. W. Pearce.

56 Nobody’s Boys; or, Lite Among the Gipsiee. By J. M. Hoff
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58 Lame Tim, the Mule Boy of the Mines; or, Life Among the
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59 Lud monheexa, the Young Tiger Fighter. By Roger Sterbuck.

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