The Indians came to a halt, and one of them came
forward alone. He reached Captain Bonneville and his men just as they
were dismounting and about to post themselves. A few words dispelled all
uneasiness. It was a party of twenty-five Bannack Indians, friendly to
the whites, and they proposed, through their envoy, that both parties
should encamp together, and hunt the buffalo, of which they had
discovered several large herds hard by. Captain Bonneville cheerfully
assented to their proposition, being curious to see their manner of
hunting.
Both parties accordingly encamped together on a convenient spot, and
prepared for the hunt. The Indians first posted a boy on a small hill
near the camp, to keep a look-out for enemies. The "runners," then,
as they are called, mounted on fleet horses, and armed with bows and
arrows, moved slowly and cautiously toward the buffalo, keeping as much
as possible out of sight, in hollows and ravines. When within a proper
distance, a signal was given, and they all opened at once like a pack
of hounds, with a full chorus of yells, dashing into the midst of the
herds, and launching their arrows to the right and left. The plain
seemed absolutely to shake under the tramp of the buffalo, as they
scoured off. The cows in headlong panic, the bulls furious with rage,
uttering deep roars, and occasionally turning with a desperate rush upon
their pursuers. Nothing could surpass the spirit, grace, and dexterity,
with which the Indians managed their horses; wheeling and coursing among
the affrighted herd, and launching their arrows with unerring aim.
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