Buffalo Bill: His Life and Adventures in the Wild West — page 25: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a va Bes a Fae ay of | ey ass y startled by scei “his hors Shoons ) prairie. — a ay ae or F. ae Z- - eovere edt ne cause, for over a distant roll ee cor i the prairie a herd of thousands of buffaloes were coming at terrific speed. — ~ One chance of escape alone presented ees and that was a lone cottonwood-tree stan ding ‘some few hundred yards dis- qo ai ; the. ‘praitie® around not another } , visible, and Billy had noticed oo) € } sans . ta for -a shot 1 ti the antelope. At full speed he rushed for the tree and | - hasti ly climbed it, securing a safe seat amid i s branches, while yet the herd was Hi ‘BOI ‘ 1e distance ar away. argh But glancing back over the huge: drove ‘se toh lis horse, he beheld a band of mounted we ‘iors in full chase. ne The -eentre of the herd was headed ne tly for the tree, and the Indians were | es 8 piolfowing that they must come Cy ow ader It. ae Fa Bea eaceile: Billy knew wall hat his tpt uffa lo meat for a human scalp. + oe ose thoug hts flashed through the bos mind, arid he at once decided what he end dew ~~ fo remain was certain death at the bands of the red-skins. | oe We To leave, as he intended, by the means 0 of 6 ia a buffalo was a fearful risk. ti, But he would take it; and accordingly apped. his rifle upon “his back, picked ee t his buffalo, a huge bull, and swinging ae "quickly from a limb, “watched his chance, © Clutehing the long, shaggy mane, he c 4 for dear life, at the same time hold- ng to himself on with his spurs. | sg is ‘addened with fright the bull aurided a to the air, snorting wildly, gored those the 9 advance, and soon led the herd. silly kept his seat nobly, a grim smile a ie 4 vard at the herd and the pursuing So nd: ‘straight for camp went the herd, ‘antil 1 scovered by the train-men, who ha ap 18 core in force to head them off. — ube U-mell into camp they went, 8 tam 0 ig the oxen and _ horses, and ) at ening the men, and Billy began to “ Bat cols) age tired out now, and bed | i SL os ted the rear of the herd, and Waa & g i Ee oh saad Een, seised Semone As + aa Fu 4, a3 nis s lone sentinel as he was creeping up would be. The Indians would give : own race, they rode forward, and, as they and dropped down upon the back of bis. his face, and occasionally glanced | pel that be must keep on his racer clear. 9 | his ve and dropped the buffalo-bull just | _ | as he was running out of camp. | Springing to his feet he: at once dis- - From that day the boy was lnown as a “Buffalo Billy,” a name which was ob- — literated at a later period by “Buffalo Bill,” as we shall, in due sea Tees chronicle, CHAPTER VIIL CAPTURED BY DANITES. ITH the usual adventures, incis dental to a trip across the plains, ; an occasional fight with Indians, and several grand hunts, the train at last arrrived at Green River, in the Rocky Mountains, Billy, Lew Simpson, and another of the train, had dropped back, during the after- noon, for a hunt, and, upon drawing near the place where they were to encamp, were surprised to discover a band of horse- — men coming toward them, whom they ob- | served, however, to be white men. Suspecting no harm from those of their met, were startled to hear— - Up with your hands! You are dead men if you resist !” ‘‘Who are you?” asked Lew SIpEOH 7 angrily, zr oe Smith, the Danite!” was the calm a of that leader. e Danites, or Destroying Angels, me the secret police of the ‘Mormons, who are credited with having massacred whole trains of emigrants who threatened to settle im Mormon territory, to say nothing of individual enemies of that strange faith. “Tf I had known’ you were that accursed scoundrel, I’d have shot you!” growled Lew Simpson. ‘‘Am awtiul glad you did not know it; but, come, you are my prisoners, and your train is in my power,” was the reply, and, upon arriving at the camp, they fou ad that it was but too true, for the boys had not suspected danger from men they had believed a party of United States cavalry. The Danite leader, Joe Smith, then - ordered all that could be packed on horses to be taken, and the waggons set on fire, and told the train-men to set out on foot for Fort Bridger, saying— “You can reach there, but I guess Albert Sydney J ohnson and his troops will never get the supplies.” Tho train was burned, all but one wage gon, which carried ecoiniehs 12m