Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 52 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

The White Buffalo. —— rrr - —_ asked for a ride, I have no doubt that Captain | Bennett—but, you didn’t—and heaven—” | how the prize was to be kept. By morning, at The words were checked in his mouth. With | least, he would be rested, and very likely would his eyes fixed upon the spot, where he knew the | lumber away in pursuit of his companions. steamer was laboring along, he saw a sudden | What, therefore, was to be done? and awful expansion of fire and flame, like the | So great was the anxiety of Jabez on this first belching overflow of the crater’s mouth, | point that he forgot his own clothes were satu- followed by a thunderous boom that reached to | rated, and the night was quite cool. His only the very clouds. There were red, radiating | thought was how to prevent the buffalo from es- lines from one sun-like focus, shooting far up | caping him in the morning. in the air, then the sound of bodies dropping in | he only method that suggested itsilf was to the water, awful shrieks of agony, and then all | tame him, and he began that at once, although was still. with very crude ideas as to the proper course to The boiler had exploded with irresistible | pursue. The buffalo seemed about dropping off force, and the steamer was no more. to sleep. »Hastily plucking some succulent grass For a few moments, Jabez Spikes lay hushed | growing near, Spikes placed it to the mouth of and motionless on his float. ‘Then he drew a | the animal. At first it paid no heed; then it sith. started, as if about to rise, and then began “That there excursion, considered as a real | munching the food. square excursion upon the part of Lo, I think | ‘He’s hungry—the Phenomenon is hungry,” may be pronounced a failure.” concluded the delighted Jabez. ‘‘ There’s noth- It was now time for Jabez to think about | ing like hunger to tame a phenomenon. That’s himself. Unfortunately he found, as the sky | the way my mother used to tame her little phe- gradually lightened, that he was close to the | nomenon, Jabez.” eastern bank, and as he wished to reach the west- The sky grew clearer and brighter each mo- ern, so as to try and hunt up his friends, he had | ment, and finally the moon and stars showed nearly the whole breadth of the broad river to | themselves. By their light he continued gather- cross before he could accomplish that. ing the grass, which, fortunately, grew very But he was truly thankful for his wonderful | luxuriantly about him. deliverance, and he set to work with a will; but | He gathered food, and the buffalo ate, and it he made slow progress. The current carried him | displayed a healthy 2 gman The more it ate vapidly downward, and he approached the west- | the hungrier it seemed to grow, until even Jabez | But the great question, as we have said, was crn bank at a very tardy rate indeed, ‘“Gmger! what’s up now?’ he suddenly ex- began to feel some surprise. ‘That Phenomenon is hollow, I su , and ‘* And it was a brave act in you,” added Adri- enne, Mag? tthe eyes, for she really liked the eccentric Yankee. ‘* Wasn’t that massacre awful?’ he exclaimed. ‘‘ It makes me shudder all over to think of it.” ‘* And what a wonderful escape you had.” ‘* T did, and I thank God for it!” replied Jabez, as he uncovered his head, and looked reverentl upward. ‘I didn’t deserve such mercy, and shall never forget it.” ri ol - ow it ro happened.” ‘** Well, begin at the beginning.” eee. Sam Jabez proceeded to relate in de- tail what has already been given to the reader. It was a thrilling recital, and hero and heroine listened with rapt attention to its close. - The dreadful deaths of Captain Bennett and his crew hung like a ye over them, and oppressed them at times with an ble sadness. But all were young, and a natural reaction re- sulted. There were times when all threw off this incubus, and were their natural selves in. ‘*How extraordinary that you should have captured the very white buffalo, about which ou have so often dreamed, and for which you fave so often sighed.” ‘* Yes, that «s queer,” assented Jabez; ‘I made a grab at his tail, as he was passing, and there he is!” The subject of the discourse was standing some distance back of them, quietly as the grass, with an indifference of manner tha looked as if he were not aware of the presence of human beings so near him. -_—-— i / claimed, as in the dim light he saw a number of | it looks as though I shall have to f it a week ‘* Why doesn’t he run away?” asked Adrienne, dark bodies moving through the water all about | before it gets enough. When I show it through | with some perplexity. : him. _ the country, it will take something to keep it in ‘* Because the Phenomenon is tamed.” . At first he thought he was among a lot of In- | good condition.” ‘“Tamed already?’ asked the lieutenant, in | dians, but the next moment discovered that he | | Spikes improved his opportunity to the utmost. surprise. lad drifted down among a number of buffaloes | Every time he brought a bundle of grass he ‘Just look; Pll show you. Here, Phenom- . that were swimming across the river. ventured to pat the monster on the head. It | enon!” | They were few in number and were going | was dis to resent this familiarity at first; Jabez made a chirruping noise, such as is com- from the eastern to the western bank. Jabez | but there really seemed to be a great deal of the a horse. The mon when one wishes to hurry a tam observed that they were going much faster than | magnetic Rarey-like power inthe man. He had | buffalo instantly raised his head and looked in- | ( he could, and a brilliant idea struck him. He | been noted at home for his wonderful skill in | quiringly at him. He beckoned with his hand > would make one of them tow him! breaking and training the most obdurate and | for the bull to approach. It did so, and paused | Slipping off his raft, he made a grab at the | vicious horses, and henow exerted himself tothe | only a foot or two in front of him. | tail of the very last one, and caught it, The utmost to conquer this white buffalo. Never be- tanding motionless, Spikes then began mov- / buffalo gave a snort of alarm, pa turned his | fore had he such an object in doing as much. ing in a circle, walking backward, and signaling rate, but | Precisely how it was accomplished we cannot | to the brute to do the same. It obeyed with a Spikes hung fast. | ‘Go ahead, old fellow! I don’t want to hurt | rou, h He was towed through the water at a swift | ; rate, but, swift as it was, the trammeled animal | could not keep up with his mates, and soon was say, no more than could the novice explain how it was that the great horse-king was able to lead that equine fiend, Cruiser, by a wisp of straw laced in the mouth that had delighted in human lood more than in his natural food. readiness which, to say the least, was extraordi- ets He frequently changed his course, when the bull promptly did the same. Then, at an- other wave of the hand, it lay down like a dog at the word of his trainer. | head, and plunged along at af —_ ~~ ~ 5 xs —_ ? => ---—--~ —— em ee ) 4 * » wrt » left out of sight behind them. The river was broad, and it was a long time before the buffalo reached land; but, at last, his large body, drippin sur and walk slowly ashore, Jabez still clinging to his *‘ narrative. ** Ginger !” he exclaimed in breathless amaze- ment, ‘‘ is it ible?” Could he that had towed him ashore was a WHITE BUFFA- LO}! CHAPTER XII, PERILOUS WANDERINGS. with water, rose above the | teresting e pleasant one. upon him, and his incessant motion had pre- vented any bad consequences following his sub- But when morning dawned Jabez Spikes was the victor. He had subdued the great buf- falo so that it was as pliant in his hands as the obedient child under the discipline of its father. He made himself certain of this by several in- riments. At his bidding, the buf- falo rose to his feet, and followed him round in 'a circle, and then ata wave of his hand, he lay | down upon the ground. Its great brown eyes lieve his eyes? Yes, the animal | seemed to look at his captor with a real | ing affection. yearn- e@ sun was up, and the day was a clear The clothes of Spikes had dried To say that Jabez Spikes was pleased would | mergence in the chilly water but feebly express his emotions. Such an un- expected piece of good fortune, following close ou his great mishap, produ its natural re- action, and for a time he could scarcely speak. Ginger!” he finally gasped, “‘ ’'ve been hunt- ing that Phenomenon, and now the Phenomenon | has come to me!” Yes; it was a veritable white buffalo; there was sufficient light in the sky for him to make sure of that. The great question now was as to how he was to keep the animal, and what he was to do to prevent its running away. He now had it by che tail, but how long could he hold it thus? It was evident that the buffalo was very much exhausted, for, after slowly carrying its huge, dripping body out of the water for a short di tance, without paying the least heed to him who was following so close in its rear, it sunk down upon the ground, breathing like an animal that hadn’t to do any thing else. “Ginger! I hope he ain’t going to die,” ex- claimed Jabez, in no little alarm; ‘ that would be too bad, after ing him.” A few minutes, however, showed the true cause of this act, and the Yankee was not a little | relieved. All the other animals had fled, so that man and beast were left alone together. Jabez con- | cluded from the action of the white buffalo that | in it was quite an aged animal, from the fact that it showed such extreme exhaustion, undoubted-_ - ly caused by towing him ashore. _I have you,” he mused, as he _ at the buffalo blamed sight hungrier than I am now before I He was in good spirits, but terribly hungry. ‘* There’s no danger of my starving as long as used and looked ‘but, ginger! I will have to bea would shoot you.’ He carefully drew the wet charge from his _gun,and as carefully reloaded it, so as to be ready for any emergency, and then he debated seriously as to the next step. His anxiety was to discover Lieutenant Putnam and Adrienne, who, he knew, must be somewhere in the neigh- borhood at no great distance. ‘* Ady is a purty nice kind ofa girl, and when she finds I’ve caught the Phenomenon of the West, I gu inger! what’s that?” Something like a laugh struck upon his ear, and turning his head, he saw Lieutenant Put- ae and Adrienne McHavens standing behind im, ‘*'We are glad to see ou, ” said the officer, as he reached out his hand; “ you have been ex- tremely fortunate in escaping so well.” ‘Yes; you should be than ind ” added our heroine, as she put her delicate white hand in his. ‘Ginger! this pleases me,” grinned Jabez, at the warmth of the salutation. “Tell us all about it,” added the lieutenant, a serious voice. ‘‘I was watching the boat and saw Sig when you warned us to keep back.” ‘You heard me, then, did you?’ “Yes, plainly.” | finished, Finally he dismissed it with another wave of his hand, and it resumed its browsing of the grass. Adrienne clapped her hands with delight. ** How did you do it?” “2 — tell,” replied Ja ba ner, ‘‘I su ¢ itis a natur ift of mine.” “Tt eat Gx tae: * 4 ‘** Now, wait till I get him héme! Won’t I be a hero? Won’t Mary Ann Stiggens tear all her hair out, when she sees me coming into the vil- lage, a-sitting on the top of my box-wagon, with the Phenomenon of the Great West?” S The only difficulty now is to get him in his lofty man- wy . ‘*Ginger! have you got any thing to eat?” suddenly demanded Jabez; ‘ eesttiate tremen- dous holler in me that wants filling up!” ‘Yes; we have just breakfasted, and have a good lunch left,” replied the lieutenant. ‘I am gee Ican give you something.” ‘**So am I, you bet!” Lieutenant Putnam had laid aside what he thought would be an abundance for dinner for himself and companion; but, when Jabez had not a particle was left! ‘* Don’t suppose you’ve got any more?’ he asked, with longing looks. “Not a bit; perhaps we can shoot another buffalo,” laughed our hero, “and you might manage to finish your meal off of him—that is, if he were a pretty ized one.” ‘No, thank you, I can wait tillnoon. Well, I s'pose it’s time we started on our tramp.” ‘* And which way -—— = 4% The onl ting possible 0 seemed to be to attempt i reach Colonel McHavens and his party,as a retreat to the States was out of the question. As near as they could conjecture, three or four more days’ journey would take them to the neighborhood of the exploring party. There was but one means of counting upon reachin them, and that was by keeping the cae direction of the Yellowstone. : There was no little peril to be encountered in doing this, for the ferocious red-skins were all around them, and they could only hope, through the kindness of Providence and their own unre- Eomicbooks.: _—= =“. _-