Informal Chapters on Painters, Vaudeville, and Poets

Adventures in the Far West, by
W.H.G. Kingston

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Title: Adventures in the Far West
Author: W.H.G. Kingston
Release Date: June 19, 2007 [EBook #21871]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

Adventures in the Far West
by W.H.G. Kingston.
CHAPTER ONE.

"I say, didn't you hear a cry?" exclaimed Charley Fielding, starting up
from the camp fire at which we were seated discussing our evening
meal of venison, the result of our day's hunting. He leaned forward in
the attitude of listening. "I'm sure I heard it! There it is again, but
whether uttered by Redskin or four-footed beast is more than I can
say."
We all listened, but our ears were not as sharp as Charley's, for we
could hear nothing.
"Sit down, Charley, my boy, and finish your supper. It was probably
fancy, or maybe the hoot of an owl to its mate," said our jovial
companion, Dick Buntin, who never allowed any matter to disturb him,
if he could help it, while engaged in stowing away his food.
Dick had been a lieutenant in the navy, and had knocked about the
world in all climes, and seen no small amount of service. He had lately
joined our party with Charley Fielding, a fatherless lad whom he had
taken under his wing.
We, that is Jack Story and myself, Tom Rushforth, had come out from
England together to the far west, to enjoy a few months' buffalo
hunting, deer stalking, grizzly and panther shooting, and beaver
trapping, not to speak of the chances of an occasional brush with the
Redskins, parties of whom were said to be on the war-path across the
regions it was our intention to traverse, though none of us were inclined
to be turned aside by the warnings we had received to that effect from
our friends down east.
We had been pushing on further and further west, gaining experience,
and becoming inured to the fatigues and dangers of a hunter's life.
Having traversed Missouri and Kansas, though we had hitherto met
with no adventures worthy of note, we had that evening pitched our
camp in the neighbourhood of Smoky-hill fork, the waters of which,
falling into the Arkansas, were destined ultimately to reach the far-off
Mississippi.
We had furnished ourselves with a stout horse apiece, and four mules to

carry our stores, consisting of salt pork, beans, biscuit, coffee, and a
few other necessaries, besides our spare guns, ammunition, and the
meat and skins of the animals we might kill.
Having, a little before sunset, fixed on a spot for our camp, with a
stream on one side, and on the other a wood, which would afford us
fuel and shelter from the keen night air which blew off the distant
mountains, we had unsaddled and unpacked our horses and mules, the
packs being placed so as to form a circular enclosure about eight paces
in diameter.
Our first care had been to water and hobble our animals, and then to
turn them loose to graze, when we considered ourselves at liberty to
attend to our own wants. Having collected a quantity of dry sticks, we
had lighted our fire in the centre of the circle, filled our water-kettle,
and put on our meat to cook. Our next care had been to arrange our
sleeping places. For this purpose we cut a quantity of willows which
grew on the banks of the stream hard by, and we each formed a
semi-circular hut, by sticking the extremities of the osier twigs into the
ground, and bending them over so as to form a succession of arches.
These were further secured by weaving a few flexible twigs along the
top and sides of the framework, thus giving it sufficient stability to
support the saddle-cloths and skins with which we covered them. By
placing our buffalo-robes within, we had thus a comfortable and warm
bed-place apiece, and were better protected from the fiercest storm
raging without than we should have been inside a tent or ordinary hut.
Though this was our usual custom when materials were to be found,
when not, we were content to wrap ourselves in our buffalo-robes, with
our saddles for pillows.
All arrangements having been made, we sat down with keen appetites,
our backs to our respective huts, to discuss the viands which had been