The Boy Hunters | Page 7

need, to draw sustenance from plants and trees, from
roots and fruits--to find resources where ignorant men might starve.
They knew how to kindle a fire without either flint, steel, or detonating
powder. They could discover their direction without a compass--from
the rocks, and the trees, and the signs of the heavens; and, in addition to
all, they had been taught, as far as was then known, the geography of
that vast wilderness that stretched from their own home to the far
shores of the Pacific Ocean.
The Colonel knew that he might safely trust them upon the prairies; and,
in truth, it was with a feeling of pride, rather than anxiety, that he
consented to the expedition. But there was still another motive that
influenced him--perhaps the most powerful of all. He was inspired by
the pride of the naturalist. He thought of the triumph he would obtain
by sending such a rare contribution to the great museum of Europe. If
ever, my young reader, you should become a naturalist, you will
comprehend how strong this feeling may be; and with our
hunter-naturalist it was so.
At first he proposed that Hugot should accompany them. This the boys
would not hear of, and all three stoutly opposed it. They could not think

of taking Hugot--their father would require Hugot at home--Hugot
would be of no use to them, they said. They would do as well, if not
better, without him.
The truth was, that these ambitious young hunters did not wish to be
robbed of any part of the credit of their enterprise--which they knew
would be the case if Hugot were to accompany them. Not that Hugot
was by any means a noted hunter--quite the contrary--nor a warrior
neither, notwithstanding he had been a chasseur a cheval, and wore
such fierce moustachios. All this his old Colonel knew very well; and
therefore did not much insist upon sending Hugot with them.
Hugot's talents shone best in another sphere of action--in the cuisine.
There Hugot was at home, for he could compound an omelette,
fricassee a chicken, or dress a canard aux olives, with Monsieur Soyer
himself. But Hugot--although for many years he had accompanied his
old and young masters in the chase--had no taste whatever for hunting.
He had a wholesome dread of bears and panthers, and as to Indians ...
Ha! Indians!
Now you will wonder, my young friend, when you come to think of
these Indians--when you come to consider that fifty warlike nations of
them live and roam over the prairies--many of them sworn foes to
white men, killing the latter wherever they may meet them, as you
would a mad dog or a poisonous spider,--I say, when you consider
these things, you will wonder that this old French or Corsican father
should consent to let his sons go upon so dangerous an expedition. It
seems unnatural, does it not? In fact, quite improbable, when we come
to reflect that the Colonel dearly loved his three sons, almost as dearly
as his own life. And yet one would say, he could hardly have found a
readier plan to get rid of them, than thus to send them forth among
savages. Upon what, then, did he rely for their safety? On their age? No.
He knew the Indians better than that. He knew very well that their age
would not be cared for, should they chance to fall in with any of the
tribes hostile to the whites. It is true, that the savages might not scalp
them on this account--being boys,--but they would be very certain to
carry them into a captivity from which they might never return. Or did

their father anticipate that the excursion should extend no farther than
the country of some friendly tribe? He entertained no such idea. Had
this been their plan, their errand would have been likely to prove
fruitless. In a country of that sort they would have seen but little of the
buffalo; for it is well-known that the buffaloes are only found in plenty
upon those parts of the prairies termed "war grounds"--that is, where
several tribes go to hunt, who are at war with each other. In fact, that is
the reason why these animals are more numerous there than elsewhere,
as the hunters are fewer, on account of the danger they incur of coming
into collision with each other. In a territory which is exclusively in
possession of any particular tribe, the buffaloes are soon killed or run
off by incessant hunting. It is a fact, therefore, well-known among
prairie-hunters, that wherever buffaloes are plenty there is plenty of
danger as well, though the converse of this is not always true. On the
neutral or "war grounds" of the Indians, you may meet with a friendly