alila's father has been on several buffalo hunts, but never yet has he allowed his boy to go with him. he says it is far too dangerous; the little boy must wait until he is older. but it is so hard to wait, alila thinks, as he longs for the time to come and looks up at the pair of horns brought home from the last hunt.
the horns are very long and curved and sharp. the boy often wonders if there is another animal in the world with such fearful horns. he says to himself:
"perhaps the very buffalo who owned this pair was the one that gored to death poor olo." alila stretched himself on the ground,[34] closed his eyes, and again pictured the story in his mind. this is the tale:
in the village just below the plantation there lived a young man who was honest and brave but very poor. it happened that he loved the daughter of a neighbour very dearly and she returned his love. but the youth had no money and no land, and at first the girl's father said:
"no, you cannot have my daughter, for you can give her no wedding portion."
it is the custom among these people for the lover to give his bride as fine a present as her parents think suitable. the young man felt very sad, when an idea entered his mind that gave him hope. he said to the father:
"can i not come to your farm and serve you for two years? and if i then show myself faithful in all my duties, will you give me your daughter?"
the father consented. it was a very common[35] thing for such service to be given, and he felt satisfied.
the two years passed by. the young man had worked day after day at the hardest labour. he had never spoken a cross word nor found the slightest fault. but now that his service was over and the day set for his marriage, he wished to show the father of the lovely girl how brave he was, and he wanted to make his bride some little present, too.
he heard that a party of men, one of whom was alila's father, were going on a buffalo hunt. he would join them. it was to be his first venture of this kind, but he had no fear.
the party was made up of six men on horseback, two tame buffaloes, and a pack of immense dogs used to hunting. the men were armed with knives and spears and each one carried a lasso.
they started in the early morning and rode out over the plains till they came to the edge[36] of a large forest. there they waited at some little distance from an opening through the trees while the dogs were sent into the forest to rouse the prey. they had only a short time to wait before the barking of the dogs was heard.
they took their places some distance from each other and listened breathless. the young lover was to be given the first chance in this combat. a bull-fight is fearful enough, but it cannot compare with the struggle between a maddened buffalo and his pursuer.
hark! there is a crashing of trees, a falling of branches. the ground shakes and out from the darkness of the forest plunges a huge buffalo. he raises a storm of dust as he comes onward. he is shining black, and as he tosses his head one can see the wicked horns, capable of doing such terrible injury.
for an instant he pauses and looks at the[37] men standing ready to capture him; then he rushes toward the young man, who now has the chance he begged for. with lasso in hand he urges his horse toward the buffalo.
it is over in a moment's time. he has hurled his lasso but has failed; and before he can move out of danger the furious animal has thrown him from his horse and ended his life.
but the other hunters cannot stop a second. they, too, will lose their lives if they are not careful and quick. one after another gallops after the enraged animal and throws his lasso. there are several failures, but each time the men manage to escape. at last two are successful, and the monster, hardly able to breathe, stands quiet and still.
he is conquered. and now other lassos are drawn tightly around that magnificent head and the animal is tied to the stout trunk of a tree. the danger is over for these others, but the poor youth who longed so greatly to succeed[38] lies dead not far away. he will never see his dear one again.
the men lift his body tenderly and carry it to the place where the tame buffaloes have been left. they place it on the back of one of them. then they return to their prey and fasten a rattan ring through his nose. with one of the tame buffaloes on each side of him, he can now be easily led to the village, where they will kill him.
all the people came out to meet the hunters, and, when they heard the sad news, all hearts were filled with pity for the young bride.
