06 Stampede!

Chapter 06 Stampede! “ Wow, ” whispered Jack and Annie together. Black Hawk looked silently at the grazing buffalo. “ Hand me the research book, ” said Jack. Annie lifted Teddy out of the bag. Then she slid the book out and gave it to Jack. He found a picture of a buffalo herd. He read to himself.

The true name of the buffalo is “ bison. ” At the beginning of the 1800s, there were 40 million bison on the Great Plains. One hundred years later, there were less than 300. Almost all had been killed by white hunters and soldiers. Jack looked back at the vast herd. As far as he could see, there was nothing but buffalo.

Now Jack knew for certain they’d come to the time before the white settlers and soldiers had arrived, before the end of the great buffalo herds. “ I have been on many hunts, ” Black Hawk said, his eyes still on the buffalo. “ Were you scared?” said Jack. Black Hawk shook his head. “ You’re really brave, ” said Annie. Black Hawk smiled proudly. “ I will show you how a brave hunter moves, ” he said. He slid off his pony. “ Wait, your grandmother said not to hunt, ” said Annie. “ Plus, you don’t have your wolf suit. ” “ I am not afraid, ” said Black Hawk. “ I don’t think you should go down there, ” said Jack. “ There’s no grownups around. ”

But Black Hawk wasn’t listening. He began creeping on all fours toward the buffalo. “ I have a feeling something bad is going to happen, ” said Annie. Jack had the same feeling. He looked back at the book. A bison can weigh two thousand pounds and stand six feet high. If one becomes alarmed by a hunter, he might start running and set off a terrifying stampede. Jack looked back at Black Hawk. He was creeping closer and closer to the herd. Jack’s heart pounded. He wanted to shout, Come back! But he didn’t want to scare any of the huge, fierce-looking animals.

Keeping his eyes on Black Hawk, Jack handed the plains book to Annie. She slid it back into the bag beside Teddy. Black Hawk stopped just as he was passing the nearest buffalo. His eyes squeezed shut. His nose wrinkled up. His mouth opened. “ What’s he doing?” asked Jack. “ Ah-ah-CHOO! ” Black Hawk sneezed. “ Uh-oh, ” said Annie. The huge buffalo jerked its head up. It made a low, moaning sound. Then it pointed its horns and charged! “ Watch out! ” cried Jack. Black Hawk threw himself out of the way of the charging buffalo. A ripple went through the herd as other shaggy animals looked up.