His Christian life was truly most exemplary, his morals the purest, and his principles the noblest, while unostentatious religion truly seemed a part and parcel of his being. He was never arrogant or obtrusive, but all pervading and firm as the Rock upon which his faith was founded.

As a friend he was warm-hearted, steadfast and true and as the magnet to the pole. As a public and private citizen his character was above reproach. His many virtues will ever be emulated, his goodness of heart and head, and his numerous deeds of charity and love will ever be remembered with profound gratitude.

To see him was to admire him, to meet him was to respect him and to know him was to love and honor him. His public services were not less patriotic than his private virtues were conspicuous.

The former are monuments to his wisdom and honest statesmanship, and will ever be viewed by his admiring people as stars in the firmament of their nation.

His life illustrates the possibilities of a Choctaw citizen meriting and receiving the entire confidence, respect and love of his people, whom he long and faithfully served in the capacity of a public servant. The respect and admiration of all the white people who knew him was evident everywhere. He died full of years, well spent, at the home of a friend, October 15, 1886, living a few miles from his own, whom he was visiting. His death was sudden and unexpected, he falling dead from his chair while at the supper table.

His lamp was well trimmed and full of oil, waiting for his Master's call. "Blessed is the death of the righteous."

The death of Basil LeFlore thinned the then sadly thinned ranks of the few noble old Choctaw men, whose history, if it had been written, would be strangely beautiful and far more interesting and fascinating than the most thrilling fiction, since in it were hidden romantic truths of which the "pale face" never dreamed, or will ever know.

The LeFlores told an amusing incident that took place a short time after their arrival at their ranch with the cattle.

A little yearling had strayed from the herd. It so happened that three Choctaw hunters soon after pitched their camp a few miles from the newly established cattle ranch, being entirely ignorant of its near proximity, and also of the new animals just introduced into their hunting grounds.

One day, as usual, the three hunters left their camps for a hunt, each taking his course yet keeping near each other.

During the day one of them discovered the yearlings slowly emerging from a little plat of cane; to him a wonderful beast. Unseen by the lonely calf, he stood, gazed and wondered. Naught like that had ever been seen upon his hunting ground before. What was it, whence had it come and how, baffled the wildest flights of even conjecture. 'Twas nor a deer, nor a panther, nor a yellow wolf. Must he signal for his companions? It might flee, must he shoot? He might only wound and cause it to attack, and then what? But he raised his trusty rifle and brought it to bear upon the unsuspecting calf; at that moment he discovered that it was eating grass similar to his native deer: at once his fears were allayed and he concluded not to kill but to capture the prodigy, and take it alive to his camp as a living wonder.

Setting his gun against a tree, he bolted for the calf; which, hearing the approaching footsteps, raised its head, gazed a moment, and seeing the fast approaching and equally strange object, at once gave the signal for a test of speed by elevating its rear appendage to an angle of forty-five degrees and the race began; the pursued for the realities of life and the pursuer for that of curiosity. Hither and thither, helter skelter, round and round, here at right angles, and there at scute; now in a circle, and then in a semi-circle; over logs and through bushes, the astonished calf, with head straight out, nostrils expanded, led his indefatigable and indefeasible pursuer.

Finally the physical endurance of a Choctaw hunter proved superior to that of a city calf; for he now ran but a few feet behind his coveted prize. But alas for human hopes. With a desperate spring in which were centered all his hopes, he made a grab at the tail of the despairing calf which then dropped at twenty-two and a half; when, seemingly to comprehend his design, the calf gave it a vigorous twitch as it leaped a treacherous log that lay concealed in the grass, over which he tumbled headlong to the ground.

The lucky calf, comprehending the advantage offered, again raised its flag to forty-five and with invigorated strength increased its speed and was soon out of sight.

With hopes blighted, the unfortunate hunter crawled up to a sitting position and commenced to rub his bruised and painful knee, when he discovered that the whole top of the knee moved hither and thither at his slightest push, a thing untaught in his book of anatomy, and at once he concluded that his leg was fearfully shattered. He whooped to his comrades, who, happening to be near and hearing his call, hastened to his side. They also upon close examination of his wounded limb, arrived at the same conclusion with the supposed injured man, when the two LeFlores and Durant, searching for the strayed yearling, rode up. Taking in the situation at a glance, after a few words of inquiry, they soon explained the anatomy of the human knee to the three hunters by showing them that the moving of the kneecap was common to all and did not denote a broken bone.

Being thoroughly convinced of its truth, the fallen man arose to his feet, gave a brief account of his adventure, pointed the direction in which the strange beast had disappeared; and the three Choctaw deer hunters and the three white calf hunters, soon found the wanderer and safely placed it again within the fold. Then the three Choctaw hunters returned to their forest camp to talk over the adventures of the day as well as the knowledge gained regarding the new animal introduced, whose flesh was equal, if not superior, to that of their famous deer, and also of the addition to their knowledge in osteology.