ii—*i> m» o >f^~ ^ 1 S'WISlM.teKSi &WTILgiei«f* ^ eHMBWief«w«^ UNIVER5ITY OF PITTSBURGH Darlington JVLeinorial J_/ibrary THE SOLITARY HUNTER; OR, SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE PRAIRIES. JOHN PALLISER, ESQ. LONDON: SORGE ROUTLEDGE & CO., FARRINGDON STREET; AND 18, BEEKMAN STREET, NEW YORK. 1856. THE SOLITAM HUNTER; pxWn^ %)iki\hms k tlje ^rTOics, BY JOHN PALLISER, ESQ. • 2t §,z^ ^tiition, ioitfj illustrations. LONDON: G. ROUTLEDGE & CO. EARRINGDON STREET; NEW TOEK: 18, BEEKMAN" STREET. 1857. TO MY BROTHER SPORTSMEN OF ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND, Dear Friends, I WAS induced, on my return from America, to collect the very scanty contents of an imperfect journal, which recorded, for the perusal of a few intimate friends, my experiences of adventure in the far West. These kind critics afterwards tempted me to enlarge the circle of my readers, by many assurances of the indulgence which a courteous public extends towards deficiencies of style and composition in a writer more- accustomed to the use of the rifle and hunting-knife than to that of the pen. In this age of literature, when so many works of imagination are appearing every day, I should despair of such a mere matter-of-fact story finding any place in the attention or interests of the reading world, did I not firmly rely on your sympathies. Without further apology, therefore, I will preface my story by an attempt to give you the benefit of what experience I have acquired in outfitting for distant hunting expeditions, in the hope that it may prove of use to such of you as may contemplate similar excur- sions ; in helping you to provide yourselves with things which are really necessary, and also to avoid burthening Vlll DEDICATION. yourselves with what is cumbersome, and comparatively useless. Of guns, the most valuable and indispensable is the plain, smooth-bore, doubled-barrelled gun, about fourteen to twelve in the bore. Let it be made by a first- rate maker, one who himself superintends the manufac- ture of every portion of his guns ; for, in a country where there are no gunsmiths to run to in case of an accident, the breaking of a trigger or a shear, or the failure of some screw of inferior metal or workmanship, may involve the most serious consequences. I, for my own part, as well as both my brothers, in our numerous hunting expeditions in America, India, and Ceylon, have always used the guns and rifles of Trulock and Son, of Dawson Street, Dublin, which, for accuracy, power, and trustworthiness, I have seldom s<.en equalled, and never excelled. Nothing gives the sportsman so much confidence in using the heavy charges required in elephant-shooting, as the knowledge that the barrels in his hands have been forged by a good maker. I do not deny that good barrels may be made in Birmingham ; but I am convinced that there is nothing like the master's eye over a gun in every stage of its construction. For close and dangerous shooting I know nothing equal to the double-barrelled, smooth-bore gun. You can load it more rapidly, and handle it more quickly and dexterously, than any other, also at the same time sufficiently depend upon it for accuracy as far as sixty or seventy yards. Next in importance I would suggest a single-barrelled DEDICATION. IX two-grooved rifle, whicli I much prefer to the poly- or many-grooved, for the reasons that with the former you can use a larger charge of powder without danger of the bullet tripping ; you may fire a greater number of shots without fouling the barrel or losing in accuracy, and if you use fancy conical projectiles, you may do so with less chance of damage to your rifle. Were I so circumstanced that I could take a third gun with me, it would be a double-barrelled, two-grooved rifle, whose execution at long range, though below that of the single rifle, is, of course, far more accurate than that of the smooth-bore : experience has, indeed, satis- fied me that, for a very long shot, you never can count upon the same precision with a double as with a single barrel. Even supposing the barrels to be perfectly parallel (which is almost an impossibility), still the direction of recoil of each when fired is different, and has a different effect upon the flight of the bullet ; so that barrels, which would throw almost exactly parallel when discharged from a vice, will slightly diverge from each other when fired from the shoulder. You must not infer from these remarks that I undervalue the double rifle. For deer-shooting, especially, it is invalu- able ; and often, when I have missed a deer with the first barrel, has the animal stood still at the report, as if from curiosity, and afforded me a second shot. I merely would not have you expect too much from it, or reckon that its accuracy of execution beyond one hundred and fifty yards is equal to that of a good single-barrel rifle. X »« DEDICATION. As to calibre, sportsmen of the Western are much at variance with those of the Eastern world, the former preferring the small bullet of thirty-two, forty, or even fifty, to the pound, while their East-Indian brethren are as strongly in favour of the large ball, running from sixteen to twelve, or even eight only to the pound. The reason of this discrepancy I fancy is this, that the difficulty of obtaining good powder is much greater in the West than in the East ; for, the larger the ball, the greater the necessity for superior powder.* For my own part, I should be inclined to select a size carrying from twenty-four to sixteen to the pound. In your choice of knives, do not be induced to encumber yourself with any thick-bladed, highly- illuminated cutlery of the German jdger fashion : they are very handsome to look at, when hung up over a chimney-piece, but very ineffective in the field, wearying and blistering the hands, and splintering against the bones of any large animal. The best knife for hunting purposes, in my opinion, is a good, plain, wooden-handled butcher-knife : let the handle be long, and the blade thin. In horses, your great object should be to combine the greatest hardiness with the highest courage. A thorough- * By increasing your charge beyond a certain quantity you do not increase the force. No more powder will ignite than is suffi- cient to cover the bullet if it is placed on a table and powder poured gently over it until it is concealed. If you hear your ball strike the object fired at, it is a pretty sure indication of deficiency of force, either in the quantity or the quality of the powder. DEDICATION. XI bred horse you can train to rush at anythino; -. his being timid at first, or apt to shy, has nothing to do with any absence of courage. By patience and perseverance, you will teach him to charge any animal, not excepting a grisly bear ; while a common, badly-bred brute will not even pursue a bison. Mules, for packing, are, in some respects, superior to horses ; but they cannot support intense cold nearly so well. I strongly advise especial and constant attention to saddles. Go where you will, and all over the world, you will find nothing to equal the English saddle. Provide yourselves with them at any cost, and transport them at any inconvenience. When on the prairie, travel with a blanket saddle-cloth. You will find it a comfortable addition to your bed ; but be careful before putting the saddle over it on the horse, that there is no crease in its folds ; for a sore on your horse's back is a serious inconvenience to a long journey. It is a good plan, before fastening the girths, to pass your forefinger under the saddle-cloth, and lift it slightly ofi" the horse's withers. For clothing, I think there is nothing like Scotch woollen stuffs ; leather, after all, is but an inconvenient substitute for these ; for though it has its advantages in point of wear, it is horribly uncomfortable in wet wea- ther, and dries as hard and stifi" as parchment. Keep your gunpowder in air-tight packages ; expo- sure to the atmosphere weakens it. Do not burthen yourselves uselessly by trying to forestall a thousand imaginary necessities. Beyond your guns and horses, with their several appurtenances, you will absolutely XU DEDICATION. require nothing on the prairie but your knife, flint and steel, and pipe, an iron ladle for melting lead, a tin mug, and two iron kettles, one for cooking, the other for boiling coffee — with iron covers to them, which will respectively do for frying meat, and for roasting your coffee. Before leaving the Settlements, provide yourselves with lead, tobacco, coffee, sugar, salt, needles, awls, strong thread, and shoemaker's wax, and also one or two dressed skins, for making and mending mocassins ; and with this equipment, you may pass from Independ- ence to the Pacific Ocean. CONTENTS, CHAPTER I. The Start. — Gen. Tom Thumb. — Halifax. — Astor House. — American Railways. — Philadelphia. — Baltimore Beauties. — A Clinical Pro- fessor.— Mark Tapley's Eden. — The great Missouri. — Drinks. — New Orleans. — Night Adventure. — Creole Ladies. — Col. White's Oratorio of " David."— Pa^e 1. CHAPTER II. Arkansas forests. — Deer-shooting. — The Major's good shots. — Fire- Pan-hunting. — Fine fat Bucks. — Still-hunting. — First night in the Woods. — Panther shot. — Black bait for an Alligator. — Assas- sination of a Bear. — Page 27. CHAPTER III. Mammoth Caves. — Stalactite Architecture. — Ancient America.— Rambles in the Earth. — Mummy found. — Subterranean Ball.—' St. Louis Hunting Club. — A good run. — A fat Buck killed. — Hospitable Hunters. — Kentucky talked down. — American Fui Company. — Page 48. XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Old Mr. Kipp. — Preparlug for the Start. — Mormons, — Camping at Night. — Duck-shooting. — Gigantic Vegetation. — Prairie on Fire. — Fort Vermilion. — Scalp Dance. — A Dog Feast. — A Woman bought and saved. — Hint from a Bullet. — Fort Pierre. — Page 59. CHAPTER V. Clear Atmosphere. — See Buffalo. — Arrival at Fort Union. — Buffalo- hunting. — Winter sets in. — uuntmg Party, — Escape from a War Party. — A Race for Life or Death. — Wanton Cruelty of the Sioux. — A heroic old Bull. — Domestic Calves and Bison Bull. — Page 75. CHAPTER VI. Tossed by a Buffalo. — Elk-shooting. — Wolves. — Spoil a Cannibal Feast. — Ishmah. — Hard up for Meat. — Owen Mackenzie's Post. —The Traders.— Pa^e 100. CHAPTER VII. Glutton Feast. — My Indian Companion. — Hunting in Snow. — Roast Loin of Wolf. — Black-tail Deer. — Rapacious Beauties. — Another Journey. — A Long Shot. — Indian Voi'acity. — Larpenter's Post. — Start for the Minitarees. — Awful Night. — Peekay and the Bull.— Reach Fort Berthold.— Pa^e 121. CHAPTER VIII. Mr. Chardon. — Boucharville. — Geese put their heads together. — Ice breaks up, — A Cold Bath. — Arrive at the Fort. — Preparations. — An Afternoon's Hunt. — Elk shows Fight. — Shot at Sun-down. —Hard Work.— Pa^re 143. CONTENTS. SV CHAPTER IX. Hunt on the Yellow Stone. — Grosse-Corne Hunting. — A Beautiful Camp. — Beaver. — Good Hunting Country. — Cat Fishing. — Skin- boat Building. — Tailoring. — Crow Indians. — Descend the Yellow Stone. — Surprise a Crow Camp. — Return to Foi-t Union. — PageloQ. CHAPTER X. Dispose of the Meat. — Descend the Missouri. — A War-party.— They decliue the attack. — Obtain two more followers. — Kill a young Bear. — The grisly Bear. — A breakfast of ^Marrow. — Nearly kill two eagles with a ball. — Chase and capture two Bison calves, — Return to Minitaree Village. — Scaffoldings for the dead. — Indian Games. — Death of Mr. Chardon. — Page 175. CHAPTER XI. Another Hunting Expedition. — The Turtle Mountains. — Dangerous Hunting Country. — My last Buffalo-hunt. — Sold by an Antelope. — Attacked by and kill a grisly Bear. — Her cub shows fight. — Depart from Turtle IMountain. — Attack a grisly Bear. — More grisly Bears. — Mr. Denig's Adventure. — Bear smashing a Buffalo. — Murray and his Mackinaw boats. — The Pipe ot Peace. — Shake hands with an old Enemy. — An Indian Battle. — Cannibalism. — Arrival of the Martha. — Death of poor Smith. — Page 189. CHAPTER XII. Leave the Indian country. — A blasted Cannon. — Mr. Mackenzie. — Ishmah forages for himsel:. — The Yellow Fever. — Doctor Farrell. — General Taylor's Address. — "Beauty's" History and XVI CONTENTS. Adventures. — Marriage Feast. — My pretty Hostess. — A MujiicaJ Smash — Bruin takes care of Number One. — "Beauty" creates a Sensation. — Bruin rescues the Antelope — The Balize. — Page 207. CHAPTER XIII. Snipe and Duck-shooting.— Norwegian Sportsman.— A wounde Alligator proves a disagreeable Boating Companion. — Neoro torn by an Alligator.— The i^a?C07i.—Chagres. — Storming the Spanish Fort. — Tropical Thunderstorm. — Panamk. — Santa Anna Cathedral. — The Pope inexorable. — Home by English Mail Steamer. — Page 222. EAMBLES MD ADVENTUEES. CHAPTER I. The start.— Gen. Tom Thumb.— Halifax.— Astor House.-Amerleau Eaiiways.— Philadelphia.— Baltimore Beauties.— A Clinical Pro- fessor.—Mark Tapley's Eden.— The great Missouri.— Drinks — New Orleans. —Night Adventure.— Creole Ladies.— Col .White's Oratorio of *' David." After all, " ce n'est que le premier pas qui coiite/' thought I, as the long row of busy docks at Liverpool slowly receded in the distance, and we bade a last fare- well to old England, as the gallant Cambria steamed majestically down the broad waters of the Mersey, in the eyer-to-be-remembered year of Grace 1847. With all the eagerness of a college student, who casts aside his^ dull books and duller tutors for a burst after the partridges, or for the more noble and exciting pur- suit of the antiered lords of the forest and mountain, had I looked forward to a visit to the New World; determined to make acquaintance with our Trans- Atlantic brethren, and to extend my visit to the regions still inhabited by America's aboriginal people,— now, indeed, driven far westward of their rightful territories,' and pressed backwards into that ocean of prairies extending to the foot of the great Eocky Mountains. It was with something like a sense of disappointment, that, the excitement of our departure over, the last friend shaken by the hand, and the last hurried fare- well exchanged, I felt that what I had so long dwelt on in anticipation was at last about to be realized ; so B 2 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. inconsistent, indeed, is our nature, that our keenest yearnings often lead but to our bitterest disappoint- ments, and the possession most ardently sought, affords, when attained, but too frequently the least gratification. The bustle incidental to a start, -when a large number of passengers are on board, affords, however, little time for philosophizing. At first the luggage seems inex- tricable, and the confusion interminable ; but time, patience, and preseverance gradually dispose of all our difficulties, and we shake into our places very soon after the docks are cleared. I found on board some very pleasant and entertaining fellow-passengers, and was not a little surprised, on entering the state-cabin, to hear the most unnatural shrill little pipe exclaiming, "Waiter ! bwing me a Welsh wabbit/' After some difficulty I discovered its possessor^ who, creeping from under shawls and ladies' work- baskets, scrambled into the middle of the saloon, stuck 'his Lilliputian hands into his little pockets, and looked at us as much as to say, " What do you think of that?" We found little " General Tom Thumb'"' a very amusing companion ; and any of my readers who may have experienced the dulness of a sea-voyage can ima- gine that he proved a most acceptable addition to our society : he was the smallest specimen of human nature it has over been my lot to behold, but a remarkable exception to the generality of dwarfs, being not only intelligent, but active and well-proportioned. There he stood, sprucely attired in a little midship- man's dress, his tiny patent-leather boots the miracle of a fit. Early next morning we passed along the south coast of Ireland, recognising successively Dunmore, Tramore's three towers, with its colossal metal man stretching forth his threatenino^ arm to warn the mariner frons GENEPvAL TOM THUMB. 3- that inhospitable coast, and, finally, Ardmore's round tower — the last aged memorial of the Old World. But— Hurrah, the bell for breakfast ! Hark to the mingled din Of knife, and fork, and hissing cliops That stewards are bringing in. The fiery skipper 's pricking fast His fork into the dish, Despatching quickly his repast Of coffee, eggs, and fish. In burst the guests, and on they rush Around the jolly tar, V/ho calls on semi-seasick folks To prosecute the war. And a right good breakfast we had, for the fare on board the Cambria was unexceptionable, combining all the excellences of American, English, and even French cookery. Alas, however, even the means of fortification provided by a hatterie de cuisine Francaise was no sufficient protection against the fell sea-serpent monster, who soon numbered many of my fellow-passengers among his victims. A strong head-wind and chopping sea made many a mournful gap among the ranks at our capital table. But the severest misfortune of all was the total loss of our ladies' society ; they, poor things, sufi"ering so severely as to be entirely confined to their cabins till within a short period of our arrival. The little General, however, remained unscathed, and, despite the too audible miseries of most of his fellow-passengers, held on the even tenor of his way, swallowing his toasted cheese and sipping bottled porter. I was particularly favoured with his notice. A great amusement of his consisted in climbing all over me ; now standing on my shoulder, then balancing himself on my head on one foot, and finally leaping into the pocket of my shooting-jacket until he burst through the lining of it. He was, on the whole, a very good, b2 4 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. tractable little fellow, and listened attentively to my lectures on the evils of play ; but, alas, I fear they had but small effect, for the little wretch was an inveterate gambler, and up to all the mysteries of whist, hewker poker, and bragg. I forget at present his exact height ; but, as far as I can recollect, he measured twenty-four or twenty-five inches ; had light hair, a pretty childish face, was about sixteen or seventeen years of age, and weighed fifteen pounds — the weight of a good-sized leg of mutton. Barnum, the well-known entrepreneur, was with him constantly, and behaved with the utmost kindness to his young charge, never urging the child to do anything to which he showed much disinclination, yet, at the same time, exercising a very necessary and wholesome authority over him. His father and mother also travelled in his suite, and were certainly above the average height : his mother appeared a kind and amiable person ; she informed me that she had two daughters in Canada, where she usually resided, and that "she, her husband, and relatives were Canadians, and the little General, consequently, a subject of her Majesty Queen Victoria. Some of my fellow-passengers told me that Barnum had, by the exhibition of Tom Thumb, cleared in a few years the enormous sum of 100,000/. It is satisfactory to add, that I was informed he had acted most liberally towards the parents, having greatly in- creased the stipulated amount for the little GeneraFs exhibition. About the middle of the passage, a conversation arising relative to the sufferings of the poor in Ireland, an American gentleman suggested a subscription in aid of the funds then raising for their relief ; and the proposi- tion having been ably seconded by a Canadian merchant, the result exceeded our expectations, in a collection of 120/. About this period the v»-eather became more severe. HALIFAX. B and the motion of the vessel, consequently, very trying to those who had not yet got their sea-legs ; but the wind suddenly fell one afternoon, and I shall never forget the magnificent sight afforded by the masses of unbroken waters as they reared themselves aloft ahead, and threatened us for a moment with annihilation ; — then, while bearing us up to heaven, fled away from under our feet to unite themselves with the horizon in our wake. Descending the steps of the companion to the dining-room was strongly suggestive of the descent from the sublime to the ridiculous. Legs of mutton became animated, sirloins of beef whirled along like boomerangs from one end of the table to the other, spreading devastation on every side, and effecting strange combinations of soup and sausages, pickles and port wine, custard and pudding floating in bottled porter, &c. The first land we made was Halifax, where we found it necessary to put in for a fresh supply of coal. During the very short delay of the Cambria in port, I seized the opportunity for a stroll through the streets of the town ; but the night was so intensely dark that I could see little to describe. The ground was covered with snow ; many sledges I passed seemed to be very hand- some equipages ; the horses attached to them bearing bells round their necks, or perhaps fastened to their collars, for the greater security of the foot-passengers, who were thereby warned of their approach in sufficient time to get out of the way. It was very cold weather; and we left the harbour again in about three hours after we had arrived, the business of taking in coal being transacted very rapidly. Between Halifax and Boston our voyage was most prosperous ; the weather so beautiful as to entice our ladies once more on deck, and all eyes were turned westward to catch the first glimpse of land. The pilot 6 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. • from Boston boarded us the following day, and we soon rode triumphantly in, greeted by shouts and cannon from the surrounding vessels in the harbour. After our luggage had been cursorily examined at the Custom House, we stowed it and ourselves, as we best could, into the different vehicles destined to convey us to the several hotels to which they belonged ; and I cannot help remarking the great contrast between the different methods adopted, with respect to strangers and their luggage, in the Custom-house searchers of our own and most other European countries, and of that of our Trans-Atlantic brethren ; while I may ob- serve that courteous treatment, in that it gratifies the feelings of a stranojer, has also the effect of disarmins; and dissuading him from any attempt at fraud or con- cealment. I could expect to find but little that was new in a place so often described as Boston. I discovered one fact, however, which may interest future travellers ; viz.., that smoking is not allowed in the streets at night ; for, having lighted a cigar, I was quietly strolling along the pavement, when I was accosted by a casual pas- senger with, " Sir, I guess you are a stranger ! '' — "Sir, you are an uncommon good gucsser,'' was my reply; but I soon found by the sequel of our conversation, that, however abruptly it had commenced, the motive of my querist was a kind one, and that I was committing a breach of the laws, which might have subjected me to a severe penalty. The American Hotel in Boston is an excellent one ; and the rooms being heated with hot water renders them most comfortable, notwithstanding the extreme coldness of the weather. Between Boston and New York the journey was performed partly by railway and partly by steamboats of the finest class, most luxuriously fitted up. The ASTOR HOUSE. 7 captain of our boat prudently remained all night at New London, on account of the weather, of which these boats are by no means independent. Next day we resumed the railway once more to New York. An American railway-carriage reminds one a little of Wombwell's waggon for transporting wild beasts, so far as its external appearance is concerned ; and there is abundance of room inside for the passengers to walk up and down, the seats being so arranged as to allow an uninterrupted passage from one end of each carriage to the other. They contain open stoves, round which you may sit occasionally, and change your place from time to time, which all those who are in the habit of travel- ling know to be a great luxury ; besides this, the car- riages themselves are so closely chained together in succession, that you can walk from one end of the train to the other. The seats, or benches rather, in the carriages are ranged in rows down each side of the pas- sage, and at right angles to it, except in the vicinity of the stoves, where passengers are at liberty to sit in any direction they please, on camp-chairs left for that purpose. I may also here mention a very good regula- tion adopted with regard to the luggage : brass tickets are chained to each separate trunk or portmanteau, and duplicates of these tickets are given to the passenger, who need have no further trouble with his luo-o-ao-e than Co o giving them to a help (^. e. servant) on arriving at his destination. At New York I stayed at the Astor House, a mag- nificent ''block'' {i.e. building), far larger than any hotel I ever beheld in the Old World. Many of my readers will doubtless remember the hotel of I'Enipereiir Eoman, and I' Hotel de Ilussie, in Franldort: the Astor House, I thought, strongly resembled these, though on a still larger scale — indeed I doubt whether it be not larger than both these hotels put together. The plat- 8 BAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. form anterior to the huge hall-door is reached from the street by double rows of large stone staircases. The charges I found moderate. Breakfast, dinner, and sup- per ^are performed much in the same way as at the table d'hote on the Continent, except with far greater rapidity. At breakfast here, I ate for the first time cakes made from the flour of buckwheat, which I thought excellent, and deserving a place among the many luxuries of even an English country-house : in shape and size they re- semble a muffin ; in consistence, a pancake ; but they are rougher, and of a dark-brown colour. These cakes are eaten either with butter, like muffins, or with refined molasses, contained in glass jars, shaped something like claret-decanters, which are placed at intervals all along the extensive breakfast-table. Neither is the hominy, which consists of rice and Indian-corn meal, mixed and fried in butter, to be despised. The waiters were Irish, Germans, and men of colour. I started about the 25th of March, on a cold but brilliantly beautiful day, at about nine o'clock in the morning, for Philadelphia, and, on my arrival, drove immediately to the Mansion-house Hotel. Having no time to lose, I walked out to see the town; and although I was in some degree prepared to like Philadelphia,^! had no idea what a splendid city it is ; its beautiful houses being very regular, and mostly built of brick ; and, from their wide pavements, the excellent repair in which they are kept, and the splendid shops and lofty buildings, the streets struck me as being really mag- nificent. The extraordinary cleanliness of the city particularly attracts one's admiration : it is occasioned principally by the abundant supply of water which is afibrded by the waterworks of the Schuylkill : hand- some cast-iron pumps are among the most prominent features in the streets, and its public buildings are both graceful and classical. BALTIMORE. 9 After a hasty dinner, attended by four hncre, clean, jolly, sable vagabonds, whose language, peculiar pro- nunciation, and absurd attempts at jokes amused me- greatly, I resumed my journey by railway to Baltimore. The view as you leave Philadelphia is very beautiful. For some distance, as you recede from the town, you behold the whole city stretched out before you, forming a splendid panorama. On the right, above the town, are the celebrated waterworks by which it is supplied with water from the Schuylkill, and to the left is the broad estuary of the Delaware, covered with vessels of all sizes, from the light pilot-boat to the lordly three- decker. We reached Baltimore the same evening. This rapid journey southward causes, in the course of one single day, a most sensible change in temperature and climate, such as we might perhaps experience in the Old World, if we were to breakfast at Moscow and dine at Naples. Into Baltimore, according to Jonathan's go-ahead principles, we drove the train, right through the streets, to the imminent danger of the lives of its peaceful citi- zens, though not of their liberties, there being no barrier- to prevent their getting up a little Juggernaut oblation of themselves to their favourite goddess. In the railway- carriage, I sat next a gentleman who, from natural politeness, or from a lively dread of Dickens and Trollope, restrained himself from spitting out of the window, which was at my other side ; but when the exigencies of expectoration required, took off his hat and tested its waterproof qualities in a manner not yet usual in this part of the world. I inferred from this that he must have heard of the American in England, who, spitting across a feUow-passenger out of the window of a. stage-coach, learned how little his apology was appre- ciated when he observed, " I guess I cleared you.'' Baltimore is mostly built of brick, but there are also 10 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. many handsome stone buildings, and it is altogether a noble city. I had little time to see much of it, but was struck Tvith the principal streets, which, both in size and paving, &c., are equal to any I ever saw. The shops are handsomely lighted up in the evening, and the crowded streets exhibited a numerous and well- dressed population. I had heard of the beauty of the Baltimore women, and was not disappointed in them, for I never saw so many pretty faces before in so short a time. A splendid fire took place that night in Baltimore, which was extinguished, fortunately, without any further effects than giving us a good appetite for our supper ; the attack on which was most furious, and the consumption far more extensive than that of the fire we had assisted to put out. At Cumberland, we took the stage-coach across the Alleghany range of mountains to Wheeling, which is not far from the head of the navigation of the river Ohio. An American stage-coach is a very primitive, rough sort of conveyance, something like the diligence on the Continent, but far stronger in construction, both as to wheels and springs, and calculated to meet the very severe shocks to which the nature and state of the roads necessarily subject it. It is built to accommo- date, or rather torture, nine persons inside, and as many outside as have the skill or the courage to sit along with the driver. This functionary is truly a wonderful man. He drives four horses, at a very tolerable pace, over a road where the depth of the ruts and the number of stumps of trees baffle description. When the wheel strikes one of the latter, the centrifugal effect is sub- lime. The top of my head was so battered against the roof of this notable conveyance, that, after a while, I preferred sharing the driver's fortunes outside, notwith- -standing the cold encountered among these hills, from THE ALLEGHANIES. 11 which, however, the continual exertion of clinging on was quite sufficient to prevent my suffering. But how our Jehu contrived to drive, to manage the drag (which he did by means of a screw handle on his ri^^ht), and to remain on the box, is a mystery that to this day I am unable to solve. This road the coachman declared to me to have been usually a very good one, although it unavoidably fell into a bad state of repair in winter. I never saw a more beautiful range of mountains than the Alleghanies — full of deep dark gorges and ravines, through which the road winds, now under lofty preci- pices,"reminding me of some of the passes in the Tyrol ; now along a high crest of mountain, overlooking a vast extent of beautiful country ; now through some thick primeval forest, capital lurking-places for bears, wolves, and panthers, or painters, as they are there called. During a great part of the day, we travelled up the Monogahela Eiver, celebrated all over the States for the whiskey made along its banks. Every now and then we made a rapid descent at full gallop down some deep gorge filled with snow, into which, at this season, the beams of the sun never penetrate. Coal of the finest kind is found all through the Alleghanies in great quantities, and in the towns along the road it is to be bought at four and sixpence a ton. I reached Wheeling, heartily sick of stage-coach travelling, but consoling myself with the reflection that the rest of my journey to New Orleans was to be by the river. Here I first beheld those justly celebrated American river-steamboats, so indicative of the enterprise and commercial prosperity of the country. By means of these vessels, the productions of the most remote parts of the interior are transferred to suitable markets at a trifling expense to the producer ; so that the furs and skins from the remotest savages, the wheat and Indian 12 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. corn of the agriculturist, the cotton and the sugar of the planter, are rendered valuable and profitable by the free choice among the many market-towns studding the banks of its rivers, from the remote Missouri, Ohio, and Arkansas, to New Orleans, where the Mississippi' rolls its vast united flood into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. These boats are flat-bottomed, and not builfc with a view to durability ; a fact which, together with the economical manner of their construction, renders them often very dangerous to the lives and limbs of the numerous passengers that crowd their decks. ^ Much has been said of the comparative merits of the high-pressure and low-pressure engines ; but I am inclined to believe that the high-pressure engine would be quite sufficiently safe, provided the captains of the boats were chosen a little more judiciously from men conversant with steam-engines in general, and particu- larly with the nature and capabilities of the machinery under their command. It is true there is a practical engineer immediately controlling the said machinery ; but the poor fellow is frequently obliged seriously to overtax the powers of the engine, by the frantic anathemas of the captain — " D— n you, go ahead ! fire up there ! fire up, will you?''— when excited either by the speed of a boat astern of him, or by his eagerness to overhaul a " tarnation oppositioner " ahead, who is no doubt bent on securing all the passengers from the next town on the river. On account of the low state of the water in the Ohio, I took my passage as far as Louisville in a small stern- wheel boat. These steamers are driven by one wheel only, which is placed astern ; they draw very little water, and are available in places where others could not answer the purpose so well. My travelling com- panions were very entertaining. Their inquisitiveness amused more than it annoyed me ; for I was prepared ! UNLOOKED-rOR ARRIVAL. 13 for it, by the accounts of Eng-lisli authors, many of whom, I think, have animadverted on it too severely. They certainly, so for as I myself was concerned, quite compensated me for their tendency to ask questions, by their great readiness in answering them ; and I must say I found a general willingness amongst them to be communicative and obliging to a stranger, and the .greatest deference towards any one that spins a yarn for them — a tendency to which, I dare say, most of my brother-sportsmen will confess. Who has not, after a hard and successful run in the pursuit of an elk, or a fortunate skirmish with a bear, been inveigled into a minute detail of the chase or contest, with a description of every trivial circumstance, from the start to the death ? or, even after its lucky termination, who has not dilated on the fine condition of the animal, and the size of its horns, boring you with his sensations as he strides beside his weary horse, heavily laden with the trophies of his successful encounter ? However, we must hope that the world is very charitable, and allows a fair license to sportsmen, as well as to other enthusiasts. The next day we were thrown into great confusion on board, by the announcement that one of the ladies was about to contribute an additional little member to our society. At the time she was taken ill, I was sitting in the cabin talking to an amusing youngster of some seventeen years of age. I could not better ■describe him, than by referring my readers to the portrait of Bob Sawyer, in " Pickwick,'"' of which character he very strongly reminded me. He wore a jough blue coat, which he had decidedly outgrown, for the sleeves were far up his arms; shirt- sleeves .he had none — at all events they did not figure in the visible of his costume, which really was very perfect without them, especially as its style was consistently maintained by a total absence of shirt-collar. He for some time eagerly 14 EAMBLES AND ADVENTUEES. observed the lady's husband, who was just then deploring the absence of medical aid, and imploring the captain to do some such impossibility as to put the vessel about, and go back again, when my Bob Sawyer broke in at the top of his voice, with " Hullo, mister, now don't rile yourself for nothing ; Fm a medical man, and passed in clinicals, and will fix her nicely and handsomely:'"' then jumping up, and slapping the poor old negro nurse (who was in tears) on the shoulder, added, " Come, look alive," and ran in to the assistance of the invalid forthwith. In less than half an hour he sauntered slowly back to his seat, and calling to a friend, observed, '•' I say, Tom, an almighty fine boy, and rich folks, I calculate ; " and then proceeded to discuss with him the propriety of asking twenty dollars for "the job," as they termed it ; Bob Sawyer, in the difiiculty of agree- ment, even doing me the honour of appealing to me. I could only suggest a valuation of the baby, and a com- mission of so many cents on the dollar. This would not do, however. Tom was conscientious and firm, said that it would not be right to take an unfair advantage of the way in which the gentleman and lady were circumstanced, and that his friend ought not to ask more than the regu- lar fee of eight dollars. What the amount ultimatdy received by our clinical professor was, I did not learn ; but the next morning I observed him called aside by the old black nurse, who took him to visit her mistress, whence he presently returned to me, vowing the lady's husband to be "a real trump, and an almighty fine gentleman, by G— ! " We -arrived that day at St, Louis, where it had been the lady's intention to have remained for her confinement and recovery ; but the poor thing was obliged to stay on board instead ; and I felt for her when I heard the deafening continuous roar of the steam-escapement close to the cabin where she was a prisoner. CAIEO. IS- f'- As I intended returning to Louisville again, I stayed there but one day, and proceeded on another boat bound for St. Louis (Missouri), as far as Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio, where that river joins the Mississippi. On landing and looking about me, I soon became convinced that Cairo must be the spot that suggested to Dickens his description of " Eden,'' and Martin Chuzzlewit's and Mark Tapley's doings there, when bent on seeking their fortunes in the Western States. Cairo really is a dreary waste. Great exertions were once made to bank it up and reclaim it, by damming the rivers, so as to form a site for a market-town ; but all attempts have hitherto utterly failed, and it still is, as it will I think long remain, an unhealthy swamp. The hotel, when I was there, was a floating one, constructed out of a con- demned river-steamer, the lower part of which was fitted up as a store or shop, the upper part requiring no change in its internal arrano-ements. I went out with my double-barrelled gun, whilst waiting for a New Orleans boat, and after some wading, brought back several ducks and quails. Early next morning a Mississippi steamer passed, and in her I took my pas- sage for New Orleans. The Great Missouri was then the most splendid vessel on the river, and plied between St. Louis and New Orleans. The ladies' sitting-room cabin was most beautifully furnished, affording all the luxuries of sofas, rocking-chairs, and a pianoforte. This room, as in all river-steamers, is a continuation of the general dining-cabin, the ladies having the power of shutting it off at any time in the evening, when they wish to retire, by pushing together concealed sliding- doors, which meet in the middle. The sleeping-cabins are ranged along the sides of this saloon, the doors opening inwards from it. Each of them contains two berths ; but when there are not a great many passengers, you can secure the whole room to yourself by paying a 16 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. little more than the usual fare. Outside these, again, there is a passage round on the deck of the steamer, enabling the passengers to walk about in the open air protected from the sun's rays by the hurricane-deck ; and from this external walk there are glass doors into the bed-rooms on the side opposite to that by which you enter from the dining-saloon. The hurricane-deck overhead is supported by stanchions, connecting it with the passengers' deck, on which it stands. On the hurri- cane-deck, again, is placed the pilot's glass house or caboose, covered with a wooden roof rendered waterproof. From his position he can command a good view of the river — a power he stands much in need of in order to avoid the numerous snags and shallows which perpe- tually present themselves ahead, threatening the safety of the boat. I ought here perhaps to inform my readers that a "snag" is a tree, or part of a large tree, whose progress down the river has been arrested by the accu- mulation of sand or earth, or some such cause ; and as it is frequently quite hidden from view, the experienced eye of the pilot alone can discover its presence by the peculiar ripple of the water at the spot where his dan- gerous enemy lies concealed. A keen power of observa- tion in this respect is only to be acquired by long attention and practice, like that arrived at by the hunter who tracks his game on the prairie. We proceeded at a tremendous pace in this beautiful boat, averaging eighteen or nineteen miles an hour, the stream running strongly in our favour. We passed vast tracts of forest on either side, chiefly consisting of cotton- trees, presenting various successions of growth, which have a very pretty effect, and are caused by the river, on account of its abrupt curves, continually chano-ino- its course, and those banks of sand and mud which it con- sequently abandons receiving from the wings of the wind into their genial soil the seeds shed by the old patriarchal LIFE IN A RIVER STEAMER. 17 trees. The successive gradations of the miniature woods thus formed make a ])leasing variety in the otherwise monotonous character of the landscape, and often sug- gested to me reflections on the similarity in the human world of the progress of population from mother-coun- tries to their colonies. The principal use made of the cotton-tree is to provide fuel for the steamers, which is hewn down, cut up, and piled by contract on the river's bank, and carried on board by the crew called the deck hands of the steamer. This operation of taking in wood occurs about three times in the twenty-four hours, and occupies about an hour and a half at each time, the men having to carry the logs on their shoulders along a couple of planks thrown out from the side of the boat on to the bank ; so that you can frequently go ashore while the boat is "wooding/' Life on board a river boat resembles life at an hotel, only it is a great deal pleasanter. A bell rings a little after sunrise : you get up and proceed to the washing- liouse, next to which, by paying a few cents, you can have a bath. At your exit from this you will most likely find a grinning negro barber bowing and scraping- tit the bath-room door, solicitino; permission to test upon your chin, for a trifling consideration, his powers of easy shaving. That operation has hardly terminated when you hear the bar-keeper vociferating, " Now, then, gentlemen, come on ; come on ; choose your drinks. What shall I fix you, sir?'' Then commences the dynasty of brandy-smashes, mint-juleps, gin-slings, and whiskey-cocktails, and you may finally observe some of the gentlemen sitting down to breakfast with tears in their eyes, the effect of some awful gulp of alcohol and wormwood, elegantly denominated a phlegm-cutter. A bell gives the signal for breakfast, but even before that time you will see each man standing behind his chair, holding it tightly by the back, and ready to vault into c 18 BAMDLES AXD ADVENTURES. his seat as soon as the iron tongue, impelled by Snow- ball's sable arm, strikes the galvanic shock among the guests. The captain sits at the head of the table and his lieutenant at the foot ; opposite to each of these gentle- men is placed a large dish of hissing-hot beefsteaks, on a pewter receiver filled with hot water, which is kept boiling by a spirit-lamp placed underneath. The guests are attended by negro servants, who hand about coffee, tea, &c. After the first breakfast is served the second breakfast, for the officers a;id those that are not exactly passengers, after which follows the third breakfast,^ for the people of colour. The passengers, while all this is going on, sit outside and in front of the cabin, smoking, and reading the papers, which they always have the opportunity of exchanging for later news at the different towns where they touch for freight or passengers. Your day passes cheerfully from the consciousness of proceed- ing at a rapid rate towards your destination, coupled with the enjoyment of being able to read and write at your ease, and having plenty of room to eat, drink, smoke, and enjoy yourself. Previous to the announce- ment of dinner, the passengers again assemble at the bar, the keeper of which is at his post, displaying pro- digies of a^ctivity in suppl3dng the demands of his customers, some of whom keep him pretty well employed until the dishing of dinner commences, when they fly to their chairs as at breakfast. During dinner scarcely anything was drunk but water. After the cloth was removed the company removed themselves, and not even a glass of wine was called for. I completely failed in getting an amusing acquaintance to assist me in discuss- ing a bottle of Madeira, the invariable answer to my re- quest being, " I thank you, I have eaten my dinner.'' The habit of taking these stimulating drinks before eating is attributable to the relaxing influences of the NEW ORLEANS. 19 climate in the southern States ; the stomach requiring a kind of tonic to provoke an appetite and strengthen digestion. I do not think the habit a good one, having always found, in my experience of hot climates, that stimulants do more harm than good when taken with the view of acquiring an appetite ; the safest way being to wait without eating until the appetite arrives, or, if possible, treat yourself to half an hour's sleep before dinner. I subsequently found that in the large towns the custom of drinking mne in the English way, i. e., leisurely and sociably after dinner, is gradually becoming the habit of the wealthier and more influential merchants. Occasionally, though not frequently, you meet the most eligible society on board the large river steam- boats, particularly when the hot season induces many of the higher classes of society to migrate northwards, at which period they frequently form parties to travel together ; and on these occasions, when the party thus formed has been so attractive as to include many agree- able young ladies, I have often known young men (old acquaintances, perhaps) join it expressly for the river voyage and the pleasure of their societ}^, and enjoy lots of music and dancing in the spacious ladies' saloon purposely fitted up for that object. We proceeded rapidly southward, passing frequent cotton plantations, which afford almost constant light work to the negroes, both in keeping the crop free from weeds, and finally gathering it ; till, at last, the whirl- ing panorama on each side of us rolled Missouri and Arkansas from our view, revealing to our eyes the lands and sugar-plantations of Louisiana. As you approach New Orleans the scene becomes very interesting, and the eye is greeted with a strange contrast of luxuriant plantations studded with orange trees, where aromatic shrubs and rare plants may be traced to the gentle hand and gTaceful taste of the high- c2 20 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. bom Creole lady, gradually and diffidently intruding themselves on the vast outskirts of dreary forest, dismal swamp, and impenetrable cane brake. New Orleans cannot fail to strike a visitor with vivid emotions of pleasure and surprise. It is, you may say, reclaimed from the river by banks called "levees/' somewhat in the same manner as in Holland. The town is divided into several municipalities, and though these are sepa- rated one from another by but a single street, yet on one side of it you may imagine yourself in England, and on the other forget that you are not in France — so strongly are the characteristic diflferences marked in all you see around you ; in the buildings, manners, even in the sign-boards over the stores and shops, which are printed in different languages in the opposite municipa- lities. This difference is quite as remarkable in the in- habitants themselves. The American is essentially Eng- lish, despite his affectation of the contrary ; he is so in his business habits, in his conversation, in his preference for spending his evenings at home with his wife and family, instead of at public amusements. The Creole, although his position may be that of a man of business, is yet quite wanting in the daring speculation and un- remitting industry of the Anglo-Saxon ; seeking to support himself by economy and bargaining, while the American is striving to increase his fortune by extend- ing his operations. It is of his time, not of his money, that he is economical ; of his dollars indeed he is most liberal, and frequently lavish. The Creole considers his business at a certain hour of the day terminated, and his unambitious evening is devoted to the journal, the Theatre Fran9ais, and a cup of coffee. The Ame- rican, if occasion require, will burn the midnight oil in his office, and may often be found at two o'clock in the morning winding up the pressure of additional business for the departure of the weekly British steamer. CREOLE LADIES. 21 Upon landing I went to the St. Charles Hotel, an enormous building in Grecian architecture, with a line St. Paurs-like dome, more resembling a large cathedral than a hotel, and presenting a most imposing appear- ance from the river. There, however, I did not remain long, for on presenting my letters of introduction I dined with some new Iriends, who persuaded me most kindly to take up my residence in their house during my stay. There is a great charm about New Orleans : the old style of Spanish architecture wraps round it a feeling of romance which, alas ! there is so much in America's civilisation calculated to suppress. The verandahs, jjortes cocheres, and small Creole houses, built of wood, only one story high and opening into the street, are very picturesque. I enjoyed myself greatly there, and shall never forget the kindness and hospitality that greeted me on every side. Among the Creoles there is a simplicity and cordiality that soon induces the stranger to feel himself at home with them, particularly if he is from " la Grande Bretagne,"' in which case he is sure to meet with an universal welcome. I ought here perhaps to explain to my readers the strict meaning of the term '' Creole ;'' at all events, the sense in which the word is used in America. Creole means born in the country ; and the term is generally applied to the descendants of the old French and Spanish founders of the colony : indeed you could not offend or hurt the feelings of a Creole gentleman or lady more, than by supposing either of them even in the remotest degree of coloured origin. The marked dis- tinction which I found in the French and English parts of the town, as I have already described, I found as strongly characterised among the inhabitants. The Creole, rich or poor, you can easily distinguish by the French cut of his clothes and hat, and perhaps a 22 RAMBLES AKD ADVENTURES. French-trimmed beard. Probably be is dirty and un- shaven, chary of displaying too much or too clean linen. Look at the American over the vray as he rolls along, his clothes not made by " a tarnation French snip/'' but all bought at the ready-made clothes store : his face is well shaven, and although he wears a beard, it is not allowed to trespass on the chin : he wears no gloves, but his hands are always clean, and so is his scrupulously white linen, of which he makes rather an extensive dis- play, for he seldom wears a waistcoat, and his loose coat is always unbuttoned. In his bosom he wears a large pin, may be a diamond, may be a piece of glass. Well, go ahead Jonathan : vrith all your faults (and which of us is without them ?) you are a fine, noble fellow ! How diflB.cult it is to admire and appreciate without comparing ! Comparisons are odious ; but avoid them you cannot, when the contrast between the American and the Creole lady is so strongly presented to the stranger's observation as on his introduction to New Orleans society. The poor American lady is like an exotic plant. In the first place, the climate disagrees with her : she is languid from the heat, and her good looks rapidly fade. Then she dresses badly, though expensively ; her choice of colours is extensive but not good, and when she is dressed her clothes cling about much as you could fancy they would had she fallen into the river and been drawn out again. If she dances she does so awkwardly, and a quadrille or two (for she seldom ventures on a higher flight) soon fatigues her. The Creole, on the contrary, combines the ndwete of the Spanish girl, with the polished elegance of the French lady, whose toilet she scrupulously imitates. Though not expensively dressed, her beautifully rounded figure is attired with an exquisite neatness that makes her at once the ornament of the opera, and the lio-ht and NIGHT ADVENTURE. 23 life of the ball-room. She is passionately fond of dancing, in the enjoyment of which she is as graceful as she is indefatigable. I had taken apartments in the Rue Eoyale, situated in the old Spanish-looking part of the town. The similarity of many of its buildings led me into a strange mistake, which I mention here as indicative of the absence of all apprehension of danger at night from robbers, or any other cause. On my return from an evening party, I wandered up and down the Rue Eoyale by the light of a beautiful moon, which was then at its full, at which time the lamps in the streets are not lighted, nor indeed are they needed ; and the absence of all artificial light greatly contributed to the beauty of the quaint old Spanish buildings along the street, as they reflected the moonbeams in strong relief with the dark shadows they show in their wake. The weather being very warm, doors were thrown open, muslin and gauze curtains fluttered from open windows, as if waving in invitation to the cooling night breeze to come and refresh the slumbers of those who heavily slept inside. After wandering up and down some time, while finishing my half-smoked cigar, I suddenly became aware that I was unable to discover my lodgings, my observation of that morning not having been sufficiently accurate to enable me to recognize any difference between one house and another, in the pale, uncertain moonlight. After a little hesitation, I entered that which I thought most probable to be the right one ; and passing through the 2)ort6 cochere, I went upstairs, found doors and win- dows all thrown open ; and I continued for some time vrandering through rooms where the gilding of beautiful pictures glanced in the moonlight. I had not gone far, when I felt I had mistaken the house. Curiosity, how- ever, induced m.e to wander a little further, before retracing my steps. My situation forcibly reminded me 24 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. of the account of Don Alphonso, in Gil Bias, when driven by the storm to take shelter in the old Spanish house, through which he continued wandering from room to room, amidst splendid furniture, partially lighted by expiring lamps, until he reached the apart- ment of Seraphine, where he found the beautiful widow sleeping heavily and uneasily, through the sultry Spanish midsummer night. These reflections, hovrever, were quickly interrupted by a lady's voice, calling out, " Who is there V I replied hastily, informing her of my having taken apartments in the Rue Pvoyale that mornino^, and also of havino- foro-otten both the number of the house and the name of its owner. " Was it Mr. So and So's, or was it Colonel S.,'' she kindly suggested ; but quite in vain ; nothing could bring it back to my memory. '' Well,'' at length she replied, " as my brother is gone to the country, you can sleep in his room to-night. Take the first turn at the foot of the steps, cross the large landing-place, and go into the room at the head of the large stairs. Stay, I will give you a light." After a short pause, I heard, at the other side of the closed door, a crackling noise, announcing the ignition of a lucifer match, and immediately after- wards a lighted candle made its appearance, as well as a very pretty little jewelled hand, neatly pressed at the wrist with a very pretty little lace frill. Having taken the preferred candle, I thanked my hostess, and easily found my way to the room she had described, where I slept most comfortably. In the morning I was awakened by an old negro woman, who brought me a cup of coffee, returning, before my toilet was completed, with a pair of handsome ivory-backed hair-brushes, belonging to her mistress, together with her compliments to know if I had slept well. I made acquaintance with Mrs. C, the heroine of this adventure, in society afterwards. She laughed heartily at it, and said she had not been in the COLONEL white's. 25 least alarmed. The idea of any one having come in to rob the house had never entered her head. Soon after my arrival at New Orleans, I accompanied Colonel "White on a visit to his sugar plantation, about thirty miles down the river. He had been away for some time ; his arrival in the evening was, therefore, a signal for general rejoicing among his negroes, who lighted a bonfire on the bank of the river to celebrate the event. I was much struck at the evident delight they evinced at seeing him once more among them, as the more favoured ones crowded round to shake hands with him. How different, thought I, from our precon- ceived notions in England, of the condition of negroes in the slave states of America — an impression still further confirmed, when I subsequently visited their neat littJe dwellings. The colonel's house was very comfortable, surrounded by a beautiful, well-kept garden ; and by his sugar planta- tion— a very extensive one, and admirably well managed. Early the next morning, a neatly-dressed old negro woman, with a coloured cotton handkerchief tied round her head, awoke me, bringing me at the same time a cup of hot, strong coffee, to assist me in shaking oif the shackles of the drowsy god. I then rose, dressed, and joined the colonel in a ride through his plantation ; returned to a capital breakfast ; after which we visited the difi'erent houses and machineries connected with the manufacture of the cane ; the colonel, from time to time, endeavouring to initiate me into the mysteries of sugar. At ten o'clock we dined, after which I started off to wage war on the snipes, which I found in abundance in and around where cane had been, and in swampy patches where the reeds were cut away. The colonel continued riding about on horseback, contemplating the sport. In many places the reeds were so thick, that it was difficult to find those birds that happened to fall dead ; however^ •26; RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. I bagged twenty-one brace out of twenty-three and a half, to the great satisfaction of the colonel, who enjoyed the sport quite as much as myself, accompanying the fall of each bird with a hearty cheer. In the evening, the colonel produced a bottle of old Irish whiskey, giving me, after supper, and over our tumbler of punch, an admirable description of the battle of New Orleans, at which he was himself present, being an aide-de-camp and particular friend of General Jack- son's. The attack of the English he described as a splendid one ; but, considering the circumstances under which the Americans were entrenched, and effectually protected by their admirable breastwork of cotton-bales, it must have been — as the event subsequently proved — a most unadvisable undertaking. The colonel, indeed, with an oath, declared it the most frantic piece of infatuation on the part of the English General, only to be accounted for on the supposition of his being drunk at the time. The lie of snipes is most uncertain, and the place where they abound to-day will be abandoned by them to-morrow. The following day, I found but five birds on the spot which had afforded me the greatest number of shots the day before ; of these I fired at and shot three, and the next day — before starting to New Orleans — I ran out and finished the other two, before the steamer arrived by which we returned to town in the evening. On my return to New Orleans, I found a grand musical performance, in the shape of an Oratorio in process of rehearsal, for the purpose of raising funds to defray the expenses of the new organ for the large Episcopalian Church in Canal Street, and all the musical amateurs of the tovrn hard at work getting up the oratorio of "David,'' composed by Sigismond Neukomm. The conductor, Mr. Courteau, who was acquainted with me, requested me to join, and persuaded me to take one of the solo parts. ORATORIO OF " DAYID/' 27 Shortly after this the general rehearsal came off in the church, with organ and orchestra. The choruses went beautifully ; but the solos Vv'ere decided failures, the amateur voices not being either sufficiently powerful nor sufficiently trained to support solo parts in so large a building, with an orchestra. The committee were obliged to obtain the assistance of the singers of the Italian Opera — Madame Fleur Jolie (Prima-Donna). Madame Favi, Mrs. Wilcox, and the tenore, M. Duffet ; all of whom offered their services, without remuneration. The basso, however, was too mercenary to follow their example ; I was, therefore, obliged to sing his part as well as my own. When Goliath, therefore, was defunct, i appeared again as King Saul, much to the amusement of several of my friends, who declared that " I took a vast deal of killing, by Gr — ." I remained several weeks in New Orleans, with my kind friends, passing my time very pleasantly at balls, dinner-parties, and excursions to Lake Pontchartrain, and took my leave amidst hearty farewells and faithful promises to return again to New Orleans. CPIAPTER II. Arkansas forests. — Deer shooting. — The Major's good shots. — Fire- Pan -hunting. — Fine fat Bucks. — Still-hunting. — First night in the Woods. — Panther shot. — Black bait for an Alligator. — Assas- sination of a Bear. I PROCEEDED up the Mississippi and Arkansor rivers, having determined to try hunting in the Arkansas country, of which I had heard a very good report. I introduced myself to Mr. Keatts, the owner of a fine cotton plantation, who hospitably welcomed me to his 28 RAiMBLES AND ADVENTURES. house, and proposed my remaining a day or two with him, at the end of which time, he promised to accom- pany me to his brother-in-law's, about twenty miles distant, which place he recommended me to make my head- quarters. My host's residence was a handsome, comfortable house, built of wood, its large roof and wide surrounding verandah rendering it very picturesque. The day on which I arrived was oppressively hot, so, in the evening, we sat out in the verandah sipping our coffee and smoking our cigars, and surveying the lovely moonlight scene before us. The climate Avas Italian ; in the fore- ground, the moon's rays capriciously displayed the very beautiful shrubs and flowers with which Keatts had sa tastefully ornamented his garden ; and, behind them, the colossal forms of forest trees, not planted by man's hand. Silence, however, was far from reigning over the scene ; my European ears being bewildered with the quaint, yet not discordant cries of the Whip-poor- Will, interrupted every now and then, as if impatiently and angrily, by the cry of his rival chatterer, Whip-poor- Will's-widow* — sounds differing so much from those of our little musical birds, as strongly to remind me of absence from home, of a new world, and of a creation where ''night unto night showeth knowledge." The fire-flies, too, literally ''glanced among myrtle-boughs, * The Whip-poor-Will is rendered Interesting by the mysterious veneration in which he is held by so many of our fair friends in Arkansas, who evidently (although unwilling to confess it) deem him a bird of ill omen. He is a species of the Goatsucker tribe, of a dark brown-colour, with black stripes, and curiously mottled ; head not so dark, with an enormous mouth ; a strong bill, slightly curved at the extremity ; and is furnished, no doubt for the greater facility of securing his prey, with long whalebone-like hairs extending beyond the bill. He feeds on insects, is seldom seen on the wing in the day-time, and flies close to the ground, and like a swallow. The Whip-poor- Will's widow is very like him ; but perhaps a different species, and not so large. DEER SHOOTING. 29 as if distracted by the incessant cheeping of gigantic grasshoppers/' Two days afterwards, we were joined by Keatts's brother, an excellent deer hunter, and we all three moved off next morning on horseback to the brother-in- law's, with guns, saddle-bags, &c. ; and, on the next day after our arrival, sallied forth to commence our hunting ; Keatts, who, though an excellent shot, was not a strong man, or capable of enduring much fatigue, taking my double-barrel, intending to operate with buck- shot, while his brother and I shouldered our rifles. After riding for a few miles throuo-h the most beautiful and likely forest, and along glades of inviting scrub-oak, we came to what is called a deer-lick. These deer-licks are either deposits of salt or patches of land strongly impregnated with salt, to which the deer are attracted, probably by feeling themselves surfeited with the rank grass on which they browse, for they generally feed early in the mornino; and late in the evenino-, and the time "when they are chiefly to be found at the licks, is after noon and before midnight. Arrived at a well-known lick, we unsaddled our horses and picketted them, and contrived, by lighting a fire to windward of them, and supplying it with a heap of green wood, to envelop the poor animals in the smoke it created, in order, as much as possible, to protect then?- from the attacks of the flies, which prove a perfect pest in this country. This accomplished, Keatts clambered up into a tree commanding a good view of the lick, armed with my double-barrelled gun, while we, with our long rifles, went to seek our fortunes in a rather more laborious way. We agreed, if possible, to meet on the bank of a little stream, and halt for mid-day, it being then the height of summer. After each had hunted some time un- successfully, we met at our rendezvous, but had hardly ?0 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. lighted our fire, when we were roused by the snorting and whistling of a deer. I raised myself slowly on one knee, and fortunately, before he could bound away back into the thicket, planted a bullet behind his shovilder. He dashed forward with his head thrust downwards fo:: a few paces, rolled over, and expired. I was rather pleased at my success, and immediately set to work at skinning him, alas ! how awkwardly ! I had more dif- ficulty in removing the skin from that one deer, than I should have found, twelve months afterwards, in shred- ding off the hides of two bison bulls. But, though my companion assisted me, we had hardly flayed and cut up our game, when I heard my double -barrel go off with a tremendous report. "Hullo, Harry!'' I exclaimed, *' that report is too strong for my gun ; I am sure all's not right ;" and, so strongly were my suspicions raised, that we both started off to see whether anything really was the matter. We were not far from the deer-lick where we had left Keatts, when we heard him as we approached, feebly calling, '' Held ! help ! " and found the poor fellow lying at the foot of the tree in which we had left him perched like a squirrel that morniug, but now hardly able to speak from pain and exhaustion, and a fine fat buck (much larger than the one I had killed) lying about fourteen paces off. The catastrophe was in this wise. Keatts, perched up on a branch, contrived in some way or other to let off both barrels of the gun together at the deer, the result of which was the simul- taneous downfal of sportsman, gun, and game. The poor fellow was considerably hurt, but much more frightened; fortunately, however, no bones were broken, which, from the height of the branch and the distance he must have fallen, was rather surprising. We paid dear for our sport that day. Poor Keatts was laid up in ordi- nary for a couple of weeks at least, and I had the felicity of beholding my poor double-barrel shattered to pieces PAN-HUNTING. 81 We continued deer-shooting for a few days longer^ after which my friend was obliged to return to one of his plantations. The house of his brother-in-law, Mr. Thibault, was a pleasant, hospitable cottage, and himself an excellent sportsman. We rose at day-break, breakfasted at sun-rise on fried venison and pork, corn dodgers, and coffee, and then sallied forth to our shoot- ing, seldom returning before supper-time, after various success, sometimes unfortunate, and sometime with horses heavy laden with the spoils of our hunt. After supper we used to chat over our adventures for awhile, and then turned in for the night. One evening we determined to go out pan-hunting, a species of sport, which, for the edification of my brethren on this side of the Atlantic, I must endeavour to explain. It is a method of hunting deer at night. An iron pan attached to a long stick serving as a handle is carried in the left hand over the left shoulder ; near where the left hand grasps the handle is a small pro- jecting stick, forming a fork on which to rest the rifle in firing. The pan is filled with burning pine knots, which being saturated with turpentine, shed a brilliant and constant light all round, shining into the eyes of any deer that may come in that direction and making them look like two balls of fire. The effect is most curious to those unaccustomed to it, and surprised me very much the first time that a deer came and stared at my light. I drew up my rifle, aimed as well as I was able, for I could but imperfectly trace the line of my sight, although marked with chalk (a plan we adopt when shooting wild ducks by night in England), and fired, but my inquisitive buck bounded off unscathed, as did another at which I had a tolerably fair shot also that night. My friend, however, bagged one, whereupon we halted, and having lighted our fire in a nice spot surrounded 52 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. by giant trees, sat down by the side of it, and, lulled by its cheerful crackling, alternately dozed and chatted tiU I forgot my disappointment at failing in pan-hunting, :and composed myself to sleep. My companion, how- ever, having killed his deer, was in great spirits and talkative ; so finding it quite impossible to baulk his communicative humour, I roused myself by filling and lighting my pipe, and made up my mind to listen. " Well, now ; I vow," said he, ''this pan-hunting is ^an almighty dangerous sort of thing, only to think on what happened the major about this time two years." (My readers must know^ that the major in question had that morning breakfasted with us.) " It's not for- gotten yet ; we rile him still about it/' " Well,'' I replied, " I remember you alluded to something this morning which had happened to him that seemed to me to amuse you much more than it amused the major." " Amused him!" he exclaimed, " well, now, I'll tell you the wiiole per ticklers, and if you think it ought to iiave amused him I'll eat my hat, and that's a fact. Well, now ; here goes. About this time two years the major takes it into his head to go out pan-hunting ; now, he never was at no time anything of a hunter, in no-ways : but away he goes one dark night, and as soon as he sees glaring before him - the eyes of a fine tarnation big buck, he draws his bead {anglice sight of rifle) upon him, and downs him. Up gets another, and off a little way. ' That must be the doe,' thinks the major, so he loads up, and away he goes after her, and soon comes up facing her again : crack goes his rifle again, and he downs her too. Well ; he thought he had played this time, so he makes his way home, fixes himself a stiff drink, and into bed, and in the morning starts a couple of nigirers with an old horse to bring home the meat : but, behold you ! no tidings of the ■deer, so he goes off" himselfi and when he got to the SUNDAY IN ARKANSAS. 33 place, Holy Moses ! what should he see, stark and stiff before him, but his beautiful brood mare plummed right between the eyes, and about twenty steps further the foal, too, dead enough this time, and no mistake." Soon after the completion of my friend's story, mc:'n- j ing dawned — Sunday morning ! None can so well appreciate " the breezy call of incense-breathing morn '' ias those who have felt the bracing influence of a fine jnight^s sleep in the forests of the West. The blue t robin flutters amono; the bouo;hs ; the mockino'-bird i ridicules the jay's cry of disappointment at the still unripe fruit ; the woodpecker hammers for his food on ithe hollow trunks of the decrepit giants of the forest ; earth and air are again full of life. The rich vegetation in this hot climate, and its rapid decomposition and reproduction, give birth to a vast I quantity of insect life, for the consumption of which 'nature has provided great numbers of the different species of woodpecker. This bird is furnished not only with a formidably long bill, but with a tongue which he ican protrude considerably beyond the extremity of it, land w^hich is armed with barbs enabling him to reach iand spear the insect at once in the decayed wood ibetween the clefts of the bark. If he cannot, he taps iaway on the hollow part, making a sufficient concussion Ito detach his prey from the bark inside and cause it to [roll down into some cavity or place where he can secure jit ; for, unassisted by his wings, he has the power of [running all over the stems of the trees which form his hunting-grounds. In addition to this faculty, he is enabled to maintain a stationary position by forcing the stiff feathers with which his tail is provided against the iinequalities in the bark : besides this, he is further [assisted by the backward growth of two of his claws. [The finest specimen of these birds is the ivory-bill ^woodpecker, whose operations I have often watched D 34 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. with much interest and amusement. By sticking his bill on different portions along the stem of the tree, he seems, by the sound, to discover where a hollow exists, and the moment he is satisfied of having found a valu- able place, like an accomplished little woodsman, the bird drives his powerful bill, causing the chips to fly, till he has succeeded in hewing his way into a luxurious colony of insects. We secured our horses at sunrise, packed our solitary deer, and returned to breakfast. All the household we found busily engaged in making the necessary arrange- ments to receive the preacher, a most excellent, humble man, who undertook four different districts of the country, visiting each place alternately once a month, I was surprised at the number of our little congregation, many of whom had come from some distance to attend. The discourse was both instructive and void of preten- sion, commencing and terminating with prayers, partly from the Church of England Liturgy and partly ex- tempore. When it was concluded, we all sat down to dinner. At each side of me was a fine blooming Arkansas lass, who had ridden twenty-four miles through the woods to this primitive, but sincere, service. The afternoon of the day following I occupied in cleaning my rifle and splicing the handle of my fire- pan, and at night started off again with my kind host to make a fresh attempt at this, to me, novel and amusing way of hunting. We proceeded on foot to a favourite lick for stags ; for, strange to say, there are some licks to which stags only repair, and where a doe is seldom or never found. Near this we halted, and collected, and with our little axe dressed up the pine knots for our hunting-pans, besides a spare supply which we kept at our rendezvous. The night was most favourable, being pitch-dark, and after creeping about for some time, I beheld, from the light thrown from my MORE PAN-HUNTING. 35 pan, a pair of shining balls of fire moving up and down a short distance off At first I took them for fireflies ; but, on more attentive observation, I saw, by their simultaneous motion, that they must be the eyes of a deer. After groping a little farther in that direction, the eyes again appeared ; and as they began to approach, the distance between them seemed gradually to increase, like the lamps of a travelling-carriage to a spectator watching its progress towards him, till the animal came so near that I could trace his outline ; so, holding my pan steadily on my shoulder with the left hand, I raised my rifle with the right, the barrel resting in the notch before mentioned, and suspecting, that, at night, from not being able to determine the hind sight, one is apt to shoot high in catching the front one clearly, I aimed so low that I could hardly, from force of habit, persuade myself to pull the trigger. When I fired, the deer gave a convulsive bound into the shades of night, and I thought he was lost. Presently, another came ; and as soon as he approached within about thirty paces, as well as I could judge by the appearance of the eyes (for I could not see his outline), he began to snort and whistle, " Wheeoo, whoo,'' which indicated plainly three things to me : — First, that the deer I had just fired at was struck and bleeding. Secondly, that this one smelt the blood. Thirdly, that there was, there- fore, no chance of my getting a nearer shot, and that I had very little time to lose if I intended to fire at all I therefore drew up my rifle, aimed a foot under the eyes, and pulled the trigger. All was silent : the eyes had disappeared. I listened eagerly, but heard nothing, loaded again, and waited a long time. Then I heard Thibault fire ; the wounded buck ran in the direction of a pool of water, in which I soon heard him kicking and splashing. I put down my pan, and rushed to the place, and my friend coming up at the same time, we d2 3d rambles and adventures. secured him, and drew him away by a circuitous route out of the neighbourhood. I had resumed my hunting-pan and rifie, and was leaning against a tree, when, like some phantom, the faint dusky outline of an enormous stag walked noise- lessly up, and was actually passing me. It made me, from the high state of excitement in which I then was, almost superstitious enough to fancy him the departed shade of an ancient denizen of these primeval forests. I fired rapidly as he passed in front of me. On receiv- ing the ball, he rushed violently off ; but from the way in which I heard him thrash the bushes, I knew I had a good chance of finding him at daybreak. I had hardly loaded again, when three or four pairs of glowing eyes presented themselves, glancing about in several direc- tions. I fired a chance shot at one, which fortunately brought the animal down on his tracks: -hearing him struggling on the ground, I feared, by the sound, that he was not for one moment safe ; I then threw down rifle and pan, and rushed up knife in hand. It was fortunate that I did so, for the stag was recovering, and just as I had seized him with my left hand by one of his horns, which being then only in the velvet, it broke in my grasp, so that I was compelled to drop my knife, and hold on to him with both hands, holloaing loudly for assistance, till the animal tore the front and sleeve of my shirt with his fore-feet, and made such a powerful fight, that had it not been for Thibault, who came up, attracted by my shouts, and stabbed him through the heart, I should not only have lost my stag, but have got the worst of it into the bargain. I do not think I ever longed so much for daybreak, being all this time in suspense as to the result of my first three shots ; bat morning beamed at last, when, guided by the blood, we immediately commenced our search. I found the first buck I had fired at struck FIVE FAT BUCKS KILLED.* 37 behind the fore-shoulder ; he had run about forty yards from where he had received the ball, and was lying 'dead. The second had fallen upon the spot, the bullet having passed through his head. Thibault found the third, — and a most splendid animal he was, — the largest buck, we both agreed, we had ever seen. I have shot a great many since then, but never one of so great a size. Altogether, we numbered five capital fat bucks, one two years old, one three years old, two four years old, and one colossal old patriarch, whose head, however, was no use for my collection, his horns, at this time of year, being mere soft excrescences. We had hard work to skin and cut up our game before the flies came to torment us ; when just as we had finished, a friend rode down to the scene of action, leading a couple of spare horses for us. So we jogged off home in high spirits to a late breakfast, at a little after eight, and after stretching and nailing up our deer-skins, and canvassing our night's adventures, James Keatts, who was sufficiently recovered to move back to his plantation, and I took leave of our kind host and hunting companion, and departed in different directions ; I carrying, as trophies of the hunt, seven- teen prime skins which I carefully saved, July being the best month in the year for buck-leather. Shortly after I had parted from Keatts, while walk- ing one day through the woods in the neighbourhood of Lake Jefferson looking for deer, I perceived the smell of smoke, which I found proceeding from a fire that had been piled up with green wood, and to leeward of which I saw, with great satisfaction, three fine deer, who had evidently taken up this position to screen themselves from the attacks of the flies which plague them greatly, ,and cause their heads and ears to be in constant motion. iln fact, it is the twitching of the ears of a deer that, mine times out of ten, betrays his locality to the eye 38 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. of an experienced hunter ; for the eye, from long prac- tice, acquires a habit of seizing instantly on every object in motion, so as to occupy its utmost attention until it is satisfied as to the cause of the movement. Again, nature has so assimilated the colour of all the creatures of her animated world to those of the sur- rounding vegetation, that, divested of their distinguish- ing attribute, motion, it is difficult to detect them. Even among the scanty vegetation in our northern! latitudes, our experience testifies in favour of this remarkable provision, by which animals without much means of defence are enabled, in some measure, to evade their many enemies. ^ Thus, if you go to a mountain in the highlands either of Scotland or other countries (for there is a great similarity in all highlands, both as regards their animals and vegetation), you will notice a grada- tion of colours from the base to the summit : at the base and where the ground is dark, the moor-fowl and hares wear the same dark hue, the former so nearly approach- ing the colour of the ground as not to be discernible unless in motion. Higher up the mountain, if there are vast tracts almost destitute of vegetation, and where the prevailing colour of the rock is blue or grey, there you will find hares of the same hue, commonly called " blue hares.'' Among some of the sombre cliffs in the mountainous parts of Ireland, black rabbits are found. Further up again, when we ascend the mountains that are capped with never-yielding snow, the hares (of course more seldom met with) are generally pure white. But the most remarkable instance is that of the ptar- migan, which seldom or never quits the snowy peaks. This bird is a species of grouse, to which it is closely allied, and in its habits and appearance the same ; it is quite white in winter, while, in summer, when the snow lies in patches, the bird becomes slightly tinged with FIRST CAMP ALONE IN THE FOREST. 39 brown and grey. All sportsmen know how difficult it is to discover a partridge, which thus in comparative safety seeks its food, from the wonderful combination of colours in its various brown feathers, which are striped with straw tintSj thus completing the similarity in the bii'd's appearance to the stubble which surrounds it. Neither is the rank and wild vegetation of a tropical climate disobedient to this law ; enabling the spotted leopard to lie hidden by leaves when crouching along the horizontal bough speckled with lichens and discolora- tions in the bark, and screening the striped tiger with the similarly vertical reeds of an Indian jungle. But to return to my narrative : I stalked noiselessly up to the deer, hiding behind the trees, and taking advantage of their heads being turned away to gain a nearer and a nearer tree, till at last, well in shot, I fired at the nearest, which fell unobserved by the others, who merely gave two or three graceful bounds, and, but slightly alarmed by the report of the shot, recommenced feeding at a little distance off. So, having quietly loaded, I crept round, and had effectually, as I fancied, concealed myself behind a good-sized tree, when one oi them suddenly turned and stared straight towards my cover, evidently suspecting something wrong, and trying to make me out. As he stood facing me, I fired, the ball passing through his throat and stretching him life- less. The third deer did not stop to inspect his fallen comrade, but sprang off at full speed. I was very busy skinning my prizes, when a negro man arrived from Keatts'"s on horseback, with a double-barrelled gun across his saddle (a most rare article in those parts) and lead- ing another horse for me to ride back to his master's. I did not, however, fancy returning home that night, so, as I was near the lake, and the sight of '' Snowball's scattering-iron " made me feel inclined for a little wild- fowl shooting, I determined, though in a very fever-and- 40 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. aguish sort of place, to camp out for the first time alone. Before, however, sending the man back with his horses, I obtained his assistance to collect some wood, light my fire, and pack the meat for my friends, all of I which, except some tit-bits for my supper, and the skins, I loaded on the horse that I was to have ridden. I laid an embargo on the double-barrelled gun, and also on a bottle of whiskey that Blackey had with him ; and as my own saddle-bags contained some biscuits and salt, besides powder and shot, and, by great good luck, some swan- drops, and I had a tin mug fastened to the pummel of my saddle, I considered myself " pretty well fixed off for the night.-" I roasted my venison very awkwardly, and cooked some liver and kidney infamously. I remember this circumstance particularly, because it was the first night I had ever camped out solus. It is only when left to our own resources, that we sportsmen of England feel how very little we are in the habit of doing for ourselves, and how helpless we are rendered by all our civilization. Very delightful, though, is that same refinement of sport in England, where you rise in the morning, not too early, and shave with hot water ; a substantial breakfast with a cup of delicious cream-softened tea awaits you in the breakfast-room ; your guns are as clean as if they had not been used at all the day before ; and you take them without the slightest compunction from the hands of that invaluable individual called the gamekeeper, who is to attend you throughout the day, and who tells you not to trouble yourself by carrying too great a weight of shot, as he has a supply with which to replenish your little two-pound Sykes : finally, when the day's shootino- is over, it matters little what the contents of the bag may be so far as dinner is concerned ; your own or your host's larder is quite independent of your day's contri- bution, and the excellent dinner awaiting you is not the A PANTHER SHOT. 41 less sumptuous in consequence of the gun not having been held straight, or the birds having been wild. Your fair lot is cast in the lap of England, a clime where running is unnecessary — fatigue is unknown, beyond that wholesome amount of exertion which is just suffi- cient to put you in wind and spirits for the merry dance that winds up the evening. Such thoughts as these were passing through my mind as I sat by my solitary fire, but they presented them- selves in much more forcible contrast on subsequent occasions, when I found myself, after an unsuccessful day's hunting, tired, cold, and very hungry in the wild plains of the Rocky Mountains. On the present occasion, however, being very com- fortable and amply provided for, I lit my pipe and mixed myself some grog from the contents of Blackey's whiskey-bottle, and having drawn one of the charges of shot from my double-barrelled gun, and in its place supplied one of swan-drops, I laid it beside me, and had sat smoking and musing for some time, when I per- ceived a pair of eyes shining very brightly in the fire- light a short distance off. I was puzzled, for they seemed too low to be those of a deer ; and when I took up my gun they disappeared. Presently, however, I saw them again ; and it then occurred to me that they might be those of a wolf, attracted probably by the offal of the deer close by ; so I retreated a little way, leaving him a free passage, to encourage his nearer approach, stationing myself, at the same time, in a more favour- able position for' a shot. By-and-by, I descried the faint outline of some crouching animal stealing towards the place where the offal lay and affording me a fair broadside. I fired, and saw no more of him ; but I thought it prudent to wait till daybreak to commence my search, as I did not much like undertaking it alone in the dark ; so I contented myself with a slight sketch 42 ^ RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES of whiskey-and-water and another pipe, and lay down to sleep. In the morning, I discovered how fortunate I had been ; for, a short distance oflp, and stone dead, lay a splendid panther. I was greatly elated by my night's performance ; and instead of starting off along the lake as I had intended, I remained to carefully flay ^ff and stretch my panther's skin ; which done, I re- newed my fire, and cooked and ate a comfortable break- fast. Then, having arranged everything to my satisfac- tion during my absence, I took the double-barrel and sallied forth for some duck-shooting. Several species of ducks are to be met with on the lakes and morasses in this part of the country. I was fortunate enough to come across two or three different ones in the course of my morning's sport. One was a specimen of the pin-tail duck, a fine but very shy bird ; his plumage shaded with the most beautiful browns intermixed with white. This duck has a remarkable black patch picked out with white on the back of his neck, long black feathers in the tail, while his head is of soft rich brown colour, and exhibits altogether a very handsome appearance. Some wood-ducks also fell to my gun this morning, very handsome fellows, with splendid green plumage and a white stripe reaching from the bill to the eye and beyond it round the neck. They are web-footed, and provided, besides, with tole- rably strong claws to enable them to perch on trees. I bagged five or six, but lost several, as I did not dare venture too far into the water, on account of the alli- gators. Securing all I could reach to my belt, I walked back to camp, and on my way shot a good-sized rattlesnake. I tried to skin him, but the flies forced me to abandon the attempt, from which I was indeed still farther discouraged by my having blown the head to pieces, and so rendered him of little use or ornament to my collection. BLACK BAIT FOR AN ALLIGATOR. 43 I found my host himself awaiting my return with the horses, greatly delighted at the fall of the panther, as he had been a considerable sufferer from the depreda- tions of similar animals, and I had the pleasure of fight- ing my battles o"er again as we rode home together to his house. I will close this chapter by recounting two hunting adventures of my brother Frederick, who, the year pre- vious to my departure for America, had hunted a good deal on the borders of Lake Jefferson, in the Arkansas country. After my return to England, we often talked over our adventures together ; so I have determined to chronicle the following for the entertainment of my readers, as nearly as possible in my brother's words : — " One day, when comfortably seated with Jackson and his family, in the neighbourhood of Lake Jefferson, a little nigger come running in, shouting, ' Oh, massa ! terrible big alligator ; him run at me.' When we got him to speak a little more coherently, it appeared that he had been bathing in the lake, and that an alligator had suddenly rushed at him, and when the boy, who luckily was not in deep water, had escaped by running to land, the brute had actually pursued him for some distance along the shore. We instantly loaded our rifles and started off in quest of the monster, accom- panied by the boy, who came as guide. After carefully exploring the bank and reeds, though unsuccessfully, we concealed ourselves, in hopes of seeing him rise to the top of the water when he thought the coast was clear ; but as we waited a long time without any result, we proposed what certainly was a most nefarious project ; namely, to make the boy strip off his clothes and start him into the water again as a bait for the alligator. It was some time before we could get the boy to come round to our view of the matter : his objections to our 44 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. plan were very strong, and his master's threats failed completely, as indeed they generally did ; for he was the kindest-hearted man in the world to his negroes. At last I coaxed him with a bright new dollar. This inducement prevailed over his fears, and the poor boy began to undress, his eyes all the while reverting alter- nately from the water to the dollar, and from the dollar to the water. We told him we did not want him to go in so deep as to be obliged to swim. ' By golly, then, me go for doUare ; ' and in he walked, but had hardly reached water higher than his knees, when crash went the reeds, and the little fellow cut in towards our place of concealment at an astonishing pace, pursued by the alligator. The savage beast, as before, came right out on the bank, where we nailed him with two capital shots through the head, that effectually checked his career. He struggled violently, but uselessly, to regain his congenial element, and, after two or three furious lashes of his ponderous tail, sullenly expired. The triumph of the boy was complete : had he, like another infant Hercules, strangled the alligator with his own hands, he could not have been more delighted : he yelled out, ' Me so berry glad,' tumbled head overheels, walked on his hands, and exhibited every symptom of nigger joy- " Shortly after, a settler on Lake Jefferson hearing of my success, asked me to assist him in attacking a large black bear that had done a great deal of mischief, and destroyed several of his pigs. Jackson had often pursued him, but the brute had always succeeded in dodging his attacks, sometimes beating off the dogs before he could come up to the scratch, at others evading the silent stalker in the high reeds of the forest. As I had never had the good luck to fall in with Bruin, though I had often seen his tracks, I gladly consented, and we lost no time in setting off. ' Here are the SPRING-GUN SHOOTING. 45 brute's tracks again/ he exclaimed, as he pointed to some footprints, evidently those of a very large bear, and which he immediately recognized as belonging to his old enemy. ' Look to your caps, and make sure of no snapping,' said he, as he put on a fresh one ; ' I guess this lad is not to be trifled with/ On we went on the tiptoe of expectation, until the tracks at last led us into a dense cane-brake, where we could make but slow progress, and had to use the utmost care to avoid making an alarm from the rattling of the canes. Unfor- tunately, at last, one of us trod upon a horizontal stick, which snapped loudly, and we had the mortification of hearing Bruin start off with a growl and a crash through the canes close ahead, but of course unseen by either of us. It was of no use to pursue ; we could only creep slowly on, while he could run like a dog through a field of grass. '' Poor Jackson ! how I pitied him : he looked at me, the picture of dismay, with his eyebrows up to the roots of his hair. I consoled him by proposing a new hunt at night, and, after holding a council of war, we decided on adopting the following stratagem: — R. Jack- son knew a favourite pass of the bears, from the cane- brake to where the pigs were in the habit of feeding in the wood ; ' so,' said he, ' we can set my rifle for him, and the old musket that my father took from an Indian, to whom it was given by the Britishers ; so now we'll slope home and fix them off, as you say, to-morrow night.' " On reaching his house, I looked up the musket in question, an old George III. Rex ; and what with clean- ing, repairing, and setting up the tackle for fixing both it and the rifle, it was late in the afternoon of the next day before we started with our apparatus complete. The rifle we set next to the cane-brake, as we were, after all our work, not quite sure that the aid musket would 46 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. go off (time and rust having destroyed almost all the steel facing of the hammer), but we were determined to try it at all events, after the trouble we had had ; so we placed it further towards the wood, having loaded it with five drachms of powder, a ball, and twenty buck- shot. All being arranged to our satisfaction, we retired to some distance to await the result."^ " The night was bitterly cold, but we dared not light a fire near our bear's path, and, what was worse, we could not prudently smoke ; so, being without that pro- tection, and armed only with our knives, we thought it safest to climb a tree close at hand, out of the way of bears, wolves, and panthers. We sat on a branch till far into the night, hearing no sounds but the cry of the Whip-poor- Will and his widow, the howling of wolves, and the dismal hooting of the owls. At last we began to get very drowsy, and could hardly prevent ourselves from tumbling off our perch, whispering from time to time, ' I fear he's not coming to-night ; ' or, 'I don't give him up yet,' when snap went the cap of the rifle ! Mutual ejaculations of disgust escaped us, for we fancied our main hopes dashed to the ground ; but they were scarcely uttered, when we heard brave old George III. * I might as well perhaps take this opportunity of initiating my brother-sportsmen into the mysteries of setting a spring-gun, or rather what is termed a spring-gun in Arkansas. The stock of a gun is firmly lashed to a tree and the muzzle to a stake firmly driven into the ground, the gun being adjusted so as to point at right angles to the path the animal is expected to take, and pre- sented at such a distance from the ground, as that, when discharged, it should lodge its contents in the region of the heart. A fine string is then attached to the trigger, and passed round a piece of polished stick behind the ti'igger, and then passed forward again beyond the path the animal is expected to take. The opposite end of the string is then fastened to a tree at the opposite side from the gun. The string must neither be slack, nor have any strain on it, otherwise the gun will not remain on full cock. When the animal passes, his chest comes against the string across his path, a slight push strains it sufficiently to draw the trigger, and he is a gone coon. ASSASSINATION OF A BEAR. 4'^' go off with the most tremendous explosion. We scram- bled down instantly, and ran to the scene of action, knife in hand. As the night was very dark, Jackson, knowing the ground better than I did, got there before me, and while endeavouring to follow him, I heard a fearful cry for help, succeeded by a dead silence. I ran up to the spot, and came in for such a scene ! the bear lying dead, and Jackson prostrate upon him, paralyzed with fright, caused by his having run against the bear in the dark, and rolled over the carcase, naturally enough fancying the bear a living beast, and himself a dead man. • My God, are you hurt V I exclaimed ; but found, on raising him up, neither blood nor broken bones : in short — '"The man recover 'd of the fright, The bear it was that died.' " The old flint musket had done its duty well, and planted bullet and swan-drops just in the mortal place behind the shoulder. Soon afterwards, morning dawned, and we returned to the house well repaid for our night's watching. Our host was greatly elated at our success ; but I, who had not suflered the loss of any pigs, felt rather ashamed, I confess, of the share I had taken in the assassination of the previous night/' 48 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES, CHAPTER III. Mammoth Caves, — Stalactite Architecture. — Ancient America, — Eambles in the Earth. — Mummy found, — Subterranean Ball, — St. Louis Hunting Club. — A good run. — A fat Buck killed. — Hospitable Hunters. — Kentucky talked down. — American Fur Company. I LEFT off hunting in Arkansas with reluctance ; but as I knew that an expedition was preparing to start from Independence for the Rocky Mountains, I thought it best to see about getting up the Mississippi again. Finding, however, when I reached St. Louis, that I had still some time to spare, I resolved on an excursion to Louisville, en route for the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky. Louisville is a very pleasant, flourishing town on the Ohio ; and as I had several letters of introduction, I made the acquaintance of some very charming people, and was so fortunate as to find many of them also on the eve of starting for the caves, where the fashionable watering-place and summer residence of the haute wlee oi Louisville is situated. Arrived at our destination, I presented my letter of introduction to the great Doctor Cronan, the famous ^sculapius and proprietor of the caves, which are directly on, or rather under, his property. Dr. Cronan has built a most extensive and comfortable hotel, com- prising all the luxuries of baths, a fine large dining- room, and splendid ball-room, with a gallery at one end for the orchestra, which includes some first-rate German brass-instrument players. The whole range of buildings forms three sides of a square, built of wood, and most invitingly cool and comfortable. The caves are a few minutes' walk from the hotel MAMMOTH CAYES. 49 You descend to the entrance by a fiight of steps, about forty feet deep, at the end of which yon are handed a lamp. At first yon descend gradually along a wide passage, which soon terminates suddenly in an extensive €avern, so vast that its sides are scarcely visible by the faint light of the lamps with which each visitor is pro- vided. The earth is rugged and broken, and intersected by rivers, two of which are crossed in a small skifi" On our first day's excui'sion, we followed one range of the- ramifications of caverns and passages to the end, where it terminated in solid rock, a distance of more than nine miles underground. We entered the caves after breakfast, and did not return till eight in the evening, after a subterranean walk of eighteen or nine- teen miles, up and down hill, over shingly mountains, along torrents, and across rivers of subterranean vraters ; sometimes squeezing our bodies through passages like mere fissures, then suddenly emerging into a vast cavern, similar to our Matlock Cave in Derbyshire ; sometimes through a corridor resembling the shaft of a mine ; and finally over a range of shingly hills some hundreds of feet in height. We caught some fish with a landing-net in these rivers, and" found them, by a wonderful dispensation of nature, without eyes or any organs adapted to the recep- tion of light. The stalactites in some places present a most fantastic appearance, covering the roof and sides of the cave with beautiful and delicate wreaths of flowers, sparkling like alabaster and as white as the driven snow. In one cavern, about 120 feet in length and 60 in width, they descend and connect the roof with the ground, thus forming the cave into a perfect old Gothic church ; each pair of the massive natural columns forming at their junction with the roof a complete and beautiful arch. From the appearance of these stalactites, the Doctor 50 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. told me that opinions had been formed by geologists as to the probable age of the caves, and periods long ante- cedent to the creation of man have been pronounced to be the date of their formation. It is said that they must now have been in existence 25,000 or 26,000 years. The columns measure, as well as I can remember, about fourteen feet in circumference on the average. I can scarcely venture an opinion upon this subject myself, but certainly the manner in which the Mammoth Caves were formed appears to me to have been due to volcanic agency, by which, in the first instance, cracks or fis- sures were produced in the crust of the earth, and afterwards cleared and enlarged by the action of water. Among other objects of interest are still to be seen several remnants of mummies, indicative of a very early state of civilization, and probably of an era long anterior to that of Indian tribes, dependent altogether for subsistence on the resources of hunting. The limits of these notes will not allow of my entering into a discussion on American antiquities, but many, who have studied the subject with much attention, agree in believing America to have been discovered by Euro- peans centuries before the arrival of Columbus, and testify to the evidently Roman character of remains still apparent in the state of Ohio. Little doubt exists as to the fact of these caves having been formerly inhabited, as hearths, evidently constructed with a view to contain fires, have been found in many of the passages ; but no conjecture can be made as to the period of their construction, save that they exhibit no apparent traces of European con- nections. Some time after the discovery of these wonderful caves, an American gentleman of the name of Ward, who, by all accounts, must have been a very courageous and experienced explorer, undertook, with a number of MUMMY FOUND. 51 aien, to trace out one or two of the numerous ramifica- tions ; and although they adopted every precaution that prudence could suggest to facilitate the retracing of their steps, such as marking stone flags at the passages by which they should return, with hands pointing and arrows flying towards the direction of the caves' mouth, yet they were very nearly lost, and did not emerge from their rambles in the "Inferno" till long after midnight, most of their lamps having burned out, while many 'were the apprehensions of their never again beholding the light of day. The account of this exploring expe- I dition strongly reminded me of the warning of Glaucus's jdauo'hter to ^neas — I Facilis descensus Averno, Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras, Hoc opus, hie labor est. So few traces of the mummies are now left at the places where they were discovered, that although my curiosity was much excited, I could not find sufficient data to compare them with Egyptian ones ; splinters of beech bark and shreds of flax cloth were the only traces I could find ; but I read with much interest Mr. Ward's description of a mummy found, which he was allowed to carry away with him, and which I will here transcribe : — '' It is a female about six feet in height, and so perfectly dried as to weigh but twenty pounds when I found it. The hair on the back part of the head is rather short, and of a sandy hue ; the top of the head is bald, and the eyes sunk into the head ; the nose, or that part which is cartilaginous, is dried down to the bones of the face ; the lips are dried away, and disco- vered a fine set of teeth, white as ivory. The hands and feet are perfect, even to the nails, and very delicate, like those of a young person ; but the teeth are worn as much as in a person at the age of fifty.'' E 2 §2 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. Doctor Cronan deplored tlie loss of this mummy, which was so perfect. Near her were found man\' curious little objects, totally dissimilar to any thin f: Indian ; among which were a carved wooden cup and a little reed whistle. During my stay a new crevice in the rocks was observed, and, after some perseverance, was made pass- able, and found to open into a large gallery, in some places of considerable size, in others diminishing in .height and width. It extended about five miles, and was terminated by a piece of subterranean water and solid rock. No species of vegetation grows in these caves, nor did I even find any kinds of moss. The temperature is always uniform, uninfluenced by that of the external air, which renders them, consequently, comfortable in winter, and delightfully cool in summer. The air inside is very pure ; so much so, that invalids have tried the experiment of remaining for weeks underground, and, notwithstanding the inevitable gloom that must have attended their sojourn in such a dreary abode, have found themselves greatly invigorated, and their appe- tites much increased. One gentleman recovered in a most wonderful manner, after a residence of several months in a cottage there, which was pointed out to me. The young ladies had, the year before, voted it too hot to dance above-ground, and had actually planned and given a subterranean ball ; choosing a very fine cavern, spacious enough, but not too large to admit of its being properly lighted, and having a boarded floor laid down for the occasion. I saw some vestiges of the arrangements still remaining ; and my fair friends assured me that as soon as their numbers were a little more augmented by the advancing watering-season, they intended to give another, and were kind enough to press HUL^TIXG CLUB. Do me to stay for it. Our evenings during my visit to the caves were truly delightful, and passed away but too rapidly between music, dancing, and moonlight rambles amidst the delightful scenery of that lovely spot. I tore myself away with regret, and returning to Louis- ville, took boat up to St. Louis. As soon as I arrived there, I commenced preparations for my Rocky Mountain expedition, and provided myself with everything except horses, which I learned were ^much better, and more easily procured in the neigh- bourhood of Independence. Having still two days to spare before the departure of a boat for the latter place, I accepted an invitation from Mr. Cohen, the president of the hunting club at St. Louis, to join their party in an early hunt next morning in the Illinois country, on the opposite side of the river. ; At four o'clock, therefore, next morning, and sorely 'against my will, I was obliged to jump out of bed, to the : music of old Mr. Cohen's horn. 1 dressed with all speed, I and on going down found a very fine horse (though i rather too fieiy a steed to shoot from) waiting for me in ithe street. I took my double-barrelled gun, which I had repaired and set to'rights after its fall from the tree in Arkansas. The rest of the party, about six in number, came dropping in one by one ; we rode down the river for some distance, to a feiTy, where we crossed, with our horses. The ferry-boat was worked by a pair of horses in the stern, pacing round and round as in a mill, and, working a kind of capstan, so impelled the boat backwards and forwards. Landing on the other side, we found ourselves in the free state of Illinois, and the dogs waiting for us. Before proceeding very far, we came to a most in- viting country for game — beautiful rich pasturage, broken by wooded glens ; affording at once feeding- ground, shelter, and water for deer. At that season of o4> RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. the year, however, the grass is unfortunately so high, thatj even when on horseback, it is very difficult to get a fair sight of the deer ; for, as they bound off, it closes so rapidly behind them, as merely to afford a snap shot in their direction. We put the dogs to in a beautiful glen of birch and scrub-oak, ranging ourselves along the outside of the wood on the high grassy plain, about sixty or eighty yards from one another. Presently we heard them give tongue ; every gun was cocked, and all eyes strained to catch a glimpse of the deer, when an old buck bounded out of the cover at a grand pace ; his horns, however, were covered with velvet, for I could see the shreds hanging from them even at the distance I was stationed: Bang ! bang ! went old Cohen's double-barrelled gun, but the deer bounded on unhurt ; then, suddenly turn- ing, ran the gauntlet past two young men, escaping four shots more, and went off uninjured, leaping grace- fully into the air now and then, as if in conscious pride of the daring feat he had performed. Whilst we were drawing another cover, similar to the first, several of the party got snap shots at outlying deer ; but they likewise escaped. My horse had, unfortunately, such a fear of the gun, that once, when a doe started up near me in the long grass, the brute, anticipating the report of the gun, wheeled right round on his hind-legs, turning my back to the direction in which she was making off, and so lost me my shot. About three-quarters of an hour afterwards, much to my surprise, I heard, as I thought, our dogs giving tongue at a great distance off, and in a totally different direction from that where we were drawing cover. I set off at full speed, and in this particular found my horse's performance fully equal to what his appearance pro- mised, for he took me through the long grass, which nearly switched my eyes out, to the wooded hills on the I A GOOD RUN. 55 other side of the plain at a clipping pace. As T neared, the baying of the dogs came louder and louder. " Have I a chance of cutting him off?'' thought I to myself as I urged on my horse, whose bottom was wonderful. At last the course I was pursuing as most likely to effect my object (which, after all, was a complete chance), led into a wood too thick to allow of anything of a pace on horseback ; nevertheless I dashed on, barely slackening speed till absolutely compelled to stop by some fallen trees, when, throwing myself off my horse, whom I left to his own devices, after a short run on foot I was crossed by the stag in full career. I took a snap shot, and struck him in the flank, being blown a little by riding and running. He turned and was soon lost to view. On going to the spot where I had fired at him, I saw some blood, which made me hope that the dogs might still find him ; so, drawing my knife, I blazed a couple of trees, and went back to look for my horse, whom I fortunately found with very little trouble. I had scarcely mounted him again before I heard the sound of a horn in the rear, and to the left on the hill- sid ;, and a shout of, " Who fired that shot V "II" I replied ; and, on riding up, found, to my astonishment, that I had fallen in with quite another hunting party, and another pack of hounds. I immediately apologized, and hoped I had not spoiled their sport. To which the owner of the dogs and the horn replied, " You are most welcome ! your deer's here ; a very fair buck. I guess you were near missing, though. Only for that one buck-shot through the kidneys you would not have got him. There are one or two in the paunch, but of no account. We had lost him but for you. How was you so lucky as to fix yourself there below, and all?" I explained the whole matter in very few words ; where- upon they insisted on my staying with them and sharing their corn-cake, cold boiled pork, and whiskey, on the 56 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. plea that I should lose myself in going back to look for my own party, but in reality to exercise that innate love of hospitality for which all the Americans are so justly celebrated. They even commenced packing the deer upon my horse ; but I would not hear of it,, and insisted upon the right of its belonging to the owner of the dogs. YV e then sat down to a capital lunch, near a running stream, which afforded us the '' cold without '' to qualify our whiskey, one of the party good-naturedly offering to accompany me afterwards to the ferry to show me the way, as I had made such a round in the course I had taken in my pursuit of the stag ; which he not only did, but also crossed with me. I think, however, I was indebted for the society of my entertaining companion to the bright eyes of a very pretty widow, who presided at a bar on the Missouri side of the water, and to whose bar he insisted on taking me, in order, as he said, to treat me to a particularly fine whiskey cock-tail ; after which I shook hands with him, and rode back to St. Louis, leaving him to bask in the sunshine of the little widow's tender glances. I rejoined my hunting companions of the morning at supper, at the planter's house, which was my hotel. They were surprised to hear of my afternoon's adven- ture, as they fancied I had gone home long before. We spent a noisy evening, towards the termination of which a most singular bet was made. Old Mr. Cohen was universally considered a great talker, so much so, that he even admitted it himself ; but this evening a formid- able rival appeared against him in the person of a strange character from Kentucky, who fairly met him on lus own ground, and after supper evinced such unceasing powers of conversation, that old Mr. Cohen was unable to get in a word, and was fain to claim a hearing. " Let me speak, let me speak,'' he gasped several times, but with no avail ; till, at last, the fool's argument was THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY. 57 resorted to, and a bet made which should talk the longest. An umpire was chosen to determine which of the two loquacious combatants should be the winner ; but, as might naturally be supposed, none of us had the patience to sit out the contest, so we went off to bed, lea\ing a plentiful supply of brandy, sugar, and iced water. Next morning, at a quarter-past five, victory was declared for Missouri, the umpire returning at that hour and finding the Kentucky man fast asleep in his arm-chair, and old Mr. Cohen sitting up close beside him and whispering in his ear. I started next day up the Missouri river for Inde- pendence, where I arrived in less than a week, and met I the party with whom I intended to travel across the [prairies. i Every year, at the beginning of September, the American Fur Company sends off an expedition to the different trading posts on the banks of the Missouri and Yellow Stone rivers. This caravan is composed of the traders, workmen, artificers, and hunters of the company, who go up to their forts or trading posts according to their engagements with Messrs. Pierre, Chateau, and Cie., of St. Louis, who constitute the branch establishment in that town. The goods con- veyed into the Indian territory for the purchase, or rather barter, of furs and skins, are brought up the Missouri from St. Louis in a steamboat once a year. This vessel starts in the early part of May, at the time most fitted to take advantage of the rise in the upper Missouri, caused by the melting of the snows on the Indian plains and the Rocky Mountains ; and, after depositing the various articles and wares for barter with which it supplies the trading posts, terminates its voyage at Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellow Stone, where that river falls into the great Missouri, arriving thither i about the end of July, at which time the Missouri feels 58- RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. the maximum accession to its waters. The mouth of the Yellow Stone is upwards of 2,000 miles from St. Louis ; this distance, therefore, is accomplished by the intrepid little steamer, through a most difficult naviga- tion and against a current running six miles an hour, within the space of from seven to eight weeks : the descent occupies about eight or nine days. This steamer carries up all the articles most prized by the North American Indians, with the exception of ardent spirits or any intoxicating liquor. I could hardly detail all the articles brought up for the fur-trade ; but the principal ones are guns, powder, lead, coffee, sugar, tobacco, and white, blue, red, and green blankets ; also vermilion, and blue and white glass beads. The articles obtained from the Indians in exchange are chiefly baffalo-robes and the undressed skins of elk, deer, antelope, wolf, with a few of the grisly bear. The rarer and more valuable furs are sought for and purchased for the continental market, by the Hudson's Bay Company, whose territories lie to the northward — the climate of which being so much colder, produces furs of still greater value. Generally speaking, the colder the climate the more valuable the fur. Even the same animal in the same region will bear a far more valuable fur if the winter reaches a greater intensity of cold than what is ordinary in the districts ; so much so, that connoisseurs in furs will talk of the winters of '34 and '46, as connoisseurs in wine do of the great vintages of '36 and '42. Indeed, my own admiration of beautiful furs is so great, that I cannot help so far participating in their feelings as to think it would be delightful if we could induce our English ladies to take a wider range, and to select from all the valuable furs found in those regions ; above all things, to exercise more discrimination in the choice of their so frequently misnamed sables ; for it is sad to see a beautiful creatui-e most exquisitely dressed in all other FINE FURS. 59 respects, but bearing on her graceful shoulder a long strip of painted rubbish, imposed on her, no doubt, as a real sable boa, but to the eye of an observing admirer of handsome furs, as easily distinguishable from this as is a printed calico from a Chinese crepe shawl. Why do our ladies adopt the sable (which compara- tively is not a valuable fur) to the utter exclusion of the more rare as well as beautiful kinds ; such as the black, blue, and silver-grey foxes ? If these were but a little more seen and known, I am certain the taste of our countrywomen would no longer allow the Hudson Bay Company to send them to foreign countries in search of purchasers more capable of appreciating them. CHAPTER IV. Old Mr. Kipp.— Preparing for the Start.— Mormons.— Camping at Night. — Duck-shooting. — Gigantic Vegetation. — Prairie on Fire, —Port Vermilion.— Scalp Dance.— A Dog Feast.— A Woman bought and saved. — Hint from a Bullet. — Fort Pierre. I LEFT the river steamer at Independence, and made my way over to the farm of Mr. Kipp, a member of the American Fur Company, and leader of the autumn expedition every year into the Indian country of the Upper Missouri, which escort it was my intention to join in the first instance. Mr. Kipp was a hardy old veteran, who, although upwards of sixty years of age, used every year to ride from his farm, near Independence, up to the mouth of the Yellow Stone river, a distance of 1,500 or 1,600 miles ; he had already ridden this journey upwards of twenty times in so many successive years, returning down "^on the Fur Company's barges or mackinaw boats 60 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. every summer to St. Louis, in charge of the skins ^nd furs obtained by the traders from the Indians. ^ I arrived in the midst of his preparations for his journey, and obtained his assistance in purchasing horses. This delayed us for one day, so that we did not leave till the 2nd of September, a date which I remember from his observing to me that it was the first time for many years that he had failed in getting under weigh on the first of that month. Our travelling party consisted of about seventeen or eighteen ; namely, old Kipp, the leader ; Mr. Mun-ay, a Scotchman in the service of the company, and in charge of Fort Alexan- der, on the Yellow Stone, the trading post of the Crow Indians, who was also on his way up to that post : we were accompanied by a hardy set of Frenchmen (almost all the employes of the company being French), some of Creole and some of Canadian origin— the latter techni- cally termed wyageurs—^ocAe, patient, enduring fel- lows, with constitutions like iron, well practised in journeys of this kind and character. Each man was mounted, and led a second horse packed with his clothes or provisions, or whatever might be wanting on the journey: one of these men was assigned to me' to mind my packhorse and carry a spare gun ; and I found old Alexandre a most amusing and useful vagabond. We had grand confusion at starting— kicking horses, obstinate mules, packs slipping off, &c., with the usual amount of oaths and maledictions ; but things fell into working order after a while, and we continued°our course without much further disturbance. For the first two or three days our route lay throuo-h a A-ery thinly-inhabited country, with farm-houses "at intervals, at which we put up for the night as we went along, and at some of which we found capital quarters, both as regarded board and lodging ; of the latter, Mr! Kipp, Mr. Murray, and I availing ourselves, while the CAMPING AT NIGHT. 61 men camped out. We passed through a good deal of country inclosed and cultivated by the Mormons. I need not here mention their peculiar tenets in relioion, for they are tolerably -well known to most of m.y readers ; nor the various enormities of -which they are accused ; such as holding a plurality of wives, &c. At all events, they are an indefatigable set of men, agricultural as well as religious enthusiasts, and the pioneers of a future civilization ; for the day is not far distant when, by their means, the Ked Man and the buffalo will be swept off the face of the earth. The last spot where we saw white faces was the Council Bluffs, the trading post and the residence of a o"overnment ao;ent, where we remained a day supplying ourselves with coffee, sugar, and biscuit, salt pork, and beans, as we did not expect for some time yet to reach a good hunting country. I will give here a discription of our first night's camp, which will suffice for all, as each night's work was little more than a repetition of the same operations. A little before sunset, we unsaddled and unpacked our horses, placing the packs and saddle of each rider in a separate pile, at equal distances, so as to form a circular inclosure about ten paces in diameter ; and after watering and " hobling " the horses, /. e. attaching the fore and hind legs on one side together by means of an iron chain, with a leathern strap round the fetlock, to prevent their stray- ing, we turned them loose to graze ; not till then con- sidering ourselves at liberty to attend to our own comforts. Our first business was, then, to cut and gather wood, and to light a fire in the centre of the circle, fetching some water in the kettles, and putting the meat on to cook, and making our beds of saddle-cloths, blankets, and buffalo-robes : this done, we roasted our coffee-berries, and having wrapped them in a piece of deer or buffalo skin, and pounded them on the stump of a tree with the back of a hatchet, put them in our coffee-pot and boiled 62 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. them ; and the meat being cooked by the time this pro- cess was over, and the coffee made, we fell to with great! appetite. After supper, we lighted our pipes, and then! each turned in when he felt inclined, and, with his feetl to the fire, slept as only travellers in the prairie can sleep. Before day we were up again, unhobled and watered our horses, loaded the packs, and were all in the saddle by sunrise. We rode on till about eleven o'clock, when we camped again for breakfast, letting the horses graze for a couple of hours ; at one, starting off again to pursue our march till near dark. One day we arrived, a little after noon, at a very nice situation for camping, near a lake. Our salt meat was out ; we had nothing but beans ; and, on account of the Indians having recently scoured the country, we had not met with any heavier game than ducks and teal ; so the hunters and I set off" to try and get a supply of these ; but, to my infinite astonishment, I found that neither of them could shoot on the wing. It was amusing to see how astounded they were at my knocking over a fine mallard, that came wheeling over our heads ; they in- sisted on its being a chance shot, and would not be per- suaded of the contrary, until I brought down several successively ; and at last, with a most satisfactory right and left, silenced their scepticism completely. They were greatly delighted : " Mais comment diable, monsieur, faites-vous cela V said one hardy old veteran to me. I offered to instruct him, but could not get him to fire rapidly enough, as he was afraid of wasting his ammuni- tion, which was very expensive. I remember I had to work hard for my ducks that evening ; they all fell in the water, and I had to swim for them ; but they formed a great addition to the boiled beans we had lately been reduced to. Next evening we were threatened with rain ; and the manner in which we protected ourselves will show how GIGANTIC VEGETATION. 63 ingeniously travellers in the prairies obviate the difficul- ties which arise. Camping near some willows, we cut of these a sufficient quantity to enable each of us to form a semicircular hut for himself, by bending and sticking the extremities of each osier into the ground, so as to form a succession of arches ; after which, by weaving in a few pliant sallies along the top and sides of this framework, we made it sufficiently firm to sup- port spare skins, saddle-cloths, and buffalo-robes, under the shelter of which we crept in and made our beds. The vegetation in this part of the prairie was very rank, and in some places gigantic, the grass growing over thousands of acres n-om five to eidit feet hio-h. For two days we travelled through this, without inter- mission, occasionally meeting with willows and small spots of timber. Everything around — the huge coarse grass — weeds that I never saw before, rank and tangled in their unchecked growth — and the eternal illimitable sweep of the undulating prairie, impressed on me a sense of vastness quite overwhelming. One afternoon, on a day when we had made an early camp, I started with a hunter, to see if we could find anything to eat with our boiled beans. We had to wade along through the grass to a range of hills, about a mile and a* half out of the direction of our journey, our pro- gress being rendered still more tedious and fatiguing by the old fallen timber-trees, six or seven feet in diameter, over the trunks of which we had to make our way, as they lay about in hundreds across our path, over- thrown by age and tempests. I know not when I have felt so forcibly conscious of my own insignificance, as when struggling through this immense waste, and feel- ing as though I were suddenly carried backward into some remote and long-past age, and as though I were encroaching on the territories of the mammoth and the mastodon. Nor was my astonishment the less, when at 64 RAMBLES AND ADVENTUKES. length we attained the hills, to meet with a succession of deep dry watercourses, with oaks of enormous size growing along them, and so close against the steep sides, that their topmost branches lay on the bank, overlapping the grassy plain. I soon, however, abandoned my reverie, and kept a sharp look out, for we began to see signs of game ; and, after a while, were pretty well rewarded for our trouble and fatigue, by killing a deer apiece, a turkey, and a blue-winged teal ; but we were dreadfully tired, and but for a bright moon, could never have returned to the party that night. Our arrival was the signal for a second supper, all being eager enough to taste the venison, which, to men who had lived so long upon beans, was a great treat. One night we were considerably alarmed at seeing to windward of us a lurid glare of red light, by which we soon knew that the prairie was on fire. We instantly started up and kindled the grass between our position and the approaching conflagration, so as to burn away the intervening material, and cut off the progress of the flames by depriving them of food, carefully extinguish- ing our own fire at the same time, of course. It was a splendid and terrible sight ! The fire did not, in fact, come within several miles of where we stood, ,but at ni2;ht it always appears much nearer and the danger more imminent than is really the case. Conjecture was rife among my more experienced fellow-travellers as to its cause, but all agreed in arguing no good from it. '^ Ah, Monsieur!'' said one old fellow to me, ^^les peaux rouges sont en chemin." He meant the Indians, and the next day proved him to be right, for on reach- ing Fort Vermilion (the second trading post of the Fur , Company on the Missouri) about noon, we saw, to our surprise, from the hills commanding a view of the plain skirting the river by the fort, the lodges or tents of the PRAIRIE ON FIRE. 65 Sioux Indians and some wild creatures, indistinctly ■ visible in the distance, running to and fro on foot and on horseback. I I never, in all my experience of life in the prairies, ! witnessed the awful wonders of a prairie on fire ; but a brother-sportsman of mine, who was very near losing both horses and mules from a frightful event of the kind, gave me the following description of his experience of one, shortly after my return, which I here tran- i scribe : — '' We had seen, during the latter part of our ' day's journey, a remarkable appearance in the eastern i horizon ; and during supper observed a smell of burning, and a few light cinders fell about the camp, and pre- sently we remarked that the luminous appearance in the east had very much augmented. There being a little hill in front of us, we could not see distinctly what caused it ; but having consulted together, we agreed that it proceeded from a prairie on fire, which, however, , was a long way off". About eight o'clock the smell of I burning and the glare having materially increased, we ; walked up to the top of the hill, when a spectacle pre- ! sented itself to us the most grand that can well be con- ceived. The whole horizon, from north to south, was one wall of fire, blazing up in some places to a great height, at others merely smouldering in the grass. It was, however, at least, eight miles off"; but the wind seemed to set in our direction, so we instantly returned, and took measures to preserve the camp. We were in a corner, as it were, on the bank of the stream, with a good deal of brushwood running up on our left, and the ground sloping up gradually from the creek to the top 1 of the hill. Our guides, on looking at the fire, said that it would not harm us — *' Ce n'est rien — le vent change.' In short, they would do nothing. In about twenty minutes, however, it approached so near, that there was aio time to be lost, and all hands were immediately em- r 66 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. ployed in burning a road across the face of the hill, so as to stop the fire at that part. A more picturesque scene could hardly be imagined. The night was veiy dark, but as far as the eye could reach, all across the horizon, about four miles in front of us, was a broad, bright, lurid glare of fire, with a thick canopy of smoke hanging over it, whose fantastic wreaths, as they curled in the breeze, were tinged with the red reflection of the flames. Even at that distance we could hear the crack- ling and rushing of the fire, which, as it advanced, caused a strong wind, and every now and then a brighter flame would shoot high up into the black cloud of smoke over the top of the hill, illuminating for an instant our tents and waggons in the dark hollow, and giving a momentary glimpse of the horses which were picketed on the side of the rise, on the crest of which the figures of the men engaged in lighting the opposition fire (which, as it became too extended, they beat down with blankets, only suffering it to burn a space about twelve feet broad, right across the line of the advancing conflagration), stood out in strong relief against the glowing Avail of light beyond them ; and as they ran about, tossing their arms, and waving the blankets and little torches of lighted grass, they looked in the distance like demons rather than men. We had no time to look at the picturesque, however, for every moment (owing to their previous obstinacy in neglecting to take precautions in time) became more pregnant with danger, and by the time they had burned as much as would only about half cover the camp, the fire was raging in the bottom at the other side of the hill. I ran up for an instant to the top, and shall never forget the scene. Although still half a mile off, the fire seemed close to me, and the heat and smoke were almost intolerable, while the dazzling brightness of the flames made it painful to look at them ; they were in PRAIRIE OX FIRE. 67 three lines nearly parallel, the first of which was just below me, burning with a rushing noise, and crackling as it caught the dry grass, that gave^ an idea of total destruction which it is impossible to convey, and stretch- ing away over hill and dale for twelve or fourteen miles on each side of me, lighting up the sides of the hills and the little gToves of wood far away. The two lines in the rear were not so much connected, and seemed rather licking up any little spots of grass which had •escaped at first. Every now and then a prairie hen would flirr past, flying in a wild uncertain manner, as if fear had almost deprived it of the use of its wings ; while all the sono^sters of the 2:rove were wheelino- about among the trees, uttering the most expressive cries of alarm, and the melancholy hooting of several owls, and wailing yells of the wolves, together with the shouts and cries of the men, almost drowned occasionally by the roaring of the flames, added to the savage grandeur of the scene, and one could have fancied the end of all things was at hand. On returning to the camp, I found all hands cutting the lassoes and halters of the mules, some of which galloped off instantly into the river, where they remained standing till the hurri- cane of flame had passed over ; the others, seemingly trusting themselves instinctively more to man than to their own energies in such an emergency, foUovred us up the space which we had burned, and remained quietly there, trembling indeed, but without an eflbrt to escape. i By the time the animals were collected in this spot, the fire was blazing on the top of the hill, and we all rushed away with blankets to arrest its progress, if possible, at the part which we had left unguarded ; all our efforts would have been in vain, however, and our tents and , everything else must have been consumed, but that, just : at that weak point, the grass suddenly became thin and I scanty, with much stony ground, and we had the satis- r2 68 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. faction of seeing the flames stopped there and turned off to the northward along the edge of the brushwood. It was really terrific to be, as we were, trying to break it down in the very middle of the blaze (which, after all, was so narrow that where the flames were not high, you could jump across it); we were, indeed, nearly suftbcated by the smoke and heat. As soon as we perceived the fire turned off, we returned to the camp and horses, and all danger was over; but the sight of the three lines of fire^ stretching up the rising grounds behind the camp, just like the advance of ar vast army, was mag- nificent ; and it was still more extraordinary to watch the manner in which the fire passed itself on, as it were, over the tops of the highest trees, to the height of at least forty or fifty feet. The whole scene lasted alto- gether about two hours, and nothing could be conceived more awfully grand. The extraordinary rushing and crackling sound of the flames was one of the most terrific parts of it, and when one considers that the grass is no- where more than five or six feet high, it is difficult to imagine *t)w the flame blazes up to such a vast height as it did. The contrast presented, two hours afterwards, was most striking. Instead of the briUiant glare of the fire, and lurid appearance of the sky, there reigned an impenetrable darkness, earth and sky being alike shrouded in a black gloom, which could almost be felt ; not a star was to be seen, and the air retained a suf- focating, sulphureous smell, as if Satan himself had passed over the eartli. We could not distinguish objects at ten paces' distance, and were right glad when a fresh breeze came gently breathing over the prairie, dis- sipating the murky vapours still hanging in the atmosphere ; and a fine starlit sky, with a sharpish frost, at length relieved us from the close, choking feeling we had experienced for hours before. This prairie fire°had travelled at the rate of five miles an hour, bringing with THE SCALP-DANCE. 59 it a strong gale of wind ; for, otherwise, the night was quite calm, both before and after it had passed over/' As we descended the hills, we crossed a large extent of plain approaching Fort Vermilion, which we found sur- rounded by the Indian camp. The fort itself was a very miserable little place, tenanted by a few sickly whites, servants of the American Fur Company. The surround- ing Indian camp consisted of a band of 600 Sioux, including men, women, and children. An Indian camp is a very striking sight, particularly in fine weather, when the warriors have returned from a successful foray, or expedition, laden with spoils and trophies. In this instance the braves had just come back after an excursion against the Ottoe Indians, a tribe living to the S.E., whom it seems they surprised, and of whom they slew a considerable number. One poor fellow, from the description they gave me through the interpreter, must have made a desperate resistance, mortally wounding one Sioux and severely injuring two others, before he was overpowered by numbers. Below and behind the fort were ranged the Indian lodges or tents, made of dressed skins of the buffalo, cut and sewn together in suchamanner as to form, when raised on the poles, a sort of cone, but open at the top to allow the smoke to escape. The inmates were all out, arrayed in all their finery, to celebrate the occasion, and I wit- nessed the grand scalp-dance which took place round the scalp of the poor Ottoe, elevated on a high pole in the midst. The men were dressed in full costume, with feathers and faces painted either black or red : the women in red or blue blankets, with their beads, neck- laces, and embroidered gaiters. The dance was certainly a most characteristic and novel sight. They form a circle round the pole on which the scalp is mounted aloft, standing shoulder to shoulder, and placing the feet too'ether so as to touch at the knees and ankles : 70 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. they then hop round in little steps, hardly bending the knees to the measure of the most frantic bellowing ; the men howling " Yo-ho, 6-ho-h6/' the women, '' Ya-ha, a-ha-ha,'' in a horrible monotonous chant, which with children screaming, horses kicking, dogs growling and fighting, and drums beating, formed such a scene of con- fusion and uproar as baffled description. When the dance was over, I bought the scalp, and also the poor devil's head-dress, made of the scalp of a black bear, for which I gave about fifteen rounds of ammunition and a striped cotton shirt. It is needless for me, however, to enter into a description of Indian manners and customs in this place, as they are already accurately and elabo- rately detailed in Mr. Catlin's admirable work on this subject. i During the time we halted at the fort, Mr. Kipp, i Murray, and I, were invited by the chief to a dog-feast : the meat was really not bad, but at the time it was not pleasant, as I sat eating it, to see the skull of the unfor- tunate animal, boiled quite bare of flesh, grinning at us from a conspicuous place. However, the time was, not many months afterwards, when I should have been right glad of anything half so good ; and even then, it was a not unwelcome change from the dried meat we were eating in the fort. Our host recounted, during the feast, the wondrous achievements of their war-party, whose triumphant rejoicings we had just been witness- ing, telling us that among other exploits they had taken a poor woman prisoner, whom they were going to put to death with great solemnity. We were, however, I'm happy to say, fortunately able to dissuade them from their cruel purpose, and by making a subscription, Messrs. Kipp and Murray on the part of the company, and I, on my own account, bought her from her enemies and set her free at night. I am sure my readers will be glad to know that, as I afterwards learnt, she got HORSES STOLEN. 71 eafely home to her husband and children, who had luckily escaped the massacre. She ran all night, and lay concealed during the day, and guiding her course by the stars, regained her own tribe at the end of two days and two nights, half-starved, but very happy. Next morning, on rising, we found three of our best horses stolen ; fortunately, however, they were none of mine, which was the more lucky as I had but three, and none therefore to spare. In the night the Indians had rooted up the pickets of the fort in front of the horses' heads behind the stable, got themselves in and the horses out. " Well, well ; goodness gracious me ! " exclaimed poor old Mr. Kipp on seeing how an entrance had been effected. I endeavoured to console him by telling him what a proof it was of the uncertainty of human affairs, since on leaving the stables the previous evening he had even taken the precaution of locking the door before the steeds were stolen. We found that it was not the Indians camped around us who were the culprits, but some audacious rascals who had pursued us a long way, and had, no doubt, been unable to carry out their plan before, from our guarding the horses so carefully at night, while out on the prairie. Pursuit of course was useless. In the evening, however, by wonderful good luck, the best of the three horses broke away from his captors, and returned to us of his own accord. The following day there was a great council of the chiefs, at which they determined to start on the morrow for their autumn hunt. We travelled a couple of days in their company, as they requested us not to move on in advance for fear of frightening the game, if there should be any. Accordingly, the following day orders were given by the chiefs to get under way and take down the lodges. The whole labour of erecting the lodges or tents in 72 BAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. the morning and taking them down at night devolved on the women. The poles which support the tents form the carriage on which they are drawn, together with pots, kettles, children, puppies, &c., by the horses and dogs ; the women being also obliged to harness the dogs and horses, untackle them, water them, and catch them ; the men all the time sitting still and looking on. The moving of the camp was a very pretty and striking scene. Behind the mounted Indians followed those who had no horses ; then, in a long row, the horses drawing the lodge poles fastened to a straddle, the other ends trailing on the ground. On these poles is a kind of receptacle for the different cooking-kettles and other property. _ The dogs are harnessed in likd manner, and horses and dogs keep an unbroken line, together with their attendant women, who have very severe tasks to perform. Our day's journey was not very long : the men rode in every direction, looking out for buffalo ; but as yet without success. Next day a halt was ordered at about ten o'clock by the chiefs, who gave strict orders that no inmate of the camp should proceed beyond a certain distance, and that all dogs straying out of bounds were to be shot. The young men went out again after buffalo. My horses were tired, having come such a long journey, and as I did;, not expect to meet with much game I determined to let them rest, and set off alone with my double-barrelled gun to look for ducks along a little creek, neai* which we were camped. I had not gone above a quarter of a mile when I was suddenly startled by the report of a gun just behind me, and a bullet whizzed close past my ear. I turned quickly round, and saw an Indian lower his gun, having- fired at and missed me. I easily came up with him as he was attempting to load, and completely cowed him by holding the muzzle of my gun to his face, with both A VALUABLE RETRIEVEK. 73 barrels cocked, making him knock under in very quick I style. An old Indian, who fortunately happened to be ! near, and seeing things were taking a serious turn between us, came up, and by signs explained the matter. i The fact was that I had not understood the proclama- ; tion of the morning, and had unintentionally trans- I gressed it, and this was their way of letting me know it. It all, however, terminated very well, and most fortu- I nately for me, to whom the consequences might have been fatal, and I took the precaution of getting the old 1 fellow who had acted as mediator between us to accom- pany me for the rest of the day under pretence of picking up the ducks. I found him quite invaluable as a retriever, for he recovered several birds that I should otherwise have given up for lost. One duck, in parti- cular, late in the evening, fell under a bank ; when I got tired of searching for it, the old Sioux would not give it up, and after three-quarters of an hour's wading above his knees in water, pulled it out, much to his own satisfaction and my surprise, from under the oppo- ( site side of the river. I No buffalo had been seen when we arrived in camp ithat night. Mr. Kipp, Murray, and I, had quite a laugh at the Indians as we plucked and boiled the small : game I had brought in. I did not fail, however, to call my old retriever, and make him sit down and share, on which he exclaimed " How!'" and seemed much i delighted. i On the morrow our troublesome companions the ' Indians took a more southerly direction, leaving us to ; go our own way, which we were not sorry to do. We 1 continued travelling all that day and part of the next^ when we came in sight of two or three Indian lodges, i On going up we found that one of them belonged to an > Indian whom old Mr. Kipp knew, and whom he had formerly seen at Fort Pierre. He invited us into his 74* RAMBLES AND ADVEi^TURES. tent to eat buffalo, saying that he had made a good hunt and had fat meat in his lodge ; and, there, for the first time in my life, I tasted buffalo meat. To say what I think of its flavour and its excellence would be but to repeat all the encomiums upon it that I have ever heard or read. It is decidedly the best meat I €ver tasted, and I have eaten as great a variety as most people. The fat is peculiarly delicious, and more like that of turtle than beef, over which it has a decided! superiority in delicacy of flavour, and in not surfeiting those who even feast immoderately upon it. We took leave of our hospitable Indian, and travelled I onwards until we reached an island in the Missouri, where the A. F. C.^ tried to establish a farm, for which the site was thought peculiarly favourable, the river forming such a complete substitute for a fence, on all- sides. The project succeeded for awhile, but the pre- datory disposition of those most incorrigible, untame- able thieves of red-skins, soon broke out. They killed the cattle, burned the hay, and stole the corn when ripe, and actually had the impudence to offer it for sale to the F. C. traders, who " 0 tempera ! 0 mores ! '' bought it back from them at a blanket or 100 rounds of ammunition a bushel. Shortly afterwards we came opposite Fort Pierre, built on the other (i. e. south) side of the river. We fired some shots as a signal, on which they sent boats to take us an! our horses across ; and we "were by no means sorry to find ourselves comfortably installed in time for breakfast in the finest of the Fur Company's Sta- tions on the Missouri. In fact, Pierre is the largest fort belonging to the F. C.'s traders. It consists of a large space about 120 yards square, inclosed by piles of timber 24 feet high, driven well into the ground. The '^ American Fur Company. EFFECT OF THE ATJIOSPHERE. 75 roofs of tlie store and trading houses are attached to two of the sides, with the stables, straw- yards, carpenters' and blacksmiths' shops, and a dairy for such cows as may escape the marauding hands of the Indians. A flagstaff, gaily rigged, stands in the centre of the square, and the whole establishment has a most inviting look to a set of weary travellers on jaded horses, and who, with the exception of the aforesaid buffalo feast, had not fared over well for many days past. Here, therefore, we remained a day or two to refresh the horses, which were liooking miserably worn and thin, and to revel in fresh imeat and new milk for the benefit of our own health. We retailed, of course, all the news from below, which, though stale enough to us, vras very acceptable here. .Major Drips was in command ; had been in his younger idays a great loader of trapping-parties in the mountains, land was now a sober, steady trader. CHAPTER V. Clear Atmosphere.^See Buffalo. — Arrival at Fort Union, — Buffalo- hunting. — Winter sets in. — Hunting Party. — Escape from a War Party. — A Pace for Life or Death. — Wanton Cruelty of the Sioux. — A heroic old Bull. — Domestic Calves and Bison Bull. Wb left Fort Pierre on the otli or 6th of October to pursue our journey, and generally found timber to camp in for breakfast at mid-day, and also for supper and sleeping at night, but were much inconvenienced by want of fresh water, which disagreed with old Mr. Kipp and manv of the men. We had lono- entered the hifrh prairies. The atmosphere in these regions is extremely healthy, and its effect upon the constitution something wonderful ; so much so, that persons never suffer from 76 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. coughs or colds ; the complaint is quite unknown. I have frequently in the morning risen from a sound sleep, under a down-pour of rain, and found my shoulder, on the side I had lain, in a pool of water ; have got up and ridden on, cold and shivering, till the sun rose and his genial rays thoroughly warmed and dried me ; and yet have taken no harm. So clear is the air, that the natural range of sight is greatly extended, and distant objects may be clearly and easily seen, which in these islands, or in the States of America, it would be impos- sible to recognize or define. It is almost like looking through a telescope. Another peculiarity is the great difficulty a person unaccustomed to the prairie finds in ascertaining the relative distances of objects, and consequently in estimat- ing their size. I have frequently made, myself, and seen others make, the blunder of mistaking a bufi'alo bull for a crow, or more frequently a crow for a buffalo bull. My readers may be inclined to smile at this ; but I will answer for it, that if any of them have ever stood upon the sea-shore with a sailor, and compared their estimate of distances with his, they will have found a considerable difference, and so it is upon the prairie. The eye ranges over a sea of short waving grass without a single intervening object to afford it the accustomed means of estimating relative size and distance. The appetite in this healthy region is also greatly increased, and I have been told by American physicians that many are the instances where consump- tion has been completely eradicated from the constitu- tions of people travelling up into these regions, even under circumstances exposing them to very great hardships. The difficulty of finding water here seemed rather on the increase, until late one day we saw a herd of antelope, always a sure sign of its not being very far off. BUFFALOES. 7? The next most important tiling was to find it, as one of the party observed. " Never mind," said old Mr. Kipp ; " leave the horses to themselves, and they will find it.'' We dropped the reins upon their necks as he directed : one or two of the old stagers pricked up their ears, stood still for a little while, turned aside from the course we were pursuing, and walked us straight to a beautiful spring. It was the only pure, fine-flavoured water we had enjoyed since leaving Fort Pierre, and we had entirely to thank our poor suffering horses for finding it. We accordingly camped here for the night, but as there was a scarcity of timber, we were obliged to make our fire of dry buffalo- dung, of which there was abundance, and which proved a very tolerable substitute when gathered in sufficient quantity. We were now advanced some considerable distance in the country of the buffalo, but had not as yet met with any. The next day, however, before eleven o'clock, we actually did come in sight of the long-wished-for game. At first the dark grotesque outlines of two old out-straggling bulls loomed over a rising hill ; they remained a moment to contemplate us, and then cantered off at a very leisurely pace, tossing their great heads at every stride. We allowed them to go unmolested, as few of our horses were in condition to follow them, and we were in hopes that, by waiting a little, we might come across some cows, which would prove a much greater prize to us. But we saw no more that day. On the morroAV, Mr. Murray and I observed a bull in a ravine, so we stalked and shot him ; but he proved so old, lean, and tough, that we left him to the wolves. It is almost unnecessary for me to give any descrip- tion of the buffalo, as both he and his habits must have so often come under the observation of my readers in the writings of travellers and the descriptions of natu- 78 RAMBLES AND ADVENTUPvES. ralists. It should, however, he rememhered, that the animal commonly called buffalo in America, is the bison. Though not so tall as the large breeds of our cattle, they are larger and deeper in the body ; the shoulders and fore-quarters being very heavy, and the hind-quarters very light. The full-grown bull is im- mensely shaggy, especially about the head, which is covered with such a vast quantity of fur, wool, and long hair hanging down over his eyes and almost concealing the horns, as to give it the appearance of being one- third the size of the whole body. In the winter month he is covered all over with thick, long, and curly fur ; a mane of light-brown hair and fur, like that of a lion, only larger, envelopes his neck ; a long glossy black beard hanging from his chin, like a deep fringe, sweeps the ground ; which, with his savage-looking muzzle and prominent black eye flashing between the tangled locks of his hair, give him altogether a most ferocious appearance. In reality, however, he is a timid animal, and it is only when he imagines himself unable to escape that he becomes desperate, and therefore dangerous, from his immense strength. Finally, this strange- looking creature is supported on short slender legs, more resembling those of a deer than an ox, and fringed, like his throat, with masses of coarse shining black hair, about a foot long, as far as the knee ; his hind legs being so bent under him a^nd so slight, as to give at first sight the impression of weakness, as if over- weighted by his huge carcass ; an impression, however, soon effaced when you see him gallopping up a steep hill where no horse could follow, or along a narrow ledge that would scarcely aff'ord footing to a goat. The cow is swifter than the bull, and much smaller ; she does not calve until fully four years old, nor does the bull breed till nearly that age. In winter, strange to say, they migrate northward, and collect in great numbers BUFFALO HUNTING. 79^ on the banks of tlie Missouri, to find shelter in the timber, and browse upon the willows, or coarse e;rass, still uncovered by snow. Taken altogether, they%.'e a curious and interesting animal, and uncommonly good eating. At three o'clock on the 27th of October we arrived at Fort Union, the termination of our journey, right glad to rest ourselves and our tired horses, who looked miserable enough and scarcely able to survive the winter. Fort Union is situated about three miles westward of the junction of the Missouri and Yellow Stone rivers, and built in a similar style to Fort Pierre. It is in the Assineboine territory, and is the depot of the Fur Com- pany's trade through the Upper Missouri. Several of the principal Indians came to welcome old Mr. Kipp, who was a great favourite. There were two bands, one of whom had pitched their lodges about thirteen miles below the fort on the river, and'^the other settled themselves about six miles above the fort to the westward, and all agreed in declaring the buffalo abun- dant in that part of the country. After a day or two's rest, therefore, I started off with the hunter of the fort in quest of them. The day was very fine, and we rode each a hack, leading a hunter (or runner). We had not gone more than three or four miles, when we came in sight of a very fine herd of buffalo ranging to the north-east of us. Piiding some distance round"^ in order to avoid giving them the wind, and screened by some hills and broken ground, we approached as near as we could unperceived ; then dismounting from our hacks, ^ we tightened the girths of our runners, and mounting them, prepared for the chase. Holding our loaded gans in rest, we started at full speed. Away went the huge mass raising a whirl of dust over the plain, followed by us in hot pursuit. We soon over- hauled them, and continued loading and firing away 80 RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. into the herd. My companion shot two, but my first attempt was a total failure ; however, I was more fortu- nate the second time, and brought down a fine four-year- old bull. Bufialo-hunting is a noble sport, the animal being swift enough to give a good horse enough to do to close with him ; wheeling round with such quickness as to baffle both horse and rider for several turns before there is any certainty of bringing him down. Added to which, there is the danger of being charged by one old bull while in pursuit of another ; this, however, they will not often do, unless when blown by the awkward- ness of a bad hunter, in chasing them too far, when they turn and get desperate. The first object in approaching a herd of buffalo should be, to get as near as possible before charging them ; then, rush in with your horse at full speed, single out one animal, and detach him from the herd, which you will soon do, and after a turn or two be able to get a broadside shot, when you should endeavour to strike him behind the fore-shoulder. While reloading, slacken your horse's speed to a hand gallop. The gene- ral method of loading is to empty the charge from the horn slung round your neck into the palm of your hand, whence you can more easily pour it down the barrel ; you then take a bullet wet out of your mouth, and throw it down upon the powder ; by which means you avoid the necessity of using the ramrod, a most incon- venient process when riding fast on horseback. I found it from experience better to dispense with both powder- horn, ramrod, and copper caps altogether, and use a light self- priming flint gun, carrying the powder loose in the skirt pockets of my shooting-coat, and thereby having no further delay than to thrust my hand in for it and empty it down the barrel of my gun ; accuracy in quan- tity at such close quarters being of small importance. BUFFALO HUNTING. 81 Takino; the bullet from the moutli is both the quickest and safest method of loading ; quicker than fumbling for it in your pocket, and safer, because its being wet causes it to stick for a moment without rolling forward on depressing the muzzle to take aim ; and my brother sportsmen are doubtless aware of the danger of leaving an empty space in the barrel between the powder and the ball. I would not, however, recommend any one to depend too much upon the detention of the wet bullet, but to fire immiediately on lowering the muzzle. I ought here to mention, that in running buffalo, you never bring the gun to your shoulder in firing, but present it across the pummel of the saddle, calculating the angle "with your eye and steadying yourself momentarily by standing in the stirrups as you take aim. This is difficult to do at first, and requires considerable prac- tice ; but the facility once acquired, the ease and un- erring steadiness with which you can shoot is most -satisfactory, and any one accustomed to this method condemns ever afterward the lifting of a gun to the shoulder whilst riding at speed, as the most awkward and imscientific bungling. We drew up our horses, and proceeded to skin and cut up the animals, and were soon joined by the drays despatched from the fort for the purpose of taking home the meat. What we had killed that day was very good and tolerably fat. I have before adverted to the excel- lence of bison beef, and the superiority of its fat over that of the domestic ox ; but before leaving the subject, I will state two instances in which I myself savf this superiority fully established. Old Mr. Kipp, at Christmas, thinking to give all-the employes and voyageurs of the Fur Company at Fort Union a great treat, had for some time previously been fattening up a very nice small-boned heifer cow, which was killed in due time, in prime condition. All who G 82 EAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. had been reckoning on the treat this Avould afford them,, sat down in high expectation of the ensuing feast ; but after eating a little while in silence, gradually dropped off one by one to the bison meat, which was also on the table, and were finally unanimous in condemning the beef, which they said was good enough, but nothing remarkable, and the fat sickening. A plate-full of it was also given, as ordinary buffalo beef, to an Indian woman in another room at the fort, on the same occa- sion : she pronounced it good food, but, said she, '' it is both coarse and insipid," and the fat, if she were to eat much of it, would make her sick. I mention these circumstances, having been one of the very few who have seen the comparative merits of the two meats tested by Europeans, Americans, and Indians at the same time, and heard the unanimous verdict in favour of the wild bison. Not many days after my arrival at Fort Union, winter burst in on the vast region of prairie, bringing all its terrors with it. A snow-storm of three days' duration, accompanied by a strong north-westerly wind, kept us all prisoners in the fort, the river partly froze, leaving but a narrow channel towards the opposite bank. I managed to cross, however, in a boat belonging to the fort, and killed a very fine three-year-old buck, but did not see any elk, which game I was most anxious to meet. Among the gentlemen at the trading-post, I found a good sportsman and first-rate rifle-shot in my friend Mr. Denig, the accuracy of whose shooting was sur- prising, even to me, who had had considerable practice. He was frequently my companion when my excursions did not lead me very far from the fort, where, as physi- cian and interpreter, he was obliged to be in constant attendance. Eabbits and prairie-hens were our principal game on these occasions. We used our rifles only ; and while I was content with bringing the birds down any AN INDIAN HORSE. 83 way that I best could, my companion, four times out of five, would smash their heads or cut them off altogether. Prairie-hens, although not wild, seldom allow you to approach withm fifty yards. They do not mind the report of the rifle, and when a number are on the same tree you may bag most of them by commencing with the lowest, so that his fall from the tree may not'alarm his companions. This bird is evidently a species of grouse, aiid stands as tall, but perhaps not quite so heavy ; it is beautifully speckled with two or three greys, orange, white, and brown. In the breeding season the male exhibits two large orange-coloured gills^ with which he makes a strange drumming noise, audible at a great distance on the prairie. Its flavour is much affected by what it feeds on, and in this part of the country where its principal food is rosebuds, is not nearly so good as in civilised districts, where it eats Indian corn by wholesale. So completely were my horses knocked up from the effects of their long journey that they did not recover their condition at all during the winter, and were there- fore of little or no use to me at Fort Union. Frequently, however, during my stay at that post, meat was scarce, and on these occasions I obtained a reluctant consent from old Mr. Kipp to ride a very gallant little grey buffalo-runner when I wanted to hunt on horseback. He was a powerful sagacious little animal, and eventually we understood each other thoroughly. An Indian horse is ahnost entirely guided by the balance of his rider's body ; when I leaned, therefore, towards the left on approaching any particular cow, he pertinaciously pursued her, and on my firing used to sheer off in the most dexterous manner, for having once had a rip from a buffalo-horn, he was far too wise to trust himself within reach again. . The best hunters of buffalo are the English half-breeds on the Red River, from Lord Selkirk's settlements ; they g2 m RAMBLES Al^B ADVENTURES. will in passing a buffalo at fall speed hit liirn mortally behind the shoulder at fifty yards, five times out of six. A violent sno^v-storm about Christmas-time nearly put an end to my hunting bufialo on horseback, and a strange epidemic at the same time broke out among the inhabitants of the fort, and spread like vrildfire ; a sort of cold that affected the throat like mumps, inter- nally and externally. So many of the men were laid up with it that the remainder could hardly supply the fort Y\-itIi wood for fuel, which they cut from the neighbour- ing point. Fortunately, however, the invalids began to recover before the healthy ones were taken ill ; but at last both the hunters were affected, and the labour of procuring me?.t for the fort devolved on my friend ivir. Denig and myself. This for a long time we were able to do with great ease, as the buffalo were sure to be found in the timber skirting the river on both sides, so that we could easily stalk them, and, when we had killed one or two, send out people to skin, cut them up, and take them back to the fort in a dray or sledge. Finally, alas ! my friend, the physician himself, was laid low with this complaint. He had a name for it, as doctors have for every ailment, whether they know any- thing about it or not, but that did not much assist him in its cure, for he fared no better than the rest. I started off one day by myself after a large herd of buffalo, about three miles westward of the fort, adopting the novel expedient of carrying with me a white blanket in order to stalk them. I took such a course as not to give the herd my wind, and with the cover afforded by the timber on the point, succeeded in getting within a couple of hundred yards of them ; I crept forward on my hands and knees, covered by the blanket, which pre- vented them from distinguishing me amidst the sur- rounding snow, and enabled me to approach until I came within shot. I continued creeping about and around them. SKINKIXG AND CUTTING UP. 85 singling out tjie best and fattest of the cows for upwards of an hour, and it was not until I had laid five of their num- ber low that they smelt a rat, and bolted off unanimously, tossing their shaggy heads and ploughing up the snow. Being perfectly'satisfied with the abundance of meat I had obtained, I proceeded to cut out the tongues, which I fastened vdth. thongs to my belt. Then leaving my blanket on one animal, my cap stuck on my loading- stick on another, a pocket-handkerchief fluttering from the horns of a third, &c., to keep oif the wolves, I ran off at full speed to the fort, which I entered just as the twelve- o'clock bell was giving the signal for dinner. We had buffalo and venison that day of my own pro- viding, but dressed with most delicious bear's grease and buffalo marrow by a capital cook. It happened to be Thursday, our pudding day, which will account to my readers for my making such haste home. Dinner over, I requested old Mr. Kipp to give me a couple of experienced men with a dray, in order to cut up and bring home my buffalo meat, but so numerous were the sufferers from '^'the mumps," that not one could be spared, and the day was too cold to induce the women to come to my assistance ; I returned alone therefore to the ground where my bisons lay, and with two pack- horses, endeavoured to bring home as much of the meat as possible. I commenced with the finest one, the robe of which was beautiful, and proceeded to cut her up, though not without a good deal of exertion and repug- nance at first. One soon, however, gets over that sort of squeamishness. So slow and avrkward, however, were my first attempts at cutting up this heavy game, that night closed around me ere I finished a second buffalo ; so that all I could carry away was the skin of the finest, with the ribs, loins, &c., of two cows, leaving three fine animals untouched, to be devoured by the wolves, which mortified me exceedingly, especially as it 86 RAMBLES AND ALVENTUEES. was cMefly owing to my awkwardness and want of prac- tice in skinning and dissecting heavy game. It was nightfall ere I arrived with my heavily laden horses at the fort. In two days all the fresh meat I had brought in that evening was gone, and the buffalo were four or five miles off ; taking my friend the little grey (the especial favourite of the old gentleman's) I stole out with him Tinperceivcd, and had a splendid run, flooring a cow, and wounding a bull, which I left for the present, and then stretching away at fall speed, I pursued after another uncommonly fine fat cow. She gave me an awful chase, turning and doubling incessantly. My little horse was sorely at a disadvantage in the snow, and began to show symptoms of distress ; but I could not manage to get a broadside shot. At last making one more push, I got pretty close behind her, and raising myself in my stirrups, fired down upon her. The effect was grand. She dropped at the report, the bullet breaking her spine. My little horse, unable to stop himself, rolled right over her, making a complete summersault, and sending me, gun and all, flying clean over both of them into a snow-drift. I leaped up, ran back to my horse, which I caught without much difficulty, and was glad to find no more hurt than myself My gun was filled with snow, of course, but otherwise uninjured. I certainly was in luck that day, for the guard of the horses at the fort joined me soon afterwards ; he had seen the buffalo running, and came to my assistance to secure and pack the meat, so that I was enabled to get home and put my gallant little grey quietly into his stable again. The weather now became intensely cold, and a fierce northerly wind, accompanied by a good deal of snow, again kept us all for some time prisoners in the Fort. We led a very routine sort of life while our durance lasted. We rose when the bell rang, and repaired to the HAIR-BREADTII ESCAPES. 87 dining-room and a cheerful cotton-wood fire ; shortly afterwards our mulatto cook served breakfast, consisting of fried buffalo and venison, round breakfast-cakes of wheaten flour (a supply of which is brought up every year by the steamer), and excellent cofiee, with the luxuries of cream and butter. At twelve we had a dinner very similar to breakfast, with the exception of coffee, which we drank again at supper. We were occasionally favoured with visits by the Indians, from the upper and lower camps, who came sometimes from motives of curiosity, sometimes to beg tobacco, sugar, a knife, vermilion, or some such trifle ; and assisted to pass away the time by accounts of their war-parties and exploits. I heard some astonishing stories of the daring adventures and hair-breadth escapes of some of the hardy hunters and trappers of the prairie^ — a race now rapidly becoming extinct, owing to the great fall in the price of beaver, from the recent introduction of silk into the manufacture of hats. These veterans of the prairie, so admirably described in Mr. Ruxton's book (the best collection of trapper stories I ever came across), are subject to constant vicissitudes of wealth and poverty, starvation and plenty, and have continual intercourse with the forts or trading-posts throughout the Indian country, to exchange their furs for ammunition, beaver-traps, a saddle, or sometimes even a liorse, if they have sufficient equivalents to purchase so expensive an article in that country. On some occasion of this sort, old Williams made his appearance at the fort, to the astonishment of all, who had supposed him dead a long while before, as he had been one of a party surprised by the mountain Blackfoot Indians ; but, as it afterwards appeared, had made his escape, he being the only survivor. After mutual con- gratulations, Mr. Denig asked him to recount his adven- ture, which he did in a most interesting and solemn. 88 EAMBLES AND ADVENTUEES. wa}^ He and several other trappers had been hunting for beaver on one of the tributaries of the Yellow Stone, or Platte, I forget which now, and after their day's toil had camped in supposed security, with the horses in their neighbourhood, and were lying by their fire after supper, soundly wrapped in that sleep from which they were to rise no more, when Williams dreamed : " God Almighty appeared to me,'' said he, slowly and solemnly, '' in flames and sparkling flashes of fire, and said, 'Wil- liams, you have been a very wicked man ; I have saved your life very often, and you have not profited by it ; but I will save you once more/ '' Bang, bang, bang ! went the guns of an Indian war-party, "close bj ; and most of his companions rolled from the sleep of time into eternity, or, on rising to flee from the danger, were im- mediately massacred. WilKams, however, clubbing his rifle in one hand, and grasping his knife in the other, rushed right at the spot from which the shots were fired, and consequently broke through the enemy, and got clear off; for those'^that had fired were but few ; the larger number of the savages being ranged at the oppo- site side, in order more effectually to destroy the whole party, by intercepting them as they fled from the obvious danger. ''Well, Williams,'' said Mr. Denig, after a pause, ''and is it a warning you have profited by?" " Well," replied the old fellow, " I don't know ; I've worked very hard at my traps, and paid all my debts ; I've given up swearing, and that sort o' thing ; and ii I knew anything else, I'd do it." Most likely the sleeping hunter was inspired with this vision in a moment of time at the instant dawn of returning con- sciousness, when awakened by the explosion of the fire- arms which had suggested the dream. Our snow-storm lasted about three days, and was suc- ceeded by cold, brilliant sunny weather. The chief of the upper camp and his brother sent an old Indian witL ELK-HUIN^TIKG. 89' a Pxiessage to me, and an offer to accompany me for one or two days' hunting on the Yellow Stone. Accordingly we started next day, joined by one of the hnnters of the fort and two boys about sixteen or seventeen years of age, "who came for the purpose of assisting us in skinning, cutting up, and packing the meat. After crossing the Missouri a little below the fort, and proceeding some way up the Yellow Stone, we came in sight of a splendid band of upwards of 100 elk. Never shall I forget the grand and imposing appearance tliey presented. Like a regiment of cavalry they passed along the plain, the- old stags, with wide branching a^ntlers, leading the van. We immediately left our horses with the old man and boys, and crossing the ice, the chief and the hunter took the left side of the river, and his brother and I the right. We got several shots, and succeeded, after a good deal of runnin.o- and hard work, in bagging three of them. Pvamsay, the hunter, and the chief, fired several shots, whereupon the elk rushed to our side of the river, and I got a shot at a noble stag, bearing a splendid pair of antlers. I struck him behind the fore-shoulder, upon which he started and rushed forward, crashing through the willows at a great pace. We pursued as fast as we could make our way through the snow, and, after a long, hard run, two more shots brought him down ; he made one final eifort to escape, and fell struggling on the snovr, where he soon expired. I Avas greatly pleased at my success, but so utterly blown, that I threw myself for- ward with my elbows on the ground, to assist my efforts to breathe ; but, by following the Indian's example, and eating a handful of snow, I was soon relieved. I now thought I had ample leisure to examine my noble elk, which measured five feet three inches in height from the top of the shoulder, and upwards of six and a half feet round the body ; but the Indian would not allow me to stay, pointing forward and saying, " Cooa, coona'' (come,. "90 KAMBLES AND ADVENTURES. friend). So we set off again ; and before evening closed, he shot a deer, which we skinned, cut up, and hung in