crush each other, showing that strong currents of wind were driving aloft in conflict.

Our horses and mules, contrary to their wont, which, at break of day, is usually all excitement and animation, stood by their unstretched picket ropes, or herded together with drooping heads and evident disinclination to exertion.

As we were about to hitch up, orders came for us to shift camp to some higher ground about a mile further on our route. In a moment all was bustle and confusion. With alacrity we obeyed our instructions, and pushed forward to the place designated. Evidently all knew the necessity of expedition, and it was well that it was used, for ere the waggons got into place the storm commenced, ushered in by a tremendous downfall of rain. Soon this gave place to a succession of puffs of wind, gradually increasing in force and duration till it blew a tornado, rain with renewed violence then coming down in torrents, and thunder speaking almost as soon as the lightning had time to herald its voice. It was a storm of surpassing violence, such as leaves the impression that no similar one had previously been seen. And well it was that we had moved our camp; for the quiet orderly rivulet had now become a torrent, rushing along with irresistible force and bearing on its bosom debris collected from a wide extent of country.

Fortunately, these sudden storms are of short duration, and by three o'clock all had passed away; the only indications of what had occurred being the soaked and flattened herbage, and the far away mutterings of thunders, that occasionally broke the stillness.

If our camp had looked like a butcher's shop previously, now it resembled a washing and ironing establishment, with a very miscellaneous business; for garments of every description in use among men, from buckskin leggings to flannel shirts, were spread out to dry. The tops of waggons are far from water tight, and the ordinary valise used by the Western trader affords little better protection.

But one benefit had resulted from the storm to compensate for the discomforts it had brought us, viz., that for sometime to come we should be free from dust, one of the greatest nuisances of Western travel. For some days previously we had eaten it, breathed it, and drank it.

A little before sunset a false alarm occurred. The shout of Indians echoed through the camp. In a moment afterwards every one appeared, rifle in hand. But who raised the scare, or what was the cause of it could not be discovered, unless it was that the appearance of an unusually large assemblage of buffaloes pressing northward, with more than their accustomed speed, frightened some of the greenhorns.

Such a scare is not without its use. It is an excellent lesson occasionally to call all the undisciplined occupants of the camp unexpectedly to arms, so that they may learn to have their rifles always ready for use. That all were ready to fight was proved by the rapidity with which they responded to the summons. There were

few of them indeed who did not know how little faith is to be put in Indians, or of the cruel treatment to which they subject their prisoners. But I fear, judging

from the stories I heard around the camp fire, that there are two sides to this question. That white men as seldom keep faith with the Indians, as the Indians with them, and are quite as reckless as they in shedding blood. One thing is certain, that we are the trespassers, and that if we did not invade their territory there would be small probability of their coming to us.

For some reason or other the sentinels were doubled next night, and my service was required. I was fortunate in my first experience of duty. The night was beautifully calm; the moon overhead floated clear and brilliant through a cloudless sky, while not a single star appeared to have been spared from duty. I lay among the bushes, on my ground sheet, about a hundred yards in advance of the waggons. The novelty of my situation made me at first nervous, and in the slightest rustle of branch I imagined that I saw a foe; but soon this excessive state of watchfulness passed away, and I was able to gaze with pleasure on the tranquil scene that surrounded me. Not a sound broke the stillness except an occasional neigh from the horses behind, or the grunt or guttural roar of a distant buffalo. The voice of the wolf was also once or twice echoed over the waste; but these stealthy scoundrels retain their great vocal efforts for proclaiming the advent of daybreak. A dear old watch dog, whose friendship I had gained, was my companion on this occasion, and what a comfort he was. Whatever might escape my attention, did not escape his.

At length the last "All's well," echoed over the prairie, that informed me I was to be relieved. How

many memories did this familiar sound recall of garrison and citadel, where my childhood years were passed, when I had nought heavier to prey upon my mind than how most profitably to get rid of my limited supply of pocket money. I had been on guard four hours, but time had fled so rapidly that although each half hour had been called, and I had referred to my watch for corroboration of its passage, it seemed impossible to me that it could be over. And the night was so beautiful, still and balmy, that the open air for a dormitory appeared preferable to the most luxurious chamber in the civilised world. However, I was soon relieved by the little Frenchman who had recently distinguished himself in his rencontre with the blustering bully who wished to make him play against his will. The parole appeared peculiarly indigestible to him; I had to repeat it several times before he appeared to comprehend it, at length, with an effort that indicated the possibility of his becoming ill he said it. It was Waterloo, to which he added a sacrè, far more emphatically pronounced than the pass word.

CHAPTER IX.

A BRUSH WITH THE RED SKINS.

ANOTHER month had passed, and little alteration had taken place in the appearance of the country that we had traversed, except it be that if possible it looked more sterile from the frequency of boulders cropping out in every direction, and the occurrence of numerous sun cracks, with bare red clay sides. Buffalo too, had become less numerous, the greater number of those we saw being patriarchal bulls-but although no remarkable scenery or hunting adventure has marked the passage of time, two events had occurred that cannot be effaced from our memory.

About a week after we left the encampment, where we had made our first acquaintance with a prairie storm, Indians made their appearance. Several false alarms had been given of their appearance, putting all the party in a state of excitement, and causing frequently a delay of several hours in our march, but here now was the red man in all the glory of war-paint and feathers.

About three or four, after noon, the first of them was discovered. We were toiling up a gradual slope, when on a distant swell a figure was seen; for a long time it was supposed to be a rock, but with the aid of a telescope, it was ultimately made out to be a solitary. horseman.