THE GREAT PRAIRIES OF THE "FAR WEST"--A REMARKABLE COLONY DISCOVERED,
AND A MISERABLE NIGHT ENDURED.

Of all the hours of the night or day the hour that succeeds the dawn is
the purest, the most joyous and the best. At least so think we; and so
think hundreds and thousands of the human family; and so thought Dick
Varley, as he sprung suddenly into a sitting posture next morning, and
threw his arms with an exulting feeling of delight round the neck of
Crusoe, who instantly sat up to greet him.

This was an unusual piece of enthusiasm on the part of Dick, but the dog
received it with marked satisfaction, rubbed his big hairy cheek against
that of his young master, and arose from his sedentary position in order
to afford free scope for the use of his tail.

"Ho! Joe Blunt! Henri! Up, boys, up! The sun will have the start o'
us. I'll catch the nags."

So saying Dick bounded away into the woods with Crusoe gambolling
joyously at his heels. Dick soon caught his own horse and Crusoe caught
Joe's. Then the former mounted and quickly brought in the other two.

Returning to the camp he found everything packed and ready to strap on
the back of the pack-horse.

"That's the way to do it, lad," cried Joe. "Here Henri, look alive and
git yer beast ready. I do believe yer goin' to take another snooze!"

Henri was indeed, at that moment, indulging in a gigantic stretch and a
cavernous yawn, but he finished both hastily, and rushed at his poor
horse as if he intended to slay it on the spot. He only threw the
saddle on its back, however, and then threw himself on the saddle.

"Now then, all ready?"

"Ay,--oui, yis!"

And away they went at full stretch again on their journey.

Thus day after day they travelled, and night after night they laid them
down to sleep under the trees of the forest, until at length they
reached the edge of the Great Prairie.

It was a great, a memorable day in the life of Dick Varley, that on
which he first beheld the prairie,--the vast boundless prairie. He had
heard of it, talked of it, dreamed about it, but he had never,--no, he
had never realised it. 'Tis always thus. Our conceptions of things
that we have not seen are almost invariably wrong. Dick's eyes
glittered, and his heart swelled, and his cheeks flushed, and his breath
came thick and quick.

"There it is," he gasped, as the great rolling plain broke suddenly on
his enraptured gaze; "that's it--oh!--"

Dick uttered a ye