notions were shocked at their indifference to life,--the reckless
disregard of honor and good faith they evinced,--we came by degrees to
feel that the moral code of the Prairies permitted many things which
were never sanctioned in more cultivated latitudes.

"Broughton entered into all this with a most extraordinary interest.
Nothing seemed too wild, too abandoned, and too outrageous for his
notions; and, I shame to say it, he soon made me a convert to his
opinions. His constant speech was, 'Be as virtuous as you please,
my dear fellow, among ladies and gentlemen; but pray fight Choctaws,
Pawnees, and half-breeds with their own weapons, which are either a
trick or a tomahawk.' I never liked the theory; but partly from daily
iteration, partly from a yielding pliancy of disposition, and in great
measure from being shamed into it, I gave way, and joined him in all the
pledges he gave, to go through with anything the expedition exacted.
I must be brief; that light yonder is on Fork Island, where we stop to
take in wood; and ere we reach it, I must make up my mind to one course
or other.

"As the time for the starting of the expedition drew nigh, the various
plans and schemes became the theme of nightly discussion; and we heard
of nothing but guides and trails, where grass was to be found for the
cattle, and where water could be had, with significant hints about
certain places and people who were known or believed to be inimical to
these excursions. Thus, on the map, were marked certain villages which
might be put under contribution, and certain log-houses which should be
made to pay a heavy impost: here, it was a convent to be mulcted; and
there, a store or a mill to be burned! In fact, the expedition seemed to
have as many vengeances to fulfil as hopes of gain to gratify; for each
had a friend who was maltreated, or robbed, or murdered, and whose fate
or fortunes required an expiation.--But I weary you, Padre, with all
this?"

"Not at all, my son; I recognize perfectly the accuracy of your account.
I have heard a good deal about these people."

"There was one individual, however, so universally detested that you
would suppose he must have been a kind of devil incarnate to have
incurred such general hate. Every one bad a grudge against him, and, in
fact, there was a kind of struggle who should be allotted to wreak on
him the common vengeance of the company. It was at last decided that
his fate should be lotteried, and