stretching six more of the enemy on the plain. Then they pulled
up and suffered the rest to escape, being afraid to leave Vixen out of
sight behind them, for that happy creature, following and enjoying the
sport as long as she could, found that her powers were too much
exhausted to permit of her keeping up with the chase.

"She's not fit to travel another mile," said Dan, stroking her glossy
neck and allowing her to rub her nose affectionately on his shoulder.

"That iss true, whatever," assented Duncan. "I think we could not do
better than camp on the nearest bluff."

This was agreed to by all. Provision for one meal, it will be
remembered, had been prepared at Prairie Cottage in the morning. A
hunter's meal, when properly divided, makes two or three average meals,
and a hunter's powers of endurance are proverbial. Each man had his
blanket strapped to his saddle. Branches of various kinds of trees make
a good mattress, and the air of the prairie is well-known to conduce to
appetite and slumber.

With such environment it is scarcely necessary to add that the hunters
enjoyed themselves, and that Vixen had a restful night, probably without
even a dream about hungry wolves.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

STIRRING EVENTS DESCRIBED.

The proverbial slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, and the well-known
uncertainty of all human affairs, received striking illustration in the
person and prospects of our hero, Daniel Davidson, not long after the
events narrated in the last chapter.

Up to this period the unfortunate colonists of the Red River Settlement
had led a life chiefly of disappointment and disaster. Although
everything had been done for them by their patron the Earl of Selkirk
with the best intentions, the carrying out of his plans had been
frustrated by the feuds of the rival fur companies, the
misunderstandings and the jealousies of Indians and half-breeds, and, to
some extent, by the severity of the climate. An open rupture took place
between them and the North-westers. Encounters between the contending
parties occurred, in which several on both sides were killed, and at
last the North-Westers, attacking the settlers in force, drove them from
the colony and burnt their dwellings and homesteads.

Retreating to the north end of Lake Winnipeg, the colonists found refuge
at Jack River--three hundred miles distant. From this place they were
ultimately recalled by the Hudson's Bay Company, which took them under
its