rporal; but in the early days, before the
army had concentrated at the various forts on the great plains,
the stage had to rely on the courage and fighting qualities of its
occupants, and the nerve and the good judgment of the driver. If the
latter understood his duty thoroughly and was familiar with the methods
of the savages, he always chose the cover of darkness in which to travel
in localities where the danger from Indians was greater than elsewhere;
for it is a rare thing in savage warfare to attack at night. The early
morning seemed to be their favourite hour, when sleep oppresses most
heavily; and then it was that the utmost vigilance was demanded.

One of the most confusing things to the novice riding over the great
plains is the idea of distance; mile after mile is travelled on the
monotonous trail, with a range of hills or a low divide in full sight,
yet hours roll by and the objects seem no nearer than when they were
first observed. The reason for this seems to be that every atom of
vapour is eliminated from the air, leaving such an absolute clearness
of atmosphere, such an indescribable transparency of space through which
distant objects are seen, that they are magnified and look nearer than
they really are. Consequently, the usual method of calculating distance
and areas by the eye is ever at fault until custom and familiarity force
a new standard of measure.

Mirages, too, were of frequent occurrence on the great plains; some
of them wonderful examples of the refracting properties of light. They
assumed all manner of fantastic, curious shapes, sometimes ludicrously
distorting the landscape; objects, like a herd of buffalo for instance,
though forty miles away, would seem to be high in air, often reversed,
and immensely magnified in their proportions.

Violent storms were also frequent incidents of the long ride. I well
remember one night, about thirty years ago, when the coach in which I
and one of my clerks were riding to Fort Dodge was suddenly brought to
a standstill by a terrible gale of wind and hail. The mules refused to
face it, and quickly turning around nearly overturned the stage, while
we, with the driver and conductor, were obliged to hold on to the wheels
with all our combined strength to prevent it from blowing down into
a stony ravine, on the brink of which we were brought to a halt.
Fortunately, these fearful blizzards did not last very long; the wind
ceased blowing so violently in a few