inds to it, let us waste no more time in talking, but
set forth at once. You are ready? Hurrah!

CHAPTER II

THE YOUNG VOYAGEURS

There is a canoe upon the waters of Red River--Red River of the north.
It is near the source of the stream, but passing downward. It is a small
canoe, a frail structure of birch-bark, and contains only four persons.
They are all young--the eldest of them evidently not over nineteen years
of age, and the youngest about fifteen.

The eldest is nearly full-grown, though his body and limbs have not yet
assumed the muscular development of manhood. His complexion is dark,
nearly olive. His hair is jet black, straight as an Indian's, and long.
His eyes are large and brilliant, and his features prominent. His
countenance expresses courage, and his well-set jaws betoken firmness
and resolution. He does not belie his looks, for he possesses these
qualifications in a high degree. There is a gravity in his manner,
somewhat rare in one so young; yet it is not the result of a morose
disposition, but a subdued temperament produced by modesty, good sense,
and much experience. Neither has it the air of stupidity. No: you could
easily tell that the mind of this youth, if once roused, would exhibit
both energy and alertness. His quiet manner has a far different
expression. It is an air of coolness and confidence, which tells you he
has met with dangers in the past, and would not fear to encounter them
again.

It is an expression peculiar, I think, to the hunters of the "Far
West,"--those men who dwell amidst dangers in the wild regions of the
great prairies. Their solitary mode of life begets this expression. They
are often for months without the company of a creature with whom they
may converse--months without beholding a human face. They live alone
with Nature, surrounded by her majestic forms. These awe them into
habits of silence. Such was in point of fact the case with the youth
whom we have been describing. He had hunted much, though not as a
professional hunter. With him the chase had been followed merely as a
pastime; but its pursuit had brought him into situations of peril, and
in contact with Nature in her wild solitudes. Young as he was, he had
journeyed over the grand prairies, and through the pathless forests of
the West. He had slain the bear and the buffalo, the wild cat and the
cougar. These experiences had made their impression upon his mind, and
stamped his countenance with that