to adopt any other plan. They could make no use of
the current because they had no boats, and if they procured them from
the Indians they could not be made to carry the horses. The distance
was much greater by the Lewis and Clark route, which held no
attractions to our friends. When, therefore, Victor Shelton told
Captain Lewis that his advice would be followed, he said that which had
been determined upon before the meeting of the two parties.

CHAPTER XXIV.

OVERBOARD.

Our friends, after parting with the Lewis and Clark expedition, pressed
southward, in search of a milder climate and a more direct route to
their homes. They were traversing a region broken by many streams,
detached mountain spurs and ranges of lofty elevation. Black Butte, as
it is known to-day, in Dawson County, Montana, was left on the left,
after which they rode through the valley of Little Porcupine Creek to
the Yellowstone, which was crossed with considerable difficulty.
Turning more to the east, they passed the rough, precipitous section,
the scene many years afterward of the appalling Custer massacre, and
now an immense Indian reservation, and, entering the present State of
Wyoming, skirted the foothills of the well-known Big Horn range. Here
the scenery was of the grandest character. Had the party not been
accustomed for months to such impressive exhibitions of the majesty of
nature, they could have spent weeks of enjoyment where the like is
found in few parts of the world. They pushed on, however, not making
what might be termed a real halt until they came to the Laramie
Mountains, almost the equal of the former in picturesque beauty.

By this time the unremitting hard work began to tell upon the horses.
Zigzag showed slight lameness, and Jack, the animal ridden by George
Shelton, surely needed rest. Only Whirlwind continued as powerful,
active and fresh as ever. Deerfoot and the boys always walked a number
of miles each day, not only for the sake of the horses, but to gain the
exercise each needed. Deerfoot ran races with Whirlwind, who was
inconsiderate enough to beat him every time. Sometimes they frolicked
like a couple of boys. The Shawanoe delighted to tease the noble
creature, who delighted to have him do so. One habit of the youth was
to pretend he was offended with the stallion. He would turn his back
upon him and repel his advances toward a reconciliation. Whirlwind
would poke his nose first over one shoulder and then the