orthwith.

While thus engaged, they had an opportunity of observing how the squaw
boiled water in a basket. Laying aside her pipe, she hauled out a
goody-sized and very neatly-made basket of wicker-work, so closely woven
by her own ingenious hands, that it was perfectly water-tight; this she
three-quarters filled, and then put into it red-hot stones, which she
brought in from a fire kindled outside. The stones were thrown in in
succession, till the temperature was raised to the boiling point, and
afterwards a little dead animal was put into the basket.

The sight of this caused Tom Collins to terminate his meal somewhat
abruptly, and induced Ned to advise him to try a little more.

"No, thank you," replied Tom, lighting his pipe hastily, and taking up a
bow and several arrows, which he appeared to regard with more than usual
interest. The bow was beautifully made;--rather short, and tipped with
horn.

The arrows were formed of two distinct pieces of wood spliced together,
and were shod with flint; they were feathered in the usual way. All the
articles manufactured by these natives were neatly done, and evinced
considerable skill in the use of their few and simple tools.

After resting half-an-hour, the two friends rose to depart, and again
the old Indian manifested much anxiety to prevail on them to remain; but
resisting all his entreaties, they mounted their horses and rode away,
carrying with them the good wishes of the community, by the courtesy of
their manners, and a somewhat liberal distribution of tobacco at
parting.

The country through which they passed became wilder at every step, for
each hour brought them visibly nearer the mountain-range, and towards
night-fall they entered one of the smaller passes or ravines that
divided the lower range of hills at which they first arrived. Here a
rugged precipice, from which projected pendent rocks and scrubby trees,
rose abruptly on the right of the road, and a dense thicket of
underwood, mingled with huge masses of fallen rock, lay on their left.
We use the word road advisedly, for the broad highway of the flowering
plains, over which the horsemen had just passed, narrowed at this spot
as it entered the ravine, and was a pretty-well-defined path, over which
parties of diggers and wandering Indians occasionally passed.

"Does not this wild spot remind you of the nursery tales we used to
read?" said Ned, as they entered the somewhat gloomy defile, "which used