h of a small branch entering it from the south. He
forded the water, rode in at the opening, and in a moment I heard him
shouting again, so I passed over and joined him. The little branch had a
broad sandy bed, along which the water trickled in a scanty stream; and
on either bank the bushes were so close that the view was completely
intercepted. I found Raymond stooping over the footprints of three or
four horses. Proceeding we found those of a man, then those of a child,
then those of more horses; and at last the bushes on each bank were
beaten down and broken, and the sand plowed up with a multitude of
footsteps, and scored across with the furrows made by the lodge-poles
that had been dragged through. It was now certain that we had found
the trail. I pushed through the bushes, and at a little distance on the
prairie beyond found the ashes of a hundred and fifty lodge fires, with
bones and pieces of buffalo robes scattered around them, and in some
instances the pickets to which horses had been secured still standing
in the ground. Elated by our success we selected a convenient tree, and
turning the animals loose, prepared to make a meal from the fat haunch
of our victim.

Hardship and exposure had thriven with me wonderfully. I had gained both
health and strength since leaving La Bonte's Camp. Raymond and I made a
hearty meal together in high spirits, for we rashly presumed that having
found one end of the trail we should have little difficulty in reaching
the other. But when the animals were led in we found that our old ill
luck had not ceased to follow us close. As I was saddling Pauline I saw
that her eye was as dull as lead, and the hue of her yellow coat visibly
darkened. I placed my foot in the stirrup to mount, when instantly she
staggered and fell flat on her side. Gaining her feet with an effort she
stood by the fire with a drooping head. Whether she had been bitten by
a snake or poisoned by some noxious plant or attacked by a sudden
disorder, it was hard to say; but at all events her sickness was
sufficiently ill-timed and unfortunate. I succeeded in a second attempt
to mount her, and with a slow pace we moved forward on the trail of the
Indians. It led us up a hill and over a dreary plain; and here, to our
great mortification, the traces almost disappeared, for the ground was
hard as adamant; and if its flinty surface had ever retained the print
of a hoof, the marks had been washed away by the deluge of yeste