he slender and precarious one of
a kindred race.

In half an hour from this we were clear of the mountains. There was a
plain before us, totally barren and thickly peopled in many parts with
the little prairie dogs, who sat at the mouths of their burrows and
yelped at us as we passed. The plain, as we thought, was about six miles
wide; but it cost us two hours to cross it. Then another mountain range
rose before us, grander and more wild than the last had been. Far out of
the dense shrubbery that clothed the steeps for a thousand feet shot up
black crags, all leaning one way, and shattered by storms and thunder
into grim and threatening shapes. As we entered a narrow passage on the
trail of the Indians, they impended frightfully on one side, above our
heads.

Our course was through dense woods, in the shade and twinkling sunlight
of overhanging boughs. I would I could recall to mind all the startling
combinations that presented themselves, as winding from side to side
of the passage, to avoid its obstructions, we could see, glancing at
intervals through the foliage, the awful forms of the gigantic cliffs,
that seemed at times to hem us in on the right and on the left, before
us and behind! Another scene in a few moments greeted us; a tract of
gray and sunny woods, broken into knolls and hollows, enlivened by birds
and interspersed with flowers. Among the rest I recognized the mellow
whistle of the robin, an old familiar friend whom I had scarce expected
to meet in such a place. Humble-bees too were buzzing heavily about
the flowers; and of these a species of larkspur caught my eye, more
appropriate, it should seem, to cultivated gardens than to a remote
wilderness. Instantly it recalled a multitude of dormant and delightful
recollections.

Leaving behind us this spot and its associations, a sight soon presented
itself, characteristic of that warlike region. In an open space, fenced
in by high rocks, stood two Indian forts, of a square form, rudely built
of sticks and logs. They were somewhat ruinous, having probably been
constructed the year before. Each might have contained about twenty men.
Perhaps in this gloomy spot some party had been beset by their enemies,
and those scowling rocks and blasted trees might not long since have
looked down on a conflict unchronicled and unknown. Yet if any traces
of bloodshed remained they were completely hidden by the bushes and tall
rank weeds.

Gradually the mountains drew ap