e
heavy forest that clothes the sloping side of the mountain, the scene
below was gratifying to a savage eye. The rolling yellow plains were
checkered with herds of buffaloes. Along the banks of the streams that
ran down from the mountains were also many elk, which usually appear
at morning and evening, and disappear into the forest during the warmer
part of the day. Deer, too, were plenty, and the brooks were alive with
trout. Here and there the streams were dammed by the industrious beaver.

In the interior of the forest there were lakes with many islands, where
moose, elk, deer and bears were abundant. The water-fowl were wont to
gather here in great numbers, among them the crane, the swan, the loon,
and many of the smaller kinds. The forest also was filled with a great
variety of birds. Here the partridge drummed his loudest, while the
whippoorwill sang with spirit, and the hooting owl reigned in the night.

To me, as a boy, this wilderness was a paradise. It was a land of
plenty. To be sure, we did not have any of the luxuries of civilization,
but we had every convenience and opportunity and luxury of Nature. We
had also the gift of enjoying our good fortune, whatever dangers might
lurk about us; and the truth is that we lived in blessed ignorance of
any life that was better than our own.

As soon as hunting in the woods began, the customs regulating it were
established. The council teepee no longer existed. A hunting bonfire was
kindled every morning at day-break, at which each brave must appear and
report. The man who failed to do this before the party set out on the
day's hunt was harassed by ridicule. As a rule, the hunters started
before sunrise, and the brave who was announced throughout the camp as
the first one to return with a deer on his back, was a man to be envied.

The legend-teller, old Smoky Day, was chosen herald of the camp, and it
was he who made the announcements. After supper was ended, we heard his
powerful voice resound among the teepees in the forest. He would then
name a man to kindle the bonfire the next morning. His suit of fringed
buckskin set off his splendid physique to advantage.

Scarcely had the men disappeared in the woods each morning than all the
boys sallied forth, apparently engrossed in their games and sports,
but in reality competing actively with one another in quickness of
observation. As the day advanced, they all kept the sharpest possible
lookout. Suddenly there would