A FOREST OF HORNS. ]25 



was, when we returned for it, so stung by the 

 Breeze-flies as to be one mass of small ichorous 

 ulcers from head to hoofs; so pitiable was the 

 poor beast's plight, its injured limb having pre- 

 cluded all chance of escape from the flies, that, as 

 a mere matter of humanity, it was at once shot. 

 I have also frequently seen tethered horses so 

 injured by the punctures of the Breeze-fly as to 

 be rendered useless for many months. Their 

 favourite places for puncturing are on the front 

 of the chest where the saddle goes, and inside 

 the thighs. If a man were tied or otherwise 

 disabled, so that all chance of beating off or 

 escaping from the Breeze-fly was out of his power, 

 I have no hesitation in asserting my firm convic- 

 tion that they would rapidly kill him. 



The Belted Breeze-fly is most abundant, a lady 

 charmingly dressed in orange flounced with black, 

 very attractive when you see her sunning herself 

 amid the petals of some prairie flower, but a closer 

 acquaintance destroys the charm, as she soon 

 lets you feel her power of wounding. 



Travelling in Oregon one constantly finds one's- 

 self on the banks of a wide glassy lake ; gazing 

 over its unrippled surface, the eye suddenly rests 

 on what, to the inexperienced in hunter's craft, 

 appears to be small clumps of twisted branches, 



