Milton's charwoman. 89 



immediately, diligently melting snow at a roaring fire 

 for hours, and w^hen about midnight she had obtained 

 a sufficient supply of water, proceeded to scrub blankets 

 and clothes. Milton expostulated, and suggested she 

 should retire to rest, but in vain. The splashing and 

 scrubbing went on without cessation, and sleep was 

 impossible. At length Milton, driven to desperation, 

 jumped out of bed, threw away all the water, and put 

 out the fire. The squaw thereupon retired to rest in 

 much astonishment, and for a time all was still. 

 Presently, however, when she imagined Milton had 

 fallen asleep, she quietly got up, and re-commenced her 

 labours. The unhappy retainer of her services was 

 fairly beaten, and compelled to resign himself to his 

 fate, venting many maledictions on the untimely 

 industry of his servant. 



The hunting party meanwhile pursued their way 

 to the plains, following an old Indian track to the 

 south-west for about eighty miles. Passing through 

 a hilly country, well wooded and watered, on the 

 morning of the fourth day they reached the brow of 

 a hill, whence they saw the prairie stretching away 

 before them. La Ronde quickly detected five buffalo, 

 grazing about a mile distant, and a camp was imme- 

 diately made. After a hasty meal of dry pemmican — 

 a fire being dispensed with for fear of frightening the 

 game — they prepared for the hunt. The day w^as 

 unusually warm, and in a weak moment La Ronde 

 and Cheadle both divested themselves of leather shii*t 

 and capote before starting. After a great deal of 

 dodging and crawling on hands and knees through the 



