92 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



restlessly to and fro, cherishing with sparing hand the 

 miserable fire, or cooking strips of meat to while away 

 the dreary hours, watching anxiously the voyageur's 

 clock, " Great Orion," which " sloped," as it seemed, 

 very, very " slowly to the west." He did get through 

 his joui'ney at last, however ; and when the wolves 

 proclaimed the dawn with the usual chorus of howls, 

 La Eonde and the boy started back to fetch the 

 sleighs, whilst Cheadle went in pursuit of a buffalo 

 which had been severely wounded the night before. 



After hunting several days with tolerable success, 

 the sleighs were loaded with meat, and the party 

 turned their faces homewards. But their adventures 

 were not yet over. Several bands of buffalo were 

 descried close at hand, and it was resolved to have 

 one more day's hunting before returning to La Belle 

 Prairie. The character of the country, which was 

 undulating, w^ith scattered patches of small timber, 

 was very favourable for stalking, and a small band 

 was successfully approached mthin some forty yards. 

 They were lying asleep in a little hollow, and Cheadle 

 agreed to wait ensconced behind a hillock, whilst 

 the other two crept round to ap^^roach them on the 

 opposite side. 



Long he waited, peering over the brow of the hill 

 through the long grass, and anxiously watching in 

 vain for some si«:n that the others had reached their 

 post. Presently one of the bulls got up and stretched 

 himself, but did not appear disturbed. Cheadle, 

 unwilling to spoil the chance of the others, still 

 forbore to shoot, and as he lay and waited, began to 



