212 THE IIIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



Our first bufi"alo steak disappointed us. The ro- 

 mance of months — and of years — was sadly broken in 

 upon. The squalid wretchedness of those who adminis- 

 tered to our wants, made rebellious even our hungry 

 stomachs ; and we spent our first night of real disap- 

 pointment on the great prairies, under circumstances 

 which we thought, before our sad experience, would 

 have afi"orded us all the substantial food for body and 

 mind that we could have desired. 



