ANOTHER SHOOTING EXCURSION. 227 



skins with me, as I could sell them better at Little Rock 

 than at Fourche le Fave. I gave the canoe to an old 

 German, who was fond of fishing, and who had to fish 

 himself out of the water the first time he tried her. 



I soon returned to the settlement, aad a few days 

 afterwards took leave of Kean, who, with a promise to 

 write to me, set off on horseback towards the south. 

 My arrangements were soon made, and on the following 

 morning I set off up the bank of the river towards the 

 mountains, intending to shoot all the summer. Kelfer, 

 who had already received us so hospitably, was kind 

 enougli to offer me the loan of a horse for the summer. 

 I thankfully accepted his kindness, and rode off in 

 good spirits, not knowing exactly where ; but that was 

 always one of the least of my cares, so that I was only 

 in motion, and I soon found a good place for sport. I 

 learnt that there was very good shooting ground higher 

 up the river, near the grave-lick, so called because two 

 Indians were buried there, who had been killed by a 

 panther. Here I joined an American, named Hogarth, 

 who lived in the neighborhood, and was a keen sports- 

 man. After trying the waters of the Fourche le Fave, 

 we went to the sources of the "Washita ; but the forests 

 not having been burnt for many years, were so thirkly 

 overgrown with underwood, that it was impossible te 

 find the deer, or to shoot game enough to live upon. 



We had been shooting for about five weeks, when one 

 morning, as we were riding side by side, I felt all at once 

 giddy and unwell. The evening before, we had been 

 overtaken by a thunderstorm, and my clothes were still 

 damp. This attack came on so suddenly, that I had 

 hardly time to say I was ill, and Hogarth turning round, 



