288 WILD SPOUTS IN THE FAtt WEST. 



pair were forgetting past pains and sorrows in the 

 tumult of the dance in lighted halls ; while I was 

 stretched under the starry skies beside a crackling fire 

 in the forest, my trusty rifle and faithful dog by my 

 side. I had no mind for dancing or music ; for seven 

 months I had not heard from home, and seemed to 

 have got wedged in among the mountains, with the 

 world closed behind me, all retreat cut off, and nothing 

 left but to advance : and yet the future offered no in- 

 viting picture ; alone, in the endless wilderness, I stood, 

 with hair turning gray a solitary hunter, leaning on 

 my rifle, separated from all I loved. 



Old Ilawkeye, must have had many a sorrowful 

 hour. 



Meantime, my companion, leaning on his elbow, was 

 gazing on the fire, and lost in recollections of the past; 

 but his past must have been a happy one, for he often 

 smiled to himself. lie had lived an active life, and 

 looked forward to a happy" old age, in the circle of an 

 amiable family, in the vicinity of his married children, 

 in the enjoyment of health and strength. ^Vlierefore 

 should he be unhappy ? 



I stood up to change the current of my thoughts, 

 poked at the fire, laid the logs together, which were 

 burnt through the middle, and reposed again on my 

 blanket. Conwell told me he was sixty-two years old 

 to-day, 31st of December, 1841 ; and yet he was so 

 strong and active that I had to exert myself to keep up 

 with him. lie spoke of his past life; how he had con- 

 tinually preceded civilization, first in Carolina, then in 

 Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and now in the Ozark 

 mountains, and he complained that people were gather- 



