88 HABITS OF THE LYNX. 



In speaking of those woodless prairies, the 

 abode of innumerable wild creatures, it may be in- 

 teresting to notice the difficulty of ascertaining their 

 distance, size, and relative positions. This is in- 

 creased in fine weather, when the heavens are 

 covered with flying clouds, the shadows of which, 

 coursing rapidly over the plains, seem to put the 

 whole in motion, till a traveller feels as if riding 

 amid the unquiet billows of the sea. Distant 

 hills and promontories, with here and there an in- 

 sular group of trees, render the illusion more com- 

 plete. Thus circumstanced, it is almost impossible 

 to estimate the real magnitude of objects, and a 

 small animal, such as a dog or wolf, sometimes 

 appears to equal a horse in size. Three elks, 

 noticed by the enterprising travellers to the Rocky 

 Mountains, as the first which they had seen, seemed 

 almost gigantic. For a moment they fancied that 

 they had discovered the mastodons of America, 

 dwelling unmolested amid scenes in unison with 

 their enormous bulk. Nor is this illusion confined 

 to the prairies of the Flatte : it frequently occurs on 

 extensive plains, especially if the object within the 

 reach of vision be at all new to the beholder; in- 

 accurate ideas are consequently formed, both with 

 regard to size and distance, unless some well-known 

 object approaches; then the illusion vanishes, and 

 all things return to their proper dimensions. The 

 following striking anecdote may serve to illustrate 

 the truth of this remark. Soon after the party had 

 left their encampment, on one of those bright sunny 

 mornings which occurred when they were in the 

 country near the sources of the Grand River, they 



