STIFFENED JOINTS. 231 



hugged Morpheus so long and late, might that morn- 

 ing have been seen among the earliest of us washing 

 in the waters of the creek. 



We were all in excellent spirits, and with appetites 

 for breakfast that would have done no discredit to a 

 pack of hungry wolves. No sign of the sun was yet 

 visible, save a scarcely perceptible grayish tinge dif- 

 fusing itself slowly through the darkness, and the lift- 

 ing of a light fog along the creek upon which we were 

 encamped. Although sufficiently novel to most of 

 our party, the scene was quite dreary, and we longed, 

 amid the gloom and chill, for the appearance of the 

 sun, and breakfast. By the way, I have noticed that 

 with excursion parties, whether sporting or scientific, 

 enthusiasm rises and sets with the sun. The gray 

 period between darkness and dawn is an excellent 

 time for holding council. The mind, no less than the 

 body, seems to find it the coolest hour of the twenty- 

 four, and shrinks back from uncertain advances. 



Added to the discomforts usually attendant upon 

 camp-life were our stiff joints. The first day upon 

 horseback is twelve hours of pleasant excitement, 

 with a fair share of wonder that so delightful a re- 

 creation is not indulged in more generally. The next 

 twenty-four hours are spent in wondering whether 

 those limbs which furnish one the means of locomo- 

 tion are still connected with the stiffened body, or ut- 

 terly riven from it; and, if the whole truth must be 

 told, the saddle has also left its scars. 



As the edge of the plateau overlooking the river 

 became visible in the growing light, we saw, as on 

 the evening previous, multitudes of buffalo feeding 



