146 LIFE IN THE FAR WEST 



galled back, would express displeasure by humping its 

 back and shaking its withers with a wincing motion, 

 that always excited the ire of the old trapper ; and 

 no sooner had he laid the apishamore smoothly on the 

 chafed skin, than a wriggle of the animal shook it off. 



" Do 'ee hyar now, you darned crittur ?" he would 

 whine out, " can't 'ee keep quiet your old fleece now 1 

 Isn't this old coon putting out to save 'ee from the 

 darned Injuns now, do 'ee hyar ?" And then, continu- 

 ing his work and taking no notice of his comrades, 

 who stood by bantering the eccentric old trapper, he 

 would soliloquise " Do 'ee hyar, now 1 This niggur 

 sees sign ahead he does ; he'll be afoot afore long, if 

 he don't keep his eye skinned, he will. Injuns is all 

 about, they ar' : Blackfoot at that. Can't come round 

 this child they can't, wagh ! " And at last, his pack 

 animals securely tied to the tail of his horse, he would 

 mount, and throwing the rifle across the horn of his 

 saddle, and without noticing his companions, would 

 drive the jingling spurs into his horse's gaunt sides, and 

 muttering, "Can't come round this child they can't !" 

 would ride away ; and nothing more would be seen or 

 heard of him perhaps for months, when they would not 

 unfrequently, themselves bereft of animals in the scrape 

 he had foreseen, find him located in some solitary valley, 

 in his lonely camp, with his animals securely picketed 

 around, and his peltries safe. 



However, if he took it into his head to keep company 

 with a party, all felt perfectly secure under his charge. 

 His iron frame defied fatigue, and, at night, his love for 



