LIFE IN THE FAR WEST 285 



Using, in their route to the Atlantic, the lands of 

 civilised man; others westward, forcing a passage 

 through rocky canons, and flowing through a barren 

 wilderness, inhabited by fierce and barbarous tribes. 



These were the routes to choose between ; and, what- 

 ever was the cause, the oxen turned their yoked heads 

 iiway from the rugged mountains ; the teamsters joy- 

 fully cracked their ponderous whips, as the waggons 

 rolled lightly down the Platte ; and men, women, and 

 children w^aved their hats and bonnets in the air, and 

 cried out lustily, " Hurrah for home ! " 



La Bonte looked at the dark sombre mountains ere 

 he turned his back upon them for the last time. He 

 thought of the many years he had spent beneath their 

 rugged shadow, of the many hardships he had suffered, 

 of all his pains and perils in those wild regions. The 

 most exciting episodes of his adventurous career, his 

 tried companions in scenes of fierce fight and blood- 

 shed, passed in review before him. A feeling of regret 

 was creeping over him, when Mary laid her hand 

 gently on his shoulder. One single tear rolled unbid- 

 den down his cheek, and he answered her inquiring 

 eyes : " I'm not sorry to leave it, Mary," he said ; " but 

 it's hard to turn one's back upon old friends." 



They had a hard battle with Killbuck, in endeavour- 

 ing to persuade him to accompany them to the settle- 

 ments. The old mountaineer shook his head. " The 

 time," he said, " was gone by for that. He had often 

 thought of it, but, when the day arrived, he hadn't 

 heart to leave the mountains. Trapping now was of 



