THE GIAKT BLACKSMITHS. 169 



of my sight to take my horses to his shop and shoe 

 them without needless delay. His charge was moderate, 

 and his work was good. He stood about a head and shoul 

 ders taller than I did, and was powerfully made in propor 

 tion, and he introduced me to his brother, still bigger than 

 himself. They both were going to the plains, and were 

 very much annoyed that they could not make their journey 

 tally with mine, that we might have hunted together. 

 Nothing would have pleased me more than this, as one 

 volunteer is worth a hundred of those men that I took 

 with me. Mr Canterall, I could see, had made up his 

 mind to stay as long as he could keep me in Kansas 

 city; but by dint of immense exertion I induced the 

 tradesmen to work, and thus had all things finished and 

 collected by Saturday morning, so that I could complete 

 my arrangements and have my waggons up to my hotel 

 that day, so as to make a start for the desert on Sunday. 

 The weather was so fine, and time at my disposal 

 so short, that to me one day was of the utmost 

 consequence. 



I was very busy packing my ambulance at the stores 

 where my dogs were, which was close to the side of the 

 public road, when a huge jingling thing, called in Ame 

 rica a stage-coach, with four horses, and many passen 

 gers, pulled up, and a big Boh-hoy, seated on the box 

 by the coachman, thus in a very insolently familiar tone 

 addressed me : " Hallo, guv'nor, so you're a going to 

 the plains, and I guess I'll go along with you." 



I had already had much to find fault with that morn 

 ing, and being very busy packing, my frame of mind 

 was not such as to put up with insolence, so I replied, 

 " Guess there's two words to that bargain.' 7 " How so, 

 guv'nor?" replied the fellow. " Why," I said, " guess 



