258 A STORM. 



chorus of wolves began, to thank us, perhaps, for the din 

 ners we had left them on the plains ; and ere long the 

 muttering of thunder and a pitchy horizon, its jet black 

 ness advancing against the wind, occasionally enlivened 

 by forked lightning, warned the camp that a terrible 

 storm was coming. It came ! with wind and such rain 

 and hail, lightning and thunder, as I had even never yet 

 seen nor heard, I thought my tent would have been 

 blown away, while the deluge of drenching rain sounded 

 precisely as if my locality had been situated under a por 

 tion of the Falls of Niagara. I had a light in my tent at 

 first, and it amused me to see the effect the storm had on 

 Brutus, and his awe-stricken look. He sat bolt upright 

 listening to the elements, and occasionally turning his 

 eyes anxiously on me to ask for explanation. Storms and 

 unrest, however, cannot last for ever, and with the re 

 treating thunder, but still amidst the rush of the descend 

 ing rain, I fell asleep, but not to a very refreshing slum 

 ber, for I was over-tired and again prone to feverish 

 sensations, so that sleep came to me by fits and starts. 

 Pour, pour, pour spatter, spatter, spatter the rain con 

 tinued all night, and in my waking moments I had very 

 grave doubts if the state of the plains would permit us the 

 next day to go in search of what the Americans call elk 

 on the Far West plains, but which are really the Ameri 

 can red, or the wapiti, deer, as proved by the shape and 

 nature of their antlers. The bisons, of course, drive 

 away all other grazing animals, precisely as with 

 other kinds of game in many other countries. The 

 hunter would not be well skilled in his craft if he ex 

 pected to find the buffalo and wapiti together, more 

 especially as the wapiti are very fond of woods. 



During my range over the plains up to this time I 



