THE STAET. 7 



quarrelsome, contradictious, or aggravating my experience 

 is, some women are so why, she quarrels with, contradicts, 

 and aggravates her husband there is no one else for it; 

 while, if he has two or more wives, they can have it out 

 each with the other, to their mutual satisfaction and 

 content, and leave him in peace and comfort. Besides, 

 where there is more wives than one, there always is more 

 or less jealousy, which works very well. Each wife wants 

 to be the favourite, get the best dresses, and so on ; and of 

 course to do so has to make herself agreeable, so that there 

 is a contest of amiability always going on, to the great gain 

 in comfort to all parties." But this was a subject he never 

 entered upon in the presence of Mrs. Connor. 



This Indian chief, though getting into years, was still a 

 fine specimen of a man. Over six feet high, broad 

 shouldered, deep chested, and straight as an arrow, but 

 getting very corpulent, weighing something near eighteen 

 stone. Every inch an Indian when his blood was up, he 

 ordinarily displayed a dignified mien and quiet manners, 

 affected the dress of a middle-aged swell, was very par- 

 ticular about his linen, his thin French kid boots, his gloves 

 his hat ; wore his hair, then beginning to be streaked with 

 white, cut close to his head, en militaire, and sported a 

 small black moustache. 



As I said before, advice, unfortunately, could not be got 

 from Captain Connor, so we determined to " run our luck " 

 and " play our own hand." 



From our starting-point a waggon trail led to Fort Biley, 

 a little more than one hundred miles off ; thence, two to five 

 days' travel farther west, would probably bring us where 



