A SOLITAEY ELK. 57 



from the guard's mind, and he immediately cracked away 

 at him. The shot started everyone to his feet. Arms 

 were snatched up, and we rushed to cover, thinking, of 

 course, we were being attacked. It was very stupid of the 

 guard, and we told him so, singly and in chorus, and often, 

 and that it was more especially stupid because he had made 

 a miss of it. 



A reflection that has often occurred to me recurs now. 

 How is it that men, camped out in the wilderness, in places 

 where, without warning, they may at any time find their 

 lives in imminent peril, sleep most soundly, and yet quite 

 lightly? How is it that, while lying in the deep, dream- 

 less sleep that is induced by a day of hard exercise, a 

 warm bed, and the free air of heaven, a slight unusual 

 noise awakens them at once? and not only so, but they 

 seem to have heard it mentally as well as physically. I 

 mean by this that not only has the noise awakened them, but 

 they know what the noise is. Now, as the sleep was sound, 



and the awakening subsequent to the noise But I give 



it up, and must remain satisfied by knowing that the fact 

 is so. 



That elk was the last head of game shot at while we 

 remained on the Republican indeed, we then had already 

 commenced making preparations for our start for home. 

 The barrels of tongues had been headed, filled with brine, 

 and placed in the waggon ; the jerky sacked and packed 

 away ; the buffalo tallow rendered out, allowed to get cold 

 and hard, wrapped up, and loaded also into the waggon. 

 But though the buffalo had been gradually moving farther 

 and farther off, and it had become a long day's work to 



