66 THROUGH GASA LAND. 



hysterical laugh, such as a maniac would give vent 

 to after he had done some atrocious action or made 

 some most objectionable speech and thought the 

 first clever and the other witty. Then suddenly 

 there would appear to be two madmen, each trying 

 to outcurse the other, when would slowly rise in the 

 middle of their ravings, a low, plaintive, gasping 

 call, as if it was the last earthly wail of a heart- 

 broken woman ; finally, at intervals, would come a 

 yell, succeeded by sonorous guttural respirations, 

 that spoke of a physique of power and an evil dis- 

 position. Added to the afore-mentioned objection- 

 ables are the notes of numerous nocturnal birds, 

 whose voices vary from the deep hiss of the night- 

 adder, to the solemn admonitory warnings of the 

 most aged, irate, and objectionable of relations. 



At length I heard a " cooey " to my left, soon 

 after answered by a " cooey " to my right. I can 

 assure my reader that I was glad, more par- 

 ticularly when I observed that the sky was illu- 

 minated in the direction of the first call — an 

 indication that water had been found. Soon after 

 Sunday joined me, and together we pushed up the 

 river to Umpiqua, who had already formed the 

 nucleus of a camp, with a roaring blaze close by, and 

 a goodly pool of water in close proximity. 



All that was wanting now to complete my com- 

 fort, and remove any anxiety that I might possess, 

 was the arrival of my friends, and this, I had little 



