220 SPOUTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



After a rude though hearty meal, we resumed our home- 

 ward march, but we had not proceeded far before we saw 

 another body of horsemen tearing down the plain in front 

 of us. The men did not ride like Indians, and yet they 

 were coming at a pace strongly indicative of a desire to 

 head us off. We therefore halted, held a consultation, and 

 decided to send two of the best mounted of the party in 

 advance to reconnoitre, and to have them hasten back in 

 case the strangers were foes, so that we might retreat to 

 a good defensive position. They galloped away, and, after 

 an absence of fifteen minutes, returned with a report that 

 the supposed enemies were sheltered behind another dis- 

 mantled cabin, whose inhabitants had met the fate of those 

 of the previous one, but that they did not think they were 

 Indians. Being assured of this, we galloped onward, but, 

 on approaching the cabin, we left the road and moved on 

 the grass-clad prairie, in order to deaden the footsteps of 

 our horses. When we were within a hundred yards of it 

 we gave a tremendous warwhoop, and rode on like the Six 

 Hundred ; and in a moment more we saw a party of white 

 men, with well-bleached faces, peer from behind the cabin, 

 and these we recognized at once as our Teutonic acquaint- 

 ances of the previous night. When we rode up their feat- 

 ures were still blanched, and they were in a violent state of 

 agitation. 



" Gott im himmel !" said one, " for vhat you scare us 

 so ? I nearly choked mineself mit a sandvich ;" and, as 

 he spoke, he was still slightly gagging with the remnants 

 of a sandwich. His question was greeted with hearty 

 laughter, for the fears displayed on the features of all look- 

 ed ridiculous to us, who were not in their position. " Meb- 

 be you call dot foon," said another, " but I call it tarn 

 fool foon mitout no joke." We were soon at peace, how- 

 ever, and, when the truce was declared, we learned from 

 them that they had killed nothing, and that the cause of 

 their hasty retreat was seeing a body of Indians. On com- 

 paring notes, we learned that both our parties had mis- 

 taken each other for the common foe ; but we took excel- 



