ACROSS COUNTRY WITH A CAVALRY COLUMN. i 1 1 



the savage foe of the pioneer form part of the history of the 

 great North-west — calls forth an occasional hearty laugh from 

 the circle about the fire. He will be Ions; and kindlv re- 

 membered by his comrades. He has made his report to the 

 Great Captain since then, and has joined the grand army of 

 the dead. Rcqiiiescat in pace ! 



With the sad, sweet strains of " taps " rising in the night 

 air our party begins to disperse. The lights in the men's 

 tents 2:0 out, the hum of their voices ceases. One or two 

 of us still linger a moment by the glowing embers, loath to 

 leave, and taking the last puffs at our cigars; but soon we, 

 too, seek the shelter of our canvas houses, and c{uiet reigns 

 in the little command. Our companion, whose hospitable 

 tent we share, is asleep as soon as his head touches his pil- 

 low, but we still lie a few moments in our warm buffalo- 

 robes, watching the stars through the circular opening in the 

 roof of the tent. We can hear the rushing of the water and 

 the slow tramp of a sentry, now fading away in the distance, 

 now coming nearer, as he paces up and down his beat, until 

 our eyelids close, and we sink into a deep and dreamless 

 slumber. 



" Trata, tarata! I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up, I 

 can't get 'em up in the mo-or-ning!" The trumpets are ring- 

 ing out in a lively manner, " tata- taraing " and clamoring 

 away fit to wake the Seven Sleepers, and we spring up, broad 

 awake at once. That is, we ourselves are broad awake 

 enough, for those leathern -lunged trumpeters are raising a 

 tremendous racket, but our companion, on whom the regular 

 recurrence of the same din every morning for a dozen years 

 or more has had the effect of hardening his nerves, wants to 

 know, with a little " d — " such as the captain of the Pina- 

 fore may have used, whether " that's reveille already !" As 



