203 IN THE OLD WEST 



tain, and the firing suddenly ceased. In their 

 retreat they were forced to expose themselves, and 

 again the whites dealt destruction amongst them. 

 As the Indians retired, yelling loudly, the hunters 

 thought they had given up the contest; but pres- 

 ently a cloud of smoke rising from the bottom im- 

 mediately below them, at once discovered the na- 

 ture of their plans. A brisk wind was blowing up 

 the canon ; and, favored by it, they fired the brush 

 on the banks of the stream, knowing that before 

 this the hunters must speedily retreat. 



Against such a result, but for the gale of wind 

 which drove the fire roaring before it, they could 

 have provided — for your mountaineer never fails 

 to find resources on a pinch. They would have fired 

 the brush to leeward of their position, and also 

 carefully ignited that to windward, or between 

 them and the advancing flame, extinguishing it 

 Immediately when a sufficient space had thus been 

 cleared over which the flame could not leap, and 

 thus cutting themselves off from it both above and 

 below their position. In the present instance they 

 could not profit by such a course, as the wind was 

 so strong that, if once the bottom caught fire, 

 they would not be able to extinguish it ; besides 

 which, in the attempt, they would so expose them- 

 selves that they would be picked off by the In- 

 dians without difficulty. As it was, the fire came 

 roaring b«?fore the wind with the speed of a race- 

 horse, ar 1, spreading from the bottom, licked the 



