WAPITI-RUNNING ON THE PLAINS 6i 



the stillness and the boundlessness of the plains 

 seemed to press like a weight upon my spirits, and 

 I was not sorry to get back into the bustle and 

 busy life of the fort. After a while, though, when 

 I became accustomed to the plains, the feeling of 

 depression of spirits which was at first occasioned 

 by the monotony and quiet colouring of every- 

 thing faded away, and the limitlessness of the 

 prairie only impressed me with a feeling of freedom, 

 and created rather an exhilaration of spirits than 

 otherwise. 



It was difficult in those days, and I suppose 

 it is 80 now in most places, to enjoy much hunting 

 on the plains without the assistance of the military. 

 That assistance was never wdthheld if it could be 

 given ; for among no class of people in any country 

 in the world are the rites of hospitality better under- 

 stood or more gracefully administered than among 

 the officers of Uncle Sam's army. I always found 

 them most courteous, kind, and obliging, ready 

 to do anything in their power to help a stranger 

 to see something of the country or to indulge in 

 the pleasures of a hunt. I had no great difficulty 

 therefore in obtaining permission to attach myself 

 to a scouting party that was to leave the fort in a 

 short time. 



