LIFE IN THE FAR WEST. 123 



on the plain. "Ho, boy," he said, touching his companion, 

 " thar's meat a-runnin." 



La Bonte looked in the direction the other pointed, stood 

 up, and hitching round his pouch and powder-horn, drew 

 the stopper from the latter with his teeth, and placing the 

 mouth in the palm of his left hand, turned the horn up 

 and shook it. 



" Not a grain," he said " not a grain, old hos." 



" Wagh ! " exclaimed the other, " we'll have to eat afore 

 long," and rising, walked into the prairie. He had 

 hardly stepped two paces, when, passing close to a sage- 

 bush, a rattlesnake whizzed a note of warning with its 

 tail. Killbuck grinned, and taking the wiping-stick 

 from his rifle-barrel, tapped the snake on the head, and 

 taking it by the tail, threw it to La Bonte, saying, " hyar's 

 meat, anyhow." The old fellow followed up his success 

 by slaying half-a-dozen more, and brought them in skew- 

 ered through the head on his wiping-stick. A fire was 

 soon kindled, and the snakes roasting before it ; when La 

 Bonte", who sat looking at buffalo which fed close to the 

 rock, suddenly saw them raise their heads, snuff the air, 

 and scamper towards him. A few minutes afterwards, a 

 huge shapeless body loomed in the refracted air, approach- 

 ing the spot where the buffalo had been grazing. The 

 hunters looked at it and then at each other, and ejacu- 

 lated " Wagh ! " Presently a long white mass showed 

 more distinctly, followed by another, and before each was 

 a string of animals. 



" Waggons, by hos and beaver ! Hurrah for Conostoga !" 

 exclaimed the trappers in a breath, as they now observed 

 two white-tilted waggons, drawn by several pairs of mules, 

 approaching the very spot where they sat. Several mount- 

 ed men were riding about the waggons, and two on horse- 

 back, in advance of all, were approaching the rock, when 

 they observed the smoke curling from the hunters' fire. 

 They halted at sight of this ; and one of the two, drawing 

 a long instrument from a case, which Killbuck voted a 

 rifle, directed it towards them for a moment, and then low- 

 ering it, again moved forward. 



