DISTANT PANORAMAS SEEN UPON THE PLAINS. 9 



called by plains men, a solemn and impressive spec- 

 tacle may frequently be witnessed, as the eye travels 

 over the boundless expanse, without a single living 

 object to be seen anywhere upon it, which stretches 

 forth in silent and desolate grandeur, until it melts into 

 the sky line. Nowhere can the vastness and solitude 

 of the great plains, and the insignificance of the human 

 atom which crawls across their surface, be more fully 

 realized, than when seen from such a point of vantage. 

 In such a situation, the prairie traveller frequently has 

 to steer his course in the required direction, exactly 

 like the navigating officer of an ocean steamer, bound 

 across the Atlantic ; and he will of course ascend one 

 of these eminences occasionally, to observe the lie 

 of the country in advance, to look out for game, and 

 last but not least, it may be, to keep a vigilant watch 

 for signs of a possible human enemy. 



In the Indian country this last duty was often a very 

 anxious one, and kept a constant strain upon the facul- 

 ties. Under no circumstances indeed does the mind 

 become more quickly and efficiently trained to habits 

 of unceasing vigilance and observation. Every little 

 incident, however trivial, is at once noted. Anything 

 in motion at once attracts the eye, and the trained 

 vision of the experienced plainsman will make out 

 objects in the landscape, with unerring certainty, at 

 what seem to the novice incredible distances. Then 

 " following a trail" is so large and difficult a question, 

 that it would require to be specially treated of by itself. 



In guiding a course across this grassy sea, wealth, 

 rank, and book learning, count for little. The safety 

 of all depends upon the guidance of the man whom 

 long practice in studying the features of a wild country 



