SWANS, HERONS, AND HAWKS. 73 



till evening \vc were hunting after the larger animals 

 and the birds which cover the little fresh-water lakes 

 wliich abound on this part of the Mississippi. At 

 night, we sometimes turned out after the wolves, 

 which prowled round our camp on the chance of 

 snapping a bone or some other tit-bit. We could 

 see the eyes of these gentr}^ from afar, and some- 

 times succeeded in lodging a ball just between those 

 gleaming orbs. "When this happened, if we did not 

 remove the bod}', next morning there was nothing 

 to be seen. The hungry comrades of the victim 

 had eaten him up clean. 



We had stayed here fifteen days, and as our stock 

 of provisions was growing shorter — owing princi- 

 pally to the Indians, who made no scruple in 

 drawing largely upon our bread and spirits, it was 

 decided upon by m}' friend and myself that we 

 should cross the Mississippi, in order to visit a 

 village on the opposite shore, and lay in a stock of 

 flour and brandy. Next morning, we started betimes, 

 leaving our domicile under the charge of the Osages, 

 but we had not gone far when we came upon a herd 

 of deer, Avhicli we followed in the direction of the 

 prairies. My friend killed one of them, and we 

 hung him up on the branch of a tree. After mark- 

 ing the place, we resumed our march, but presently 

 made the unwelcome discovery that Ave had lost our 

 way, and we wandered about all day without succeed- 

 ing in discovermo- the banks of the river. Towards 



