TRAVEL. 47 



way. On some morning the sun will rise in what to 

 him appears the south or west. 



The old plainsman knows what this means at once ; 

 and unless he has a compass, or is as sure of his locality 

 as a resident in New York would be on Broadway, he 

 accepts the situation, goes into camp, and waifs until he 

 gets all right again. 



Fortunately, this hallucination being an affection of 

 the mind without external cause, no two persons of any 

 party are likely to be affected at the same time, and in the 

 same way. Fortunately, too, all persons are not subject 

 to it, at least to the same extent ; and some old plainsmen 

 (in whom instinct supplies the place of imagination and 

 knowledge) profess to regard it as a weakness or evidence 

 of ' greenness.' 



The man who travels by compass, whose full reliance 

 is on the mysterious needle more true than any human 

 mind saves himself great trouble, though not necessarily 

 from the annoyance of the feeling. 



I have, however, seen intelligent men, accustomed to 

 plains life and to long journeys over the c trackless 

 wastes,' so completely 4 turned round ' as to lose all 

 confidence in the compass, to declare it was wrong, that 

 some local attraction affected its accuracy, &c. Two 

 gentlemen, by no means new to the plains, were once 

 with me on a hunt. They became separated from the 

 party, and, after wandering about for some time, sus- 

 pected they might be lost. They compared compasses, 

 made up their minds that both compasses were wrong 

 ' locally attracted ' got into a discussion as to the route, 

 which led to a quarrel, and finally to a separation, each 

 pursuing what seemed to him the true route. Both were 

 wrong. The compasses were right. One got into camp 

 by accident ; the other had to be hunted up and brought 

 back. 



The effect on some minds of being really and 

 thoroughly lost or ' turned round ' on the plains is most 



