PATE OP OUR BUFPALO-TONGUES. 133 



my trowsers open, and I was six miles from camp and unable 

 to move. 



I do not think I was ever in a more perfect hunting-ground 

 than this was in those days the danger from Indians giving it 

 that dash of excitement which is always needed to make any 

 life really perfect. 



Our cook had improved very much under F 's tuition, 



the following being a common bill of fare : Soup, curry of 

 turkey-breast, antelope steaks, rice-pudding with syrup, and 

 good strong coffee not a bad bill of fare when seasoned with 

 hunger sauce. 



We had a number of buffalo-tongues salted and smoked, but 

 these were for our friends at home, and were taken every care 

 of, to be eaten eventually by the servants at an hotel in 

 St. Joe, where I left them for some months forgetting all 

 about them ; and when I wrote directing them to be forwarded, 

 I was informed that the rats had eaten them all, which, as they 

 were fastened up in a barrel, was impossible. 



One day, after I had recovered from my kick, we were 

 startled just as we were going to dinner by seeing a consider- 

 able number of men coming up the valley, who at first we 

 supposed to be Indians, as they were several miles distant, and 

 some of those who were riding in front had yellow bandana 

 handkerchiefs round their heads, and wore old blue soldier 

 overcoats, a dress much affected by the Sioux. A glass showed, 

 however, that they were white men, and they proved to be 

 sixteen of the men whom we had left at the mouth of the 

 creek. We asked them what was the matter, on which they 

 told us that they had fully expected to find us all killed, as the 

 Indians had again visited Lake Sibley and had carried off a 



