AN INDIAN RESERVATION. 235 



swing outwards and come back against me with a thump ; this 

 happened so often that I was thankful when I reached the 

 river. Now, however, came the worst part of it, as I had to 

 ride across as fast as possible to avoid the quicksands, so that 

 by the time I had reached the other side my eggs were a soft 

 mass and the contents of the handkerchief streaming down the 

 horse's shoulder and on to my boots. The waggon had been 

 taken some distance, and as it was by this time dark, I do not 

 know how I should have found it had they not hung a lantern 

 in a tree to guide me, the trail being indistinct even by day. 

 On reaching camp the eggs were examined and only four sound 

 ones were found among them ; we, however, cooked the yolks 

 which remained in the handkerchief, making them into an 

 omelet, of which a large portion was broken egg-shell. 



We were now in the Indian reservation, and met a good 

 many of the semi-civilized ones, and very bad they looked in 

 white men's dress. An Indian will not cut his hair short 

 before he puts on a wideawake, and his long black hair 

 hanging down, in many cases far over his coat collar, quite 

 spoils him. And, again, their copper-coloured faces are not 

 suited to our dress, and an Indian who is grand-looking in his 

 own costume is a scarecrow in ours, and though in some of the 

 larger towns, where they have become doctors, lawyers, &c., 

 they have almost transformed themselves into white men, their 

 hair is " shingled," as American barbers call it, and some of 

 them have become great dandies. Those we came across were 

 as a rule rough specimens, and at many of the houses they 

 refused to sell us anything ; in some cases not even answering 

 our questions. 



It had been pouring all one day and the country was little 



