WILD LIFE ACROSS THE WORLD 



on that. The moment you looked down the sight of 

 the water racing past you produced a strange kind of 

 vertigo ; your head seemed to be going round, and you 

 felt somehow you were actually rushing up the river. 

 I do not know how long we were fording that stream — 

 it appeared to have become horribly wide — but at last 

 our horses got their feet firmly on the other bank, 

 greatly to my relief. We were very wet, certainly, 

 but we were safe, and just in front of us was our cart 

 with our provisions and tent and blankets. The bears 

 had been to inspect it, but had gone away empty. 



From that camp we made our way back to Mammoth 

 Hot Springs. The road led us past some more beaver 

 ponds, and we also saw a number of the famous petrified 

 trees. My companion, who had the grim sense of 

 humour which one so often finds amongst the real 

 American frontiersmen, told me a good story about 

 these same trees. A coach-driver was explaining them 

 to a lady tourist, a Yankee woman, who, like most of 

 her kind, was athirst for information. She was so greatly 

 amazed at the trees that he thought it a pity to leave 

 off with them. Lots of other things got petrified too, 

 he added. Even birds flying across the valley were 

 occasionally struck in the same way, turning to stone 

 in mid-air ; and, " what 's more, I tell you, miss," 

 he went on, " their songs got petrified too. Just you 

 jot that down in that there diary-book of yours, and say 

 you had it from me." 



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