40 PftAIPJE AND FOREST. 



was alone, being dismounted, I knew could not be the 

 case ; and as he was coming in the very direction of 

 my fresh trail, which, if he was permitted to cross, he 

 could not fail to discover, and, with the discovery, 

 bring his whole party in pursuit of me, there was but 

 one alternative to adopt. Last year, in this very 

 locality, the Indians had been unusually active ; scarcely 

 a gang of emigrants or traders who had taken the 

 southern route but had lost members of their party ; 

 in several instances neither sex nor age had been 

 spared by these bloodthirsty marauders ; so what could 

 I expect if alone I fell into the hands of a party of 

 braves on the war-path ? True, my scalp for it has 

 long been ignorant of a scalpy lock would scarcely 

 be worth lifting ; but then I did not want to knock 

 under yet ; and, if so, I preferred making a fight for it, 

 as, I think, under the excitement, the process of being 

 wiped out is less painful. 



By this time my stalwart apparition had approached 

 within eighty yards : he was a noble-looking figure, 

 without the slouch of the red man when hunting, with 

 a step as free and independent as if he had been 

 shooting over a private manor. A big bug he evidently 

 was, conscious of his own divinity ; still, no eagle's 

 feather or characteristic mark of a chief distinguished 

 him. Presently he halted, and threw his large gun 

 across his arm; from this movement I perceived at once 

 that he was a white man. Great was his surprise when 

 he saw me leave my ambush ; quick as thought his rifle 

 was cocked and brought to the port, but I prevented 

 him from further hostile demonstrations by a salute in 

 mother tongue. Our meeting was strange; both took a 

 pretty good stare, and then mutually mentioned each 



