A PLEASANT SURPRISE. 41 



other's name, for we had met before, and where ? In 

 no less distant a portion of the earth than in the realms 

 of the Tycoon. A restless spirit, a crack shot, and 

 passionately fond of field sports, the world was his 

 demesne ; and where game was abundant, there he 

 would be found, whatever were the dangers that sur- 

 rounded it, laughing at hardship and privation the 

 bitters that make the sweets of life the more enjoyable 

 by contrast. Securing my animals, I accompanied him 

 to the party to which he had attached himself. They 

 had only lately left civilisation, and, through his in- 

 terest, my equine companions got several feeds of corn, 

 to which they had long been unaccustomed. The night 

 passed discussing old friends, a flask of brandy, and a 

 package of kill-a-kinnick tobacco ; and when, on the 

 morrow, I shook his sterling hand at parting, before 

 recommencing my journey, he presented me with a 

 few more feeds of grain, which, without doubt, 

 materially assisted my four-footed friends in rapidly 

 traversing the balance of the debatable ground. 



The visitor to the plains desirous of hunting buffalo, 

 and doing so comfortably and under the most ad- 

 vantageous circumstances, should alwa} r s take his 

 saddlery with him. A hunting saddle from Peat or 

 Wilkinson and Kidd, made of the best pigskin, would 

 be my choice, remembering alwa} r s to be provided with 

 spare girths. The high-peaked saddle generally used 

 in the West has advantages for frontier use ; but for a 

 firm seat, hard and rough riding, give me our English 

 production. A double-reined snaffle I would take in 

 preference to all bridles. At the same time, much 

 depends on how a horse's mouth has been made. 

 If the nag in his youth had his jaws dislocated 



