440 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



heat of the ground and the still smouldering stubs of grass 

 became insufferable to his feet, and then he turned to mount. 

 He now, for the first time, looked at the animal carefully, 

 and to his horror, saw that nearly every hair upon its body 

 was gone, and little but the bare skin left, and that was 

 so badly scorched in places, as to come off at the slightest 

 touch. 



This was dreadful enough, but — water ! water ! water ! he 

 must have that, or they would both die. He sprang into 

 the saddle and urged the wretched creature along with the 

 last energies of his sinking life. In an hour he had begun 

 to grow dizzy, and the blackened earth swam round and 

 round, and tossed him to and fro ! Now a strange noise 

 was about him ; and as the lifting waves of the earth would 

 almost seem to leap up into his face, he would catch glimpses 

 of huge wolves careering on them, turning up their fiery 

 eyes to his, and howling at him with red hot open mouths 

 and lolling tongues ! Suddenly his horse rushed down a 

 steep bank, and there was a great splashing. Water ! 

 Blessed God, water ! He tumbled from his saddle into 

 the cold delicious fluid. 



In an instant his senses had returned, and he saw himself 

 surrounded by thirty or forty prairie wolves, some of whom 

 were swimming in the water after him, while the others sat 

 upon the bank of the small lake, and howled their gathering 

 cry. He struck those which were nearest with his gun barrel 

 and beat them off, while he had time to draw his heavy knife. 

 One of them had seized his passive horse, who, while it was 

 endeavoring to pull him down, stood still and drank — the 

 long eager draughts. He split the wolf's head with his 

 knife, and soon sent the rest back out of the water, yelling 

 with their wounds. But those upon the bank only howled 

 the louder, and they were answered near at hand and from 

 afar by hundreds of others, who were swiftly gathering in 

 at the well-known call to a banquet. 



