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CHAPTER V. 



WAGGONS ON THE WESTERN WILDS SHOT AT A BUFFALO BY THE 



CAMP FIRE THE BOSS'S STORY. 



BEFORE the opening for traffic of the Atlantic and 

 Pacific Railroad all articles of trade suitable to the 

 Indian market were brought into their territories by 

 waggons. In fact, these conveyances played in 

 Western wilds exactly the same part that camels do 

 in Eastern deserts. In structure and size they very 

 much resemble the ambulances of the military train, 

 except that they are supplied with a cover of cotton- 

 duck stretched upon elevated hoops of wood, suffi- 

 ciently raised in the centre to admit of a man of 

 moderate height standing upright on the floor of the 

 waggon, When the vehicle is transformed into a 

 dormitory at night, it is really a most acceptable 

 shelter from the severe and sudden storms so com- 

 mon in this locality. Mules, horses, and oxen are 

 all employed as beasts of draught ; the first being 

 the best, for they require less food, and can thrive 

 upon what a horse will not eat. At the same time 

 they are less liable to become footsore and fractious. 

 Horned cattle also have some advantages, to recom- 



