234 BUFFALO LAND. 



Mexicans climbed to the plains above, taking their 

 rusty muskets along to kill buffalo. Our guide went 

 down to the hunting camp below us, intending to re- 

 turn to Hays with the officers, home duties requiring 

 his attention. One of our hostlers, familiar with the 

 country, was to be our pilot in future. 



Back of our camp lay the castellated rocks which 

 had attracted our notice the previous evening, and 

 over which Daub, our artist, now became intensely 

 enthusiastic. He wandered back and forth dn front 

 of them, his soul in his eyes, and these upturned to 

 the bluffs. And thus we left him. 



" Genius is struggling hard for utterance there," 

 said the Professor impressively. " That young man 

 will make his mark ; see if he does n't." Alas, how 

 little we thought he would do it so soon. 



An hour later, returning that way, we descried our 

 artist high up on the face of the rocks, perched on a 

 jutting fragment, and clinging to a stunted cedar with 

 one hand, while with the other he plied his brush. 

 Fully forty feet intervened between him and the 

 earth. 



" What devotion !" cried the Professor. 



"Beautiful spirit," said Mr. Colon, "how soon it 

 commences to climb." 



"That young man will develop," said Dr. Pythag- 

 oras. 



A few feet more, and the artist and his work were 

 fully revealed. He had developed. A cry of agony 

 came from the Professor's lips ; for there in large yel- 

 low lines, half blotting out a beautiful stone, our eyes 

 beheld the diabolical letters, S Z . 



