THE COUNCIL IN THE PUAIKIK. 31 



sant contrast with the monotony of the vast solitude we 

 had been traversing since we last quitted the marshy 

 banks of the Mississippi. 



It seemed as if we had been introduced, by some sud- 

 den enchantment, into the fair image of an English gar- 

 den, designed by one of the most skilful horticulturists 

 of Great Britain. 



On the horizon our gaze could first discover a manade, 

 or troop, of wild horses feeding tranquilly at no great 

 distance from a score of bisons, some of whom were rumi- 

 nating in the shelter of a thicket of cotton-trees, while 

 the others mounted guard. It would have been easy for 

 us to fancy ourselves in front of a paddock belonging to 

 an opulent Lancashire farmer. 



The chief of the Redskins assembled round him the 

 best hunters of his tribe, and held a solemn council. It 

 was resolved that they should execute the great manreuvre 

 called, in the United States, among the emigrant-settlers 

 of the Far West, the " Wild Horses' Ring." 



This species of chase requires a great number of skilful 

 horsemen, who, echelonning in all directions, at a distance 

 of about one hundred paces from each other, complete a 

 circle of about two thousand two hundred yards. 



The greatest silence is necessary, for wild horses are 

 easily terrified, and their instinct is so keen that the 

 slightest breath of wind brings to their nostrils the 

 scent of their enemies, the Redskins of the desert. 



As soon as the circle is formed, four hunters, mounted 

 upon magnificent steeds, begin to spur in the direction of 

 the manade. All the wild animals immediately precipi- 

 tate themselves in the opposite direction. But the 

 moment they appear inclined to break through the ring 



