354 OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 



once on the road, I decided instead to make thia 

 village my evening objective. A heavy rain-storm, 

 setting in early in the forenoon, compelled me to take 

 refuge at a farm house for about an hour, where I was 

 initiated into the home life of the Northern Indiana 

 " Hoosier." I am sorry to say that during this day's 

 ride I encountered the worst roads and the dullest 

 people of my journey. Many who have resided in 

 this part of Indiana for thirty and even forty years 

 are not only exceedingly illiterate, but know much 

 less of the topography of the country than the average 

 Indian — and absolutely nothing of the adjacent towns. 

 As a consequence I w^as obliged to trust to chance, 

 which brought me to Gallon, a tiny hamlet on the 

 outskirts of a swamp, where I had dinner. My ride 

 thither was made under circumstances which suggested 

 the ride of the belated Tam O' Shanter, and while my 

 tortures could not compare with his, they were none 

 the less acute while they lasted. I was met on the 

 edge of the swamp by a swarm of mosquitoes — known 

 in France as petite diahles — who forced their attention 

 upon me without cessation, in spite of the fiact that I 

 urged my horse forward at breakneck speed, PauVs 

 steaming flanks and mire-covered legs attesting to the 

 struggle, when we drew up in front of Gallon Inn. 



®\\t i)\\\\^xt^ anil SroEutH-first Slag. 



Jeioell House, 



Michigan City, Indiana, 



September Ninth. 



I considered myself fortunate, during my ride from 

 Rolling Prairie to Michigan City — a distance of six- 



