NARROW QUARTERS WACHIGA. 183 



hunting-shirt, and had on nothing but a cotton shirt and 

 leggings, and was working on inch by inch, with tolera- 

 ble certainty of finding a bear. The passage was quite 

 round, and in many places as smooth as glass, from 

 being rubbed by wild beasts. In one place I found the 

 skin of a rattlesnake. 



At length I got so completely jammed in, that I could 

 neither move backwards nor forwards. The perspira- 

 tion burst from every pore, and for a minute' or two I 

 lay motionless. Then I again exerted all my efforts to 

 force myself backwards, and to my indescribable satis- 

 faction, at length succeeded, leaving, however, the 

 greater part of my shirt behind me, and my delight may 

 be imagined when I again inhaled the fresh air. My 

 hair stood on end at the fearful thought of sticking fast 

 in such a hole, buried alive, and dying of hunger. 



Night found us far from our camp, so we made one 

 for ourselves where we were. Wachiga, who had become 

 very pensive, sat smoking his tomahawk and staring at 

 the fire. Notwithstanding that he had been converted 

 to Christianity, he had still some remains of the old su- 

 perstition. Erskine was in high good humor, and told 

 one droll story after another. 



On the next morning, February 1st, we had hardly 

 started ere we heard the dogs. Wachiga declared in- 

 stantly that they were his brother's, and disappeared be- 

 hind the rocks without another word. As we stood 

 listening, the sound seemed to take a different direction ; 

 we ascended the mountain as fast as we could, to cut 

 off the chase, but found that we must have been mis- 

 taken, for in a few minutes all was silent as the grave ; 



