146 WILD SrORTS IN THE FAR WEST. 



said there must be a fox there. I hastened to get a 

 shot at him, but without success, till suddenly, by the 

 barking of the dogs, I knew that Reynard must have 

 come to a stop, and supposed him to have run to earth ; 

 but what was my surprise on finding him perched on a 

 tree, from which he was seriously contemplating the furi- . 

 ous dogs beneath him ! I was so astonished that at first I 

 did not fire. When I did so, he remained hanging be- 

 tween the two branches where he had squeezed himself, 

 which was all the better for his skin, as the dogs would 

 have spoiled it. I afterwards learnt that the foxes here 

 always climb a tree, when driven to the last, but they 

 can only manage it with small trees, nor can they get 

 higher than ten or twelve feet; in the swamps they 

 generally live in the hollows of trees. 



On returning to the house I found the little school- 

 master in the height of his glory. He was dressed all 

 in white ; — white trousers, a snow white shirt and 

 jacket, white neckcloth, a light-colored, almost white, 

 straw hat, and light tanned shoes, also almost white. To 

 all this garb of innocence, the red hair, red face, redder 

 nose, and bluish red hands, offered a striking contrast ; 

 he seemed to be well satisfied with himself, stepped 

 carefully over the fence, and was soon lost, like a sun- 

 beam, in a dark forest. 



On the 20th June we finished our fence. On the 

 21st we began the floor of our house, and on the 22nd 

 the grand work was all complete. In the afternoon 

 we went to S.'s to fetch our things, and towards even- 

 ing, as it was very warm, I plunged into the cool 

 stream flowing past the back of the house, and had to 

 pay for it severely on the following day by a return of 



