164 AVILD SPOUTS IN THE FAR WEST. 



with his wild fantasies. In the meanwhile he kept 

 paying earnest devotion to the Avhiskey bottle, offering 

 it to me at the same time. I took a little at first, but 

 latteriy only put it to my lips for show. The nearer 

 we approached the bottom of the bottle, the Avilder 

 danced their majesties across the magic lantern of his 

 imagination. And as we were taking into considera- 

 tion the case of Russia, which, by our united endea- 

 vors, had become a republic, his head began to nod, 

 and his chin had hardly touched his breast when he 

 began to snore. His wife, a simple soul, who had been 

 brought up in the woods, had listened to us with aston- 

 ishment, and was still holding her mouth open as I 

 turned to seek my bed. 



My dreams transported me to my native land — not 

 to the royal palaces I had just left, but to my home, 

 with its much-loved forms. On the 5th of September, 

 I arrived again at Saint's, and indulged my body with 

 some necessary repose, shattered as it was by so many 

 attacks of the ague. On the 9 th, Saint commenced his 

 Indian corn harvest, which lasted till the 11th, and I 

 gave my assistance. The cobs were simply broken 

 away from the stems, and cast into a cart which 

 carried them to the building prepared to receive them. 

 When this work was done, we began another — namely, 

 to clear about half an acre more land, and sow it with 

 turnips. 



The western settlers, and particularly those in the 

 south-western states, are not very fond of hard work; 

 in those wild regions they prefer rearing cattle and 

 shooting, to agriculture, and are loth to undertake 

 the hard work of felling trees and clearing land. To 



