TERRIBLE ADVENTURE. 35 



" My march was of long duration. I saw the sun sinking 

 beneath the horizon long before I could perceive any appear- 

 ance of woodlands, and nothing in the shape of man had I met 

 with that day. The track which I followed was only an old 

 Indian trail, and as darkness overshadowed the prairie, I felt 

 some desire to reach at least a copse, in which I might lie down 

 to rest. The night-hawks were skimming over and around me, 

 attracted by the buzzing wings of the beetles which form their 

 food, and the distant howling of the wolves gave me some hope 

 that I should soon arrive at the skirts of some woodland. 



" I did so, and almost at the same instant a fire-light attract- 

 ing my eye, I moved towards it, full of confidence that it 

 proceeded from the camp of some wandering Indians. I was 

 mistaken. I discovered by its glare that it was from the hearth 

 of a small log cabin, and that a tall figure passed and repassed 

 between it and me, as if busily engaged in household arrange- 

 ments. 



" I reached the spot, and presenting myself at the door, 

 asked the taU figure, which proved to be a woman, if I might 

 take shelter under her roof for the night ? Her voice was gruff, 

 and her dress negligently thrown about her. She answered in 

 the affirmative. I walked in, took a wooden stool, and quietly 

 seated myself by the fire. The next object that attracted my 

 notice was a finely-formed young Indian, resting his head 

 between his hands, with his elbows on his knees. A long bow 

 rested against the log wall near him, while a quantity of arrows 

 and two or three racoon skins lay at his feet. He moved not ; 

 he apparently breathed not. Accustomed to the habits of the 

 Indians, and knowing that they pay little attention to the 

 approach of civilized strangers, I addressed him in French, a 

 language not unfrequently partially known to the people of 

 that neighbourhood. He raised his head, pointed to one of his 

 eyes with his finger, and gave me a significant glance with the 

 other ; his face was covered with blood. 



" The fact was, that an hour before this, as he was in the act 

 of discharging an arrow at a racoon in the top of a tree, the 

 arrow had split upon the cord, and sprimg back with such 

 violence into his right eye as to destroy it for ever. 



" Feeling hungrv, I inquired what sort of fare I might expect. 



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