268 UPLAND SHOOTm&. 



our guns, and a pointer dog. We went by way of 

 Aurora, on Fox River, and Dixon, on Eock River, and 

 struck the Mississippi at Savannak. The distance, by 

 the way we went, was about 200 miles, and we did it in 

 about five days, the roads being good at the time. The 

 country between Chicago and the great river had few set- 

 tlers, and we drove over the prairies many hours at a 

 time without seeing a house or a human being. Early 

 travelers were always impressed with the likeness of 

 these immense grassy plains dotted with groves, to the 

 ocean with its islands — the horizon extending to the sky- 

 line, and the surface of tall grass waving in the wind like 

 the gentle ripple of the summer sea. Like the ocean, the 

 prairie was then pathless, and we steered due west, like 

 an ocean steamer bound across the Atlantic to America. 

 Game was abundant; every creek and slough had its 

 ducks; the prairie fowl ran along the roadside, and the 

 deer bounded through the thickets. The Doctor killed 

 birds enough every day to feed us, and we had them 

 cooked at the log cabins at the roadside where we 

 stopped. 



We reached Savannah toward noon on the fifth day. 

 There was a ferry, but the ferryman was absent, and his 

 cabin was closed, and there was no other habitation in 

 sight. We waited some time, and then the Doctor entered 

 the cabin through the window, and opened the door. We 

 were hungry, and looking for something to eat, found a 

 pot with a venison stew, and some corn-bread, of which 

 we began to eat, when suddenly the door opened, and a 

 tall, muscular figure, with a blackened face, entered — a 

 formidable fellow, who seemed able to throw the intruders 

 into the river. Although he must have been surprised to 

 see his property in the hands of strangers, he showed it 

 not, but accosted us with civility, and when we hastened 

 to apologize for our freedom, he made us welcome, 



