436 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 
a small piece of meadow ground which was covered with 
musquit grass, and well protected from view by the great 
clusters of cactus which surrounded it on three sides. There 
he stripped his faithful horse and turned him loose to graze, 
and then taking for supper a hearty draught of water, threw 
himself upon his blanket to sleep. 
He had lost his provision wallet in the chase, and it was 
more than he dare venture upon to shoot game, for fear of 
betraying his hiding-place; and though hungry enough, he 
was fain this time “to go to bed supperless.” He thought 
of home before sleep came, of course, and wished himself 
there most heartily, that he might attack the well-stocked 
pantry, the contents of which danced in most tantalizing 
visions before him during the whole night. This was too 
. much a common predicament, however, to make any very 
strong impression upon him otherwise. 
He was mounted and off very early the next morning, and 
was by no means delighted to perceive that his horse was 
considerably gaunted by the yesterday’s hard work and the 
somewhat narrow commons of the night. However, he moved 
on now with something less of a hurry, as there were no 
indications of pursuit apparent. Following the rivulet, he 
soon reached the west branch, and turned up this with a 
brisker movement, spurred by the cheerful hope of soon 
rejoining his companions and finding them safe. In an hour 
he was in sight of the ground, and put his horse into a swift 
gallop in his eagerness to pass over the interval quickly. On 
coming up, he saw, instead of his comrades, the dead body 
of an Indian warrior lying across the very ashes of their 
camp fire, all gashed and hewn with bowie-knife cuts. All 
around the earth was deeply broken up, with the evidences 
of a desperate hand to hand struggle. The breech of a 
rifle, which he recognized, and a number of arrows, with a 
_ broken lance and shield, were scattered around. He felt a 
choking sensation and his blood ran cold at this sight. 
