NATURE'S REALM. 
pony behind some bushes and awaited results. 
Instead of dismounting, however, Roaming 
‘Bear threw his body horizontally alongside his 
pony, with one foot resting on the crupper and 
this left hand clinched firmly in the animal's 
-mane, leaving the reins sufficiently slack to 
permit the pony to graze, meanwhile urging it 
‘gradually in the direction of the game. The 
stratagem proved entirely successful, for in a 
few moments Roaming Bear had approached 
‘to within easy range of the unsuspecting fowls, 
when, dropping lightly to the ground, he crept 
noiselessly as a shadow to a clump of tall weeds 
and prepared for a shot. The matchless pose 
presented by the figure of the kneeling Indian 
-during the momentary period required to direct 
his aim was so superbly statuesque, that a 
faithful reproduction of the model in the form 
-of enduring bronze by a Kemeys or Borye 
would have made a noble accession to the nu- 
merous trophies of their genius. The sharp 
twang of the bowstring was succeeded by the 
faintly audible hiss of the feathered missile, 
which, propelled by the arm of the elastic In- 
-dian, sped swiftly with an unerring precision, 
-and instantly transfixed itself into the side of a 
splendid drake, the fatal effect of the shot being 
at once apparent in the futile attempts of the 
stricken fowl to rise and join in the convulsive 
flight of its frightened companions. So highly 
creditable was this second demonstration of 
my companion’s skill that I was constrained to 
vent my admiration in a series of applauding 
cheers, which were heartily supplemented by a 
couple of loons which, at a respectable dis- 
tance, had likewise been furtive spectators of 
the performance, and which, with the audacity 
of their species, awoke the dreamful silence of 
the valley with peals of hilarious laughter. 
By consulting my watch I discovered that a 
further delay would preclude the possibility of 
my arriving at Devil’s Island by nightfall, that 
being the point whither I had hoped to reach 
the first day out. I therefore resumed my 
journey at once, Roaming Bear kindly accom- 
panying me for ashort distance for the purpose 
of directing me to a point where an unused 
bridal trail debouched from the river valley 
into the midst of the hills, and which he in- 
formed me would surely lessen the distance 
139 
sufficiently to permit me to reach my destina- 
tion before dark. A few minutes’ riding 
brought us to the trail designated by Roaming 
Bear, when, after presenting the savage with a 
box of prairie matches as a reward for his ser- 
vices, I again set forward, the watchful loons 
hailing my exit from the valley with a parox- 
ysm of clamorous approbation bordering on 
the hysterical. 
When fairly within the confines of the hills 
the trail became more broadened and distinct, 
winding sinuously through chambered gorges 
fingered with clinging pines and cedars, and 
past dank and sheltered marshes odorous with 
the aroma of bursting willow buds, and where 
the reigning silence was broken but not re- 
lieved by the lonely croak of the bullfrogs and 
the long-drawn call of the curlews from the 
russet uplands beyond. It was high noon 
when, to my intense relief, 1 emerged from the 
lonely recesses of the hills on to a long and 
level sweep of bottom land lying beside the 
Missouri River, its surface covered with a 
densely intermingled growth of diamond wil- 
low, whistle wood and rose bushes, with an oc- 
casional pine or cedar, and acres of mountain 
ash and bilberry trees. Having permitted my 
faithful pony to quench his thirst from the 
river, I selected a grassy spot beneath some 
trees on the bank, and, removing his saddle 
and bridle, picketed him out to graze, after 
which I unpacked my wallet of provisions and 
set about the business of appeasing my own 
hunger, with such a relish of the viands as 
only a protracted gallop over a rugged and un- 
certain Indian trail could provoke. At the 
conclusion of my solitary repast I stuffed my 
pipe with tobacco, and seating myself on my 
saddle blanket with my back resting against a 
friendly cedar, I abandoned myself to the bliss- 
ful and soothing influence of the fragrant weed, 
the companionable virtues of which, from time 
immemorial, frequenters of the quiet wilder- 
ness have dwelt upon with an eloquent vener- 
ation. 
The Missouri was far above the usual stage, 
and its impatient waters hastened by with an 
impetuosity morose and fretful, as if vexed and 
disgusted with its unsightly cargo of logs and 
other floating debris with which its uneasy bo- 
