OR, PLAIN TEACHING. 



53 



ryatt thus describes one of these fearful confla- 

 grations : — " The breeze freshened, and I heard 

 the distant and muffled noise which, in the 

 west, announces either an earthquake or an 

 ■ estampede' of herds of wild cattle. Our horses, 

 too, were aware of some d inger, for now they 

 were positively mad, and struggling to escape. 

 A cry was raised, " Fly for your lives ; the 

 prairie is on fire, and the buffaloes are upon us. 

 We all sta fed to our feet, but not a word was 

 exchanged ; each felt the danger of his posi- 

 tion; speed was our only resource, if not 

 already too late. In a minute our horses were 

 saddled, in another we were madly galloping 

 across the prairie, the bridles upon the necl<s 

 of our steeds, allowing them to follow their 

 instincts. For an hour we dashed on with un 

 diminished speed, when we felt the earth trem 

 !) ling behind us, and soon afterwards the distani 

 bellowing, mixed with roaring and sharper 

 cries, was borne down upon our ears. The at- 

 mosphere grew oppressive and heavy, while the 

 flames, swifter than the wind, appeared raging 

 upon the horizon. The fleeter game of all kinds 

 now shot past us like arrows ; deer were bound- 

 ing over the ground in company with wolves and 

 panthers ; droves of elks and antelopes passed 

 swifter than a dream ; then a solitary horse, or 

 a huge buffalo bull. The atmosphere rapidly 

 became more dense, the heat more oppressive, 

 the roars sounded louder and louder in our 

 ears ; now and then they were mingled with 

 terrific howls and shrill sounds, so unearthly, 

 that even our horses would stop their mad car- 

 reer and tremble ; but it was only for a second, 

 and they dashed on. Soon, with the rushing 

 noise of a whirlwind, the mass of heavier and 

 less swift animals was close upon us ; buffaloes 

 in an immense dark body, miles in front, miles 

 in depth; on they came, trampling and dashing 

 through every obstacle. 



" It was an awful si«ht ! a sea of fire, roar- 

 ing in its fury, with its heaving masses and 

 unearthly hisses,, approaching nearer and 

 nearer, rushing on swifter than the sharp 

 morning breeze. The fire was gaining upon 

 us, when we perceived that, a mile ahead, the 

 immense herds before us had entered a deep 

 broad chasm into which they dashed, thousands 

 upon thousands, tumbling headlong into the 

 abyss. A few seconds more, we spurred on in 

 agony, speed was life, the chasm was to be our 

 preservation or our tomb. Down we darted, 

 actually borne upon the backs ot the descending 

 mass, and landed, without sense or motion, 

 more than a hundred feet below." 



Towards the southern ex- 

 tremity of the North American 

 continent, we enter the Mexican 

 territories, and here we find three 

 distinct races of people : the 

 aboriginal Indians, or red men ; 

 Africans, introduced as slaves by 

 the Europeans; and the Euro- 

 peans, 12, the superior classes in- 



dulging in an elaborate style of 

 costume, 13, 14. 



The water-carriers, 15, have a 

 remarkable way of bearing their 

 burthens, one large vessel being 

 placed upon the back, and its 

 weight counterpoised by a smaller 

 vessel suspended from the head. 

 There still prevails here a method 

 of travelling, 16, which in the 



16 



265. 



olden time was common in Eng- 

 land. A kind of litter, 18, is 

 borne upon shafts, swung from 

 the backs of mules. 



We now approach the great 

 Isthmus of Panama and Darien, 

 Avhich connects the two conti- 

 nents of North and South Ame- 

 rica, and separates the Atlantic 

 from the Pacific Ocean, Small 

 as this neck of land appears upon 

 the map, there are portions of it 

 yet unexplored, though lately it 

 has become better known. One 

 great cause of the ignorance 



12 



264. 



