FINE-CUT. 
27 
After thus walking along the side of this rocky moun- 
tain for a mile or more, and just as disgust had grown 
about as strong as expectation, we stopped under the lee 
of one of the huge boulders, to draw a moment’s breath 
and wonder where all the antelope could be, and where 
the ground was upon which Stimpson had started a flock 
of quail and killed ten of them. 
Now, while wc were thus wondering without deriving 
the slightest satisfaction from it, we noticed a gentleman 
of Hottentot visage approaching us with a spy-glass in his 
right hand, through which he had probably long since 
satisfied himself as to tlih. likelihood of our being persons 
who carried tobacco ; for ho had no sooner joined us and 
made a polite bow, than he commenced to express him- 
self at some length in taTOur of the consumption of said 
article, and ended by ii^^cating- a perfect readiness on his 
part to accept a small ^iece of it, “if wo happened to 
have any.” The fact of this personage living in an Eng- 
lish colony will account for his speaking the language. 
I had a small tobacco-box in my pocket containing 
a quantity of John Anderson & Oo.’s “fine-cut;” and 
that I oflered freely, knowing how much one often longs 
for a single “chew,” and hoping, moreover, to loosen the 
honest strings of hia tongue in regal'd to the w^hereabouts 
of the game. 
I was right in both my impression as to his longing for 
a chetv and as to the loosening of his tongue in regard 
to the game, though I cannot say much for the amount 
of honesty about this latter. He glanced doubtingly at 
the fine-threaded preparation at first, but had no sooner 
carried it to his nose than his whole face relaxed into a 
