We  walked  out,  after  supper,  and  visited  a  small
Indian  camp  in  the  vicinity.  The  Indians  were  in  &
great  hurry  about  something,  and  were  packing  up
and  getting  away  as  fast  as  they  could.  In  their
broken  English  they  said,  "By'm-by,  heap  water!"
and  by  the  help  of  signs  made  us  understand  that  in
their  opinion  a  flood  was  coming.  The  weather  was
perfectly  clear,  and  this  was  not  the  rainy  season.
There  was  about  a  foot  of  water  in  the  insignificant
river — or  maybe  two  feet ;  the  stream  was  not  wider
than  a  back  alley  in  a  village,  and  its  banks  were
scarcely  higher  than  a  man's  head.  So,  where  was
the  flood  to  come  from?  We  canvassed  the  subject
awhile  and  then  concluded  it  was  a  ruse,  and  that
the  Indians  had  some  better  reason  for  leaving  in  a
hurry  than  fears  of  a  flood  in  such  an  exceedingly
dry  time.
