We  encamped,  towards  evening,  in  a
valley,  beside  a  scanty  pool,  under  a  scat-
tered grove  of  elms,  the  upper  branches  of
which  were  fringed  with  tufts  of  the  mystic
mistletoe.  In  the  course  of  the  night  the
wild  colt  whinnied  repeatedly  ;  and  about
two  hours  before  day  there  was  a  stampedo,
or  sudden  rush  of  horses,  along  the  purlieus
of  the  camp,  with  a  snorting,  and  neighing,
and  a  clattering  of  hoofs,  that  startled  most
of  the  rangers  from  their  sleep,  who  listened
in  silence  until  the  sound  died  away,  like
the  rushing"  of  a  blast.     As  usual,  the  noise


A    '*  STAMPEDO."  231

was  at  first  attributed  to  some  party  of  ma-
rauding Indians  ;  but,  as  the  day  dawned,  a
couple  of  wild  horses  were  seen  in  a  neigh-
bouring meadow,  which  scoured  off  on  being
approached.  It  was  now  supposed  that  a
gang  of  them  had  dashed  through  our  camp
in  the  night.  A  general  mustering  of  our
horses  took  place  ;  many  were  found  scat-
tered to  a  considerable  distance,  and  several
were  not  to  be  found.  The  prints  of  their
hoofs,  however,  appeared  deeply  dinted  in
the  soil,  leading  off,  at  full  speed,  into  the
waste;  and  their  owners,  putting  themselves
on  the  trail,  set  off  in  weary  search  of  them.
We  had  a  ruddy  daybreak ;  but  the  morning
gathered  up  grey  and  lowering,  with  indi-
cations of  an  autumnal  storm.  We  resumed
our  march,  silently  and  seriously,  through  a
rough  and  cheerless  country,  from  the  highest
points  of  which  we  descried  large  prairies
stretching  indefinitely  westward.  After  tra-
velling for  two  or  three  hours,  as  we  were
traversing  a  \^dthered  prairie,  resembling  a
great  brown  heath,  we  beheld  seven  Osage


232  TOUR    ON    THE    PRAIRIES.
