Returning  to  the  ravine,  he  pursued  the
course  of  the  brook  until  it  grew  to  be  a  con-
siderable stream.  Down  this  he  floated  until
he  came  to  where  it  emptied  into  the  Missis-
sippi. Just  at  the  mouth  of  the  stream  he
found  a  forked  tree,  which  he  launched  with
some  difficulty,  and,  getting  astride  of  it,
committed  himself  to  the  current  of  the
mighty  river.  In  this  way  he  floated  along
until  he  arrived  opposite  the  fort  at  Council
Bluffs.  Fortunately,  he  arrived  there  in  the
daytime,  other\vise  he  might  have  floated
unnoticed  past  this  solitary  post,  and  have
perished  in  the  idle  waste  of  waters.     Being

M    2


244  TOUR    ON    THE    PRAIRIES.
descried  from  the  Fort,  a  canoe  was  sent  to
his  relief,  and  he  was  brought  to  shore  more
dead  than  alive,  where  he  soon  recovered
from  his  wounds,  but  remained  maimed  for
Hfe.
