rolled in his bedding, fast asleep.
When several calls failed to arouse him, one of the boys tied an end
of a rope around "Jack's" feet, hitched a pair of oxen to the other
end, and hauled the delinquent out some distance on the sand. "Jack"
sat up, unconcernedly rubbed his eyes, then began untying the rope
that bound his feet, his only comment being--

"Ulee, ilee, aloo, ee;
Courting, down in Tennessee."

[Illustration: "Hauled the delinquent out"]

CHAPTER III.

LOST IN THE BLACK HILLS. DEVIL'S GATE. WHY A MOUNTAIN SHEEP DID NOT
WINK. GREEN RIVER FERRY.

At Fort Laramie we left the Platte River, and, bearing northwesterly,
entered the Black Hills, a region of low, rolling uplands, sparsely
grown with scrubby pine trees; the soil black, very dry; where little
animal life was visible, excepting prairie dogs.

There may be readers who, at the mention of prairie dogs, see mentally
a wolf or other specimen of the _genus canis_, of ordinary kind and
size. The prairie dog, however, is not of the dog species. It bears
some resemblance to a squirrel and a rat, but is larger than either.
It may be likened to the canine only in that it barks, somewhat as do
small dogs. Prairie dogs live in holes, dug by themselves. Twenty to
fifty of these holes may be seen within a radius of a few yards, and
such communities are known to plains people as "towns." On the
approach of anything they fear the little fellows sit erect, look
defiant and chatter saucily. If the intruder comes too near, the
commanding individual of the group, the mayor of the town, so to
speak, gives an alarm, plainly interpreted as, "Beware; make safe;
each man for himself;" and instantly each one turns an exquisite
somersault and disappears, as he drops, head downward, into the hole
beside him.

John L. Maxwell had made the trip over the plains from the Missouri
River to California in 1854, returning, via Panama, in 1856, to take
his family to the West, accompanying the train of his elder brother,
Dr. Kennedy Maxwell. He was of great service to us now, by reason of
his experience and consequent knowledge of the country traversed. He
was therefore elected to act as pilot of the company, with the title
"Captain John," which clung to him for many years.

The emigrant trail in some parts of the way was well marked. In other
places there was none, and we had to find our way as best we could,
not always without difficulty. Often Captain John a