uld make no pretence at sleep
any longer; I had to open my eyes; and once in a while I asked a
question or two, although I would not show much interest, and determined
not to become at all acquainted with him, because we were necessarily to
be very intimate, travelling all day together, and camping together at
night. But I watched him a great deal, and listened to his conversation
upon many subjects. I think, that not only on this journey, but in all
the time since we came to this coast, we have not enjoyed any thing else
so much. He had uncommon powers of expression, and of thought and
feeling too, and took great interest in every thing. He had even a
little tin box of insects. He showed us the native grains, wild rice,
etc., the footprints of animals, the craters of old volcanoes, and
called us to listen to the wild doves at night, and the cry of the loon
and the curlew.

We travelled in a large freight-wagon, drawn by four mules. A pretty
little "bell-mare" followed the wagon. At night she was tied out on the
plain; and the mules were turned loose to feed, and were kept from
wandering far away by the tinkle of the bell hung on her neck. We slept
on beautiful flowering grass, which our wagoner procured for us on the
way. When he tied great bunches of it on the front of the wagon, to feed
the animals when they came to a barren place, it looked as if we were
preparing to take part in some floral procession. The first night, we
camped in the midst of the pine-trees. When I woke in the night, and
looked round me, the row of dark figures on either side seemed like the
genii in "The Arabian Nights," that used to guard sleeping princesses.

Besides the knowledge which our fellow-traveller possessed of the
country through which we were passing, which made him a valuable
companion to us then, his general enthusiasm would have made him
interesting anywhere. I remember a little incident at one of our noon
stopping-places, which we thought was very much to his credit. He always
hastened to make a fire as soon as we stopped. It was rather hard to
find good places, sheltered from the wind, where it would burn, and
which would furnish us, too, with a little shade. On this occasion there
was a magnificent tree very near us. We were passing out of the region
of trees, so it was a particularly welcome sight. He started the fire
close to it. It happened to be too near; the pitch caught fire, and
presently the trunk was encircled with f