r the stimulus of his companions' enthusiasm he
was beginning to regard the career of an engineer as one of the most
desirable and manly in which a young fellow could embark.

This voyage into the world, with such guides and associates as Billy
Brackett, Glen Elting, and Binney Gibbs, was proving of inestimable
value to this boy. Not only were his ideas of life broadened and his
stock of general information increased by it, but he was rapidly
learning to appreciate the beauty of modest pretensions, and a
self-reliance based upon knowledge and strength, as compared with the
boastfulness and self-conceit of ignorance.

Sometimes the _Venture_ was tied up for the night near other rafts, and
its crew exchanged visits with theirs. The regular river raftsmen were
generally powerful young giants, rough and unlettered, but a
good-natured, happy-go-lucky lot, full of tales of adventure in the
woods or on the river, to which the boys listened with a never-failing
delight. Nor were the raftmates at all behindhand in this interchange
of good stories; for they could tell of life on the Plains or in
California, of Indians, buffalo, mountains, deserts, and gold-mines, to
which their auditors listened with wide-open eyes and gaping mouths.
During the pauses Solon was always ready with some account of the
wonderful performances of his long-ago 'coon dog Bijah.

So wise did our raftmates become concerning 'coons and their habits,
from Solon's teachings, that finally nothing would satisfy them but a
'coon hunt of their own. Billy Brackett was certain that Bim, who by
this time had fully recovered from the effects of his burns, would
prove as good at finding 'coons as he had at everything else in which
he had been given a chance. Solon was doubtful, because of Bim's color
and the length of his tail.

"I hain't nebber see no fust-class 'coon dawg wha' warn't yallar an'
stumpy tail lak my Bijah war," he would remark, gazing reflectively at
Bim, and shaking his head. "Of cose dish yer Bim dawg uncommon
knowin', an' maybe him tree a 'coon 'mos' ez good ez Bijah; but hit's a
gif, an' a mighty skurce gif 'mong dawgs."

"Oh, come off, Solon!" Billy Brackett would answer. "You just wait
till you see Bim tree a 'coon. He'll do it so quick, after we once get
into a 'coon neighborhood, that your Bijah would be left a thousand
miles behind, and you won't ever want to mention his name again."

So one night when the _Venture_ was well down