to an upright position and motioned me to follow him. I had not
proceeded far, when, emerging from the coppice on the opposite side of
the bivouac, I beheld my wife advancing towards me in the custody of an
Indian. Reader, if you can imagine meeting the being you loved best,
after having supposed her cruelly butchered, you may have a faint
conception of my feelings. With a little cry of joy she rushed into my
outstretched arms; sobbing like an infant. This demonstration of
affection seemed not to the taste of our guards; and with an ugh, we
were admonished to follow them, and we were soon in the midst of a group
who were dispatching their breakfast. Food was offered us, of which I
ate voraciously, after my long fast; not so my wife, however, who could
not as yet accustom her palate to the dried buffalo meat.

Meantime preparations had been making to resume our journey. The horses
were brought up, and in a shorter time than it takes to relate it we
were under way, the party moving off in single file. I was allowed to
ride my own horse, my wife following behind me on one of the mules. We
were, as near as I could judge, about the centre of the party. In this
fashion we proceeded during the forenoon. The prairie at this point was
a succession of gentle undulations, covered with a rich velvety verdure;
and, had not my present circumstances been of such a depressing
character, the scene would have been inspiriting. Away to the far west,
as far as the eye could see, this vast billowy plain extended, broken
here and there by a grove of the stately cottonwood tree, whose long
trunks, and silvery foliage was a pleasing contrast to the vivid green
of the prairie. At intervals I had discerned dark objects on the
horizon, but, being unaccustomed to note signs with that care and
attention that is characteristic of those whose life is spent on the
plains, I had paid no particular attention to them. Soon, however, I did
observe a commotion at the head of the column, and after a brief halt
and consultation among the chiefs, our speed was accelerated, and we
struck into a canter. This "lope" as it is called, seems to be a gait
peculiarly adapted to the mustang, as they will break into, and keep it
up the entire day; evincing no more distress than our ordinary horse
does in trotting leisurely.

That something important was about to transpire, I felt certain, from
the energetic way in which our captors spoke and gesticulated; I was not