ladly toward it. There
were lofty and spreading trees, standing widely asunder, and supporting
a thick canopy of leaves, above a surface of rich, tall grass. The
stream ran swiftly, as clear as crystal, through the bosom of the wood,
sparkling over its bed of white sand and darkening again as it entered a
deep cavern of leaves and boughs. I was thoroughly exhausted, and flung
myself on the ground, scarcely able to move. All that afternoon I lay
in the shade by the side of the stream, and those bright woods and
sparkling waters are associated in my mind with recollections of
lassitude and utter prostration. When night came I sat down by the
fire, longing, with an intensity of which at this moment I can hardly
conceive, for some powerful stimulant.

In the morning as glorious a sun rose upon us as ever animated that
desolate wilderness. We advanced and soon were surrounded by tall bare
hills, overspread from top to bottom with prickly-pears and other cacti,
that seemed like clinging reptiles. A plain, flat and hard, and with
scarcely the vestige of grass, lay before us, and a line of tall
misshapen trees bounded the onward view. There was no sight or sound of
man or beast, or any living thing, although behind those trees was the
long-looked-for place of rendezvous, where we fondly hoped to have found
the Indians congregated by thousands. We looked and listened anxiously.
We pushed forward with our best speed, and forced our horses through
the trees. There were copses of some extent beyond, with a scanty stream
creeping through their midst; and as we pressed through the yielding
branches, deer sprang up to the right and left. At length we caught a
glimpse of the prairie beyond. Soon we emerged upon it, and saw, not
a plain covered with encampments and swarming with life, but a vast
unbroken desert stretching away before us league upon league, without a
bush or a tree or anything that had life. We drew rein and gave to the
winds our sentiments concerning the whole aboriginal race of America.
Our journey was in vain and much worse than in vain. For myself, I was
vexed and disappointed beyond measure; as I well knew that a slight
aggravation of my disorder would render this false step irrevocable, and
make it quite impossible to accomplish effectively the design which had
led me an arduous journey of between three and four thousand miles. To
fortify myself as well as I could against such a contingency, I resolved
that I would