curious
escapade. Thus ran his narration:--

"Ee wur both o' yur mighty green to think thet arter fightin grizzly bar
an Injun for nigh forty yeern on these hyur parairas, I wur a-gwine to
be rubbed out by a spunk o' fire like thet. Preehaps 'twur nat'ral
enough for the young fellur hyur to take me for a greenhorn--seein as he
oncest tuk me for a _grizzly_. He, he, he--ho, ho, hoo! I say it wur,
an ur nat'ral enough for him to a thort so; but _you_ mout a knowd
better--_you_, Bill Garey, seein as ee oughter knowd _me_.

"Wal!" continued Rube, after another "suck" at the gourd, "when I seed
the weeds afire, I knowd it wa'nt no use makin tracks. Preehaps if I'd
a spied the thing when the bleeze fust broke out, I mout a run for it,
an mout a hed time; but I wur busy skinnin this hyur beest, wi' my head
clost down to the karkidge, an thurfor didn't see nuthin till I heern
the cracklin, an in coorse thur wa'nt the ghost o' a chance to git clur
then. I seed thet at the fust glimp.

"I ain't a-gwine to say I wa'nt skeeart; I wur skeeart an bad skeeart
too. I thort for a spell, I wur boun to _go under_.

"Jest then I sot my eyes upon the burner. I hed got the critter 'bout
half-skinned, as ee see; an the idee kim inter my head, I mout crawl
somehow under, an pull the hide over me. I tried thet plan fust; but I
kudnt git kivered to my saterfaction, an I gin it up.

"A better idee then kim uppermost, an thet wur to clur out the anymal's
inside, an thur _cache_. I reck'n I wa'nt long in cuttin out a wheen o'
the buffer's ribs, an tarin out the guts; an I wa'nt long neyther in
squezzin my karkidge, feet fo'most, through the hole.

"I hedn't need to a been long; it wur a close shave an a tight fit, _it_
wur. Jest as I hed got my head 'bout half through, the bleeze kim
swizzin round, an nearly singed the _ears off me_. He, he, he--ho, ho,
hoo!"

Garey and I joined in the laugh, at what we both knew to be one of Old
Rube's favourite jokes; but Rube himself chuckled so long, that we
became impatient to hear the end of his adventure.

"Well!" interrupted Garey, "consarn your old skin! what next?"

"Wagh!" continued the trapper, "the way thet bleeze did kum wur a
caution to snakes. It roared an screeched, an yowlted, an hissed, an
the weeds crackled like a million o' wagon-whups! I wur like to be
spinicated wi' the smoke; but I contruv to pull down the flap o' hide,
an thet gin me some relief--though I wur well-ni