away. I
was nearly twenty miles from our camp, and my horse was neither strong
nor fresh. Determined, therefore, to return on the morrow, bringing
with me my companions and all that belonged to us, I turned my horse's
head and rode back. It was late in the night--near midnight--when I
reached camp. I found everything as I had left it, except that Mary was
in great anxiety about what had delayed me so long. But my return, and
the discovery which I communicated, soon restored her spirits; and we
laid out our plans for changing our camp to the valley, determined to
set forth at an early hour in the morning."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

THE GREAT ELK.

"We were stirring by sunrise next morning; and having breakfasted
heartily, we packed our wagon and started away from our camp, which we
had named `Camp Antelope.' The stream we called `Bighorn Creek' ever
afterwards. We arrived at the upper end of the valley about an hour
before sunset. Here we passed the night. Next day I set forth to find
some path by which we might get down into the bottom. I rode for miles
along the edge of the bluff, but to my surprise I found that on both
sides ran a steep precipice; and I began to fear that the tempting
paradise was inaccessible, and had only been created to tantalise us.
At length I reached the lower end, where, as you have noticed, the
precipice is much less elevated--on account of the sloping of the upper
plain. Here I came upon a path winding gradually down, upon which I saw
the footmarks of animals of various kinds. This was exactly what I
wanted.

"In this valley we could remain until our cattle were sufficiently
recruited to face the Desert, while with our rifles we should be able to
procure a sufficient stock of provisions for the journey.

"I went back for the wagon; but as I had consumed most of the day in my
explorations, it was late when I reached the camp; and we remained
another night on the same spot, which we named the `Willow Camp.'

"Next morning, we started early. On arriving at the point where the
path led down, we halted the wagon. Mary and the children remained with
it, while Cudjo and I descended into the valley to reconnoitre. The
woods were quite thick--the trees apparently all bound together by huge
vines, that stretched from one to the other like immense serpents.
There was a thick undergrowth of cane; but we saw that a trail had been
made through this by the passage of numerous animals.