Page:The Oregon Trail by Parkman.djvu/61

Rh approval, being exceedingly strong, or, as he expressed it, "right black."

It was a gorgeous sunset; and the ruddy glow of the sky was reflected from some extensive pools of water among the shadowy copses in the meadow below.

"I must have a bath to-night," said Shaw. "How is it, Deslauriers? Any chance for a swim down here?"

"Ah! I cannot tell; just as you please, monsieur," replied Deslauriers, shrugging his shoulders, perplexed by his ignorance of English, and extremely anxious to conform in all respects to the opinion and wishes of his bourgeois.

"Look at his moccasion," said I. "It has evidently been lately immersed in a profound abyss of black mud."

"Come," said Shaw; "at any rate we can see for ourselves."

We set out together; and as we approached the bushes, which were at some distance, we found the ground becoming rather treacherous. We could only get along by stepping upon large clumps of tall rank grass, with fathomless gulfs between, like innumerable little quaking islands in an ocean of mud, where a false step would have involved our boots in a catastrophe like that which had befallen Deslauriers's moccasins. The thing looked desperate; we separated, to search in different directions, Shaw going off to the right, while I kept straight forward. At last I came to the edge of the bushes—they were young water-willows, covered with their caterpillar-like blossoms, but intervening between them and the last grass clump was a black and deep slough, over which, by a vigorous exertion, I contrived to jump. Then I shouldered my way through the willows, tramping them down by main force, till I came to a wide stream of water,