Page:The Prairie Flower; Or, Adventures In the Far West.djvu/43

 a fire, and

tt'd a jest done ye good to seen the way I sot to it.

"The next mornin I put on agin, but I'd got so powerful weak, that I rolled round like I'd been spilin a quart. Night come agin, and I'd got worse tangled up nor ever, and didn't know the piht o' com pass from a buffler's tail.

"' WeH, it's all up with this here coon,' T sez; ' and so what's the use o' tryin? Might as well die now as when I've got more sins to count; ' and so givin old Svveetlove a smack, and tellin her to be a o-ood gal, I keeled over as nateral as shoot- in. I looked up'ard, and seed a bright star that 'ud just thawed its way down, and thinkin maybe I'd be thar soon, I gin in and shut my peepers, as I spected for the last time.

"How long I laid thar I never knowed, and never spect to; but when I seed day light agin, I found this here hoss in a In- jin lodge, somewhar about, and tickle me with a pitch pine-knot ef I ever knowed exactly whar for I forgot to 'blaze'* the place, and couldn't never find it agin. At fust, in course, I thought I was in the oth er country folks tells about; and Chinks I, I've bin stuck among the Injins, jest to punish me for raisin so much hair while on the arth. I begun to git skeered, I tell ye; but it wasn't long afore I seed a sight that made it seem like Heaven anyhow leastwise I felt perfectly willin to be pun ished that way etarnally, I did. (I say, Bosson, got any more bacca? This here travels like a May frost.")

as I hastily supplied him with the desired

article.

"See, sposin you guess now.

You're

what they calls Yankee, and ort to guess any thing."'

"0, I could not guess it, I am satis fied."

"I can now," said the Irishman.

"Well, Teddy, out with it."

"Why, he saan a bothel o' whisky, in course; what else should he sae to make him happy all of a sudden?"

A roar of laughter followed this witty

To " blaze *' a tree is to mark it with an axe, or in some way, so that it can be identified. A ' blazed path " is one so marked throughout.

3

reply, in which Black George good hu- moredly joined.

"Well, you is some at guessin, you is,"' replied the old trapper; but you didn't quite hit it, hoss. I say, strangers, what's the purtiest sight you ever seed on the arth?"

"A beautiful female," I replied.

"Well, that's jest what I seen. I seed afore me a critter in the shape o' a gal, that was the most purty I ever drawed bead on."

"A beautiful girl!" I exclaimed.

"Well, stranger, she wasn't nothin else, she wasn't I'll be dog-gone ef she was!"

"Describe her!"

"Jest describe a angel, and you've got her to a T ef you haven't, why was bea vers growed? that's all."

"Who was she?"

"Well now, hoss, you're gittin into the picters, and headin off this old coon right center. I never knowed who she was, unless she was a sperit for I'll be dog gone ef ever I seed any thing half as de cent 'bout a Injin."

"Can you not describe her?"

"Describe thunder! Why she was the tallest specimen of a human as ever sp'ilt par-flesh of buffler, she was. She had long hair, black as a nigger in a thunder cloud; and eyes black too; and so large and bright you could see to shave in 'em as easy as trappin. And then sich a face! well that was a face, now, or I wouldn't tell ye so. It kept puttin me in mind o' summer weather and persimmons, it was

"Well, what did you see?" I inquired, <, S o almighty warm and sweet lookin. 0,

T t i * 1 I'll-, 1 jl I " 1 O /

sich a nose sich lips sich teeth and, heavens and arth! sich a smile! (A drop more, Will, for this child's mouth's gittia watery a thinkin, and that meat looks like feedin time."

"Why, now, you have raised my curi osity to the highest point," I said, "and so I must have the rest of the story forth with."

"Boys often git thar curiosity raised out here-aways, and thar hair too some times," replied the old hunter, coolly, tak ing his meat off the stick and commencing to eat.

"But you're going to finish your story George?" queried Huntly, quickly.

"Why, I spect I'll hev to;