The end of our journey, as we had temporarily arranged, was the highest yet known point on the Rocky Mountains, the Bighorn, which is situated in the 42° of latitude, and to which we had a distance of about eight hundred miles to ride. Our road ran eastward from the mountains and did not ascend the Rio Grande, along whose bank is the road through the several old Spanish forts, which begins at El Paso del Norté and passes through Santa Fé to Taos. If it is borne in mind that the entire distance had hardly ever been trodden by white men, and that consequently no settlement existed there; that no other roads led through the Rocky Mountains and almost impenetrable forests except buffalo paths; that our journey would be made through the hunting-grounds of the most savage and hostile cannibal hordes--it will be felt that the moment of parting was an earnest one. The charm, however, which dangers, privations, and difficulties possess for man--the thought that entirely new scenes of nature, a whole new world was about to be presented to us, rendered the leave-taking light. And so we turned our horses away from home toward these unknown regions. Tiger led the file, and at once commenced his duties as guide. I followed by the side of Julia Lasar, whose proud steed appeared to be jealous of Czar, then came the other friends in pairs, till our pack-horses completed the train. Trusty bounded before us and expressed by barking his delight at the large party, which was a novelty to him. A little way below the Fort we crossed the river, where each watered his horse, and then proceeded towards the wood on the opposite side along a narrow buffalo path. I cut away the creepers and vines hanging over the path, in which Tiger helped me, for this was the first time it had been ridden by white ladies. On reaching the prairie on the other side of the wood, where the grass was still very short and offered no impediment to our horses, we rode in frequently varying groups, galloped from one to the other, tried the speed of our horses, and shortened the length of the road by jokes and laughter.