I found the grass on the prairie not very high, which made it easier going for my horse, but more difficult for me to approach the game, which appeared remarkably shy and restless. My stock of meat was exhausted, and I ate my biscuit and salt tongue as rarely as possible, so as to have food by me in case of need. I dared not ride down the buffalo, as my white horse could be easily distinguished from the uplands, and I must spare his strength. Nor did I care to go far from Czar afoot, as a single foot Indian might easily be hidden in the grass, and reach him more quickly than I could. Hence I deferred my chase till I reached the woods that rose ahead of me. I rode over the rolling prairie till, on emerging from a hollow, I saw three very plump old deer grazing not far from me behind a few low mosquito bushes. I sprang off Czar, hobbled him, and crawled on my stomach through the grass towards the deer, dragging my rifle after me. Although I had got within shot, I wished to advance a few more yards in order to reach a hollow where I should be able to kneel and fire. On reaching it I pulled my rifle after me, and was just about to fire when a monstrous rattlesnake glided away from under my hand. I sprang up in terror, watched it darting through the grass with head erect, and away fled my deer over the prairie, and I had had all my trouble for nothing. Though rattlesnakes are so numerous in these regions the sudden announcement of their vicinity through the movement of the rattles is a most unpleasant surprise, which never failed to produce a painful impression on my nerves. The whole south-west of America is troubled with these and other snakes, but accidents through their poisonous bite are rare. In spring and autumn, when the heat is not great, the bite of a rattlesnake rarely kills, and only in cases when a large artery is injured. If that be not the case, it only produces a soft swelling, which soon disappears again, only leaving a want of sensitiveness for a few days. In summer, however, when the heat attains its acmé, such a bite is more dangerous, and curatives cannot be employed too quickly. Cutting out to the seat of the wound without a moment's loss of time is the most certain remedy. Salammoniac, which has so often been recommended, is not of the slightest use; but sometimes a cure is effected by rubbing the wound with oil or lard, or by a poultice of the leaves of the large burr, which is so often entangled in the hair of domestic animals. The most infallible specific, however, is a bulb known to all the borderers by the name of "Seneca root." It has a leek-green leaf a foot long with a few brown spots. It is chewed into a pulp, which is laid on the wound and a small portion of the juice is swallowed; ere long the pain is reduced, the fever disappears, and the swelling ceases. This bulb may be carried about for years without losing its virtue. Moreover, all these snakes shun man, and it is only when they are