Far through the forest I was followed by the roaring of the fall, till the rustling of the river I was approaching overpowered it. At about one hour before sunset I reached the prairie at the southern end of the forest, and until nightfall followed its skirt in an easterly direction till I reached a spot where the stream emerged from it. I camped here quite concealed, and on the next day rode eastward towards the mountains. From this point I altered my course to the south, and rode there for several days. One afternoon, when greatly troubled by thirst, I reached a pleasant grass valley on which several mosquito trees grew; a fresh stream wound through the verdant bottom, and a few deer were grazing on either bank. I dismounted to refresh myself with the eagerly desired draught and grant my horse a little rest. A very large deer was standing over two hundred yards off, and staring intently at me. I was well stocked with meat, but the query whether I could hit it led me away as it had so often done, and while sitting on the bank I fired at it. The deer bled, ran a short distance in a circle, and then fell lifeless on the ground. After reloading I went up to it to fetch the fillet, and while engaged in fastening it to my saddle I noticed two foot Indians, one armed with a rifle, the other with bow and arrows, come out from behind some bushes and advance some twenty yards before they caught sight of me. I saw their terror and amazement, and that one of them crossed his arms on his breast, and laid his arms on his shoulders, which among them is a sign of friendship. I made them a signal to be off, and assured them of my friendly sentiments in the same way. Upon which they described a large circle round me, and escaped from sight a long way down the stream. I felt convinced that several of their tribe were hunting in the vicinity, as they must have heard my shot, and would assuredly not have emerged so carelessly from behind the bushes had they not believed it was fired by one of their comrades. I put Czar at a sharp amble, as the grass was not high, and hurried down into the valley, while carefully looking round in order to escape this menacing place. About sunset I reached another small stream, where I halted, lit a fire, and prepared my supper, while Czar was enjoying his. Here I rested till night had set in; then saddled again, filled my gourd, and rode on for about five miles. Here I led my horse into a thicket which ran between two steep hillocks, and remained in it during the night. It was very probable that the Indians had informed their comrades of the presence of a paleface, and that they had followed me to my camp-fire, but had been unable to strike my trail in the darkness.