heads in the air, and snuffed up the wind, and then galloped onwards undriven. The hot wind became stronger, and a black cloud was seen in the distance, which the storm seemed to drive before it.

The speed of the horses and the anxiety of the Indians increased every moment. Everything betokened an enormous and rapidly approaching catastrophe.

Ralph now for the first time guessed what it all meant. Without any doubt it was a prairie fire, which was being driven by the rising wind towards them. A cold shiver passed over him at the thought. If the death which he had expected had filled him with alarm, this new horror seemed infinitely worse; for if the fire reached them, which it would do very soon, as the grass was so dry, there was then no possibility of their escaping an agonizing death.

The flight became maddening. Several of the heavily-laden horses stumbled, but no one attended to them. They were left to perish with their loads. Who could stop to save a wigwam, when every one's mind was filled with the thought of saving himself?

At last the Black Eagle Hill was safely reached. For about a mile all round the grass was trampled down, and the ground was like a threshing-floor. Ralph concluded that this had been caused by the frequent festivities observed by the Indians in honour of their former chief.

Without a moment's delay the horses were

driven up the steep road leading to the top of the hill, and were unloaded. The wigwams were pitched in a circle on the outer edge, and the horses were tied by their heads to a strong stake in the centre, so that they could not see the fire, and by this means they enjoyed a greater amount of rest than could have been possible in any other way.

Nobody thought about food, but rather of the best way of stopping the devastation that came nearer to them every moment. They gathered round How-ku-tho, the magician, and unloosed his hands.

"The Great Spirit walks in fire over the earth!" said Tsa-ut-weih, solemnly, and was silent.

The magician raised his hands, and commenced an adjuration to the fire, accompanied by the greatest contortions of his body and the most piercing cries. But it was all in vain; and as the black cloud, which extended over the whole width of the prairie, came nearer and nearer, he turned madly round, and said, "The 'pale-face' makes my magic useless. Sacrifice him to the Great Spirit, and the fire will immediately cease."

The savages seized their tomahawks, and rushed towards Ralph, who was fortunately standing by the chief's side, a circumstance which saved his life. The old chief drove them back with a voice of thunder, and said that the spirit of the great warrior on whose grave they stood would protect them from all danger. It was only by his great authority

that he succeeded in saving Ralph, who felt that his life hung upon a thread.

They trembled and shook at the sight of the prairie. The wind increased to a storm, which howled fearfully. The clouds of smoke were driven along rapidly. Tongues of flame shot upwards ever and anon. The air was filled with ashes and flakes of fire, and the sky assumed a dull leaden colour as the sun went down, but was lighted up soon after by the reflection of the flames, which, extending as far as the eye could reach, became still more appalling in the darkness.

The heat increased so much that it was scarcely possible to endure it any longer. The hill on which they stood was surrounded by a sea of flame. Howling with agony, the Indians threw themselves on the ground with their faces to the earth, unable to bear the intolerable heat. Ralph followed their example, and found that he could breathe easier. The horses were nearly mad with terror, and many were covered with foam through sheer agony.

Ralph had never experienced anything like it. He had often heard of the prairie fires, but this far exceeded everything he had ever dreamt of. It surpassed anything which the imagination could conceive or language could express. From one death-agony he had fallen into another. The death by which he had been just threatened by the tomahawks of the Indians seemed about to be followed by one of horrible torture. His eyes burned like fire.

The blood rushed to his head with such violence that it seemed as if it would burst. His breath became shorter, his heart beat so violently that it could almost be heard, and he was tormented with thirst.

At last the fire seemed exhausted, and they ventured to rise and look around. All was dark, except in the distance, where the fire was still careering madly on towards the junction of the Kansas with the Missouri. The storm still raged, but the wind was cooler and more refreshing. As the fire reached the woods on the banks of the Kansas, the spectacle was one of dreadful grandeur, and the sky was once more wrapped in flames. On reaching the river it gradually spent itself along the banks, where it found new materials to feed upon, until the whole district had become an mmense waste and desolation

CHAPTER V.

THE PRISONER AMONG HIS ENEMIES.

AFTER the extraordinary fatigue and ex

citement which they had gone through, the whole party wrapped themselves in their buffalo skins, and fell into a leaden sleep, safe in the midst of the wilderness that stretched around. They resumed their journey at an early hour the next morning; but what a prospect presented itself!

The prairie, which yesterday waved like a corn-field in the sun, was now black, lifeless, and covered with ashes,-dreadful to look upon.

On their way they saw the half-burnt carcases of buffaloes, wolves, and even bears and serpents, which had not been able to escape from the flames. The air was filled with the smell of the burnt grass. The men and animals were still exhausted from the fatigue and excitement of the previous day, and their progress was very slow; but towards noon lofty wooded hills appeared in sight, which had a cheering effect on the whole party.

According to Ralph's conjectures, these hills must belong to the Missouri territory, and in this he proved to be right. The Indians