 like some solitary vessel; and, to strengthen the delusion, far
in the distance, appeared two or three rounded thickets, looming in the misty
horizon like islands resting on the waters. It is unnecessary to warn the
practised reader, that the sameness of the surface, and the low stands of the
spectators exaggerated the distances; but, as swell appeared after swell, and
island succeeded island, there was a disheartening assurance that long, and
seemingly interminable, tracts of territory must be passed, before the wishes of
the humblest agriculturist could be realized.
    Still the leader of the emigrants steadily pursued his way, with no other
guide than the sun, turning his back resolutely on the abodes of civilization,
and plunging, at each step, more deeply if not irretrievably, into the haunts of
the barbarous and savage occupants of the country. As the day drew nigher to a
close however, his mind, which was, perhaps, incapable of maturing any connected
system of forethought, beyond that which related to the interests of the present
moment, became, in some slight degree, troubled with the care of providing for
the wants of the hours of darkness.
    On reaching the crest of a swell that was a little higher than the usual
elevations, he lingered a minute, and cast a half curious eye on either hand, in
quest of those well-known signs, which might indicate a place, where the three
grand requisites of water, fuel and fodder were to be obtained in conjunction.
    It would seem that his search was fruitless; for after a few moments of
indolent and listless examination, he suffered his huge frame to descend the
gentle declivity, in the same sluggish manner that an over-fatted beast would
have yielded to the downward pressure.
    His example was silently followed by those who succeeded him, though not
until the young men had manifested much more of interest, if not of concern, in
the brief inquiry which each, in his turn, made on gaining the same look-out. It
was now evident, by the tardy movements both of beasts and men, that the time of
necessary rest was not far distant. The matted grass of the lower land presented
obstacles which fatigue began to render formidable, and the whip was becoming
necessary to urge the lingering teams to their labour. At this moment, when,
with the exception of the principal individual, a general lassitude was getting
the mastery of the travellers, and every eye was cast, by a sort of common
impulse, wistfully forward, the whole party was brought to a halt, by a
spectacle as sudden as it
