there, on the march, without meeting a living soul. And yet we become habituated to it -like it. Solitude seems to give scope to man's intellectual faculties; the mind seems more vigorous, the thought clearer. It has always seemed to me that when one travels over the plains, he feels more inclined to prayer, meditation, confidence in God, more disposed to resign himself into the hands of him who alone is our refuge amid perils, and who alone can provide for all our wants. Doubtless the removal of all bustle and business, the constant dangers to which we are exposed from wild animals and enemies, liable to be met at every step, contribute to this.
It has often been remarked that the songs of the birds are more sweet and agreeable here than in the forests of the east. This phenomenon is capriciously attributed to the effects of society. From the scarcity of wood, the birds are forced to perch on the same tree, or seek the same grove, and thus teach each other. It is commonly supposed that the birds in Europe are better singers than those in America: can this be attributed to any other cause than that just given?
If you would have an idea of the topography, vastness and extent of our western plains, imagine France, Germany, Belgium changed into one single prairie, along watercourses, and intersected here and there by a wood of small extent, or by a very small forest.
You will excuse these little digressions on the localities I have traversed. They will show, withal, to our unbelievers in Europe, that science and civilization may find their account in voyages undertaken for the good of souls and the glory of the Church. And then, too, all these fair and varied objects make us incessantly bless heaven and say, with the Psalmist, " The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."
At last we reached the Great Bend, where the boat came to land opposite a camp of Yanktons, a powerful tribe of the Sioux nation. As soon as these Indians perceived us,