As by this time our horses were in want of rest, we took off their saddles, and the poor things feasted better than they had done for a long while.  As for us, we had fortunately still a good supply of the cold calf, for we felt a repugnance to cut the throats of any of the poor broken-down creatures before us.  Close to us there was a fine noble stag, for which I immediately took a fancy.  He was so worn out that he could not even move a few inches to get at the grass, and his dried, parched tongue showed plainly how much he suffered from the want of water.  I pulled up two or three handfuls of clover, which I presented to him; but though he tried to swallow it, he could not.

As there was a water-hole some twenty yards off, I took the doctor’s fur cap, and filling it with water, returned to the stag.  What an expressive glance!  What beautiful eyes!  I sprinkled at first some drops upon his tongue, and then, putting the water under his nose, he soon drained it up.  My companions became so much interested with the sufferings of the poor animals, that they took as many of the young fawns as they could, carrying them to the edge of the water-hole, that they might regain their strength and fly away before the wolves could attack them.

Upon my presenting a second capful of water to the stag, the grateful animal licked my hands, and, after having drunk, tried to rise to follow me, but its strength failing, its glances followed me as I was walking to and fro; they spoke volumes; I could understand their meaning.  I hate to hear of the superiority of man!  Man is ungrateful as a viper, while a horse, a dog, and many others of the “soulless brutes,” will never forget a kindness.

I wondered what had become of our three lawyers, who had wandered away without their rifles, and had been more than two hours absent.  I was about to propose a search after them when they arrived, with their knives and tomahawks, and their clothes all smeared with blood.  They had gone upon a cruise against the wolves, and had killed the brutes until they were tired and had no more strength to use their arms.

The reader, comfortably seated in his elbow-chair, cannot comprehend the hatred which a prairie traveller nourishes against the wolves.  As soon as we found out what these three champions of the wilderness had been about, we resolved to encamp there for the night, that we might destroy as many as we could of these prairie sharks.  Broken-down as they were, there was no danger attending the expedition, and, tightening on our belts, and securing our pistols, in case of an attack from a recovering panther, we started upon our butchering expedition.  On our way we met with some fierce-looking jaguars, which we did not think it prudent to attack, so we let them alone, and soon found occupation enough for our knives and tomahawks among a close-packed herd of wolves.