About the middle of the eighth day a dark line was seen rising above the horizon, far in the south-east, and extending as far as the eye could reach.  We knew it was a forest, and that when we gained it we were certain of having plenty to eat; but it was very far off, at least twenty miles, and we were much exhausted.  In the evening we were almost driven to desperation by hunger, and we found that the approach to the forest would prove long and difficult, as it was skirted by a bed of thick briars and prickly pears, which in breadth could not be less than three leagues, and that a passage must be forced through this almost impassable barrier.  The forest was undoubtedly the commencement of that extended line of noble timber which encircles as a kind of natural barrier the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri.  By reaching it we should soon leave privation and fatigue behind us, whereas, on the contrary, travelling to the north would have added to our sufferings, as the same level and untenanted prairie extended to the very shores of the Red River.  We consequently determined to force our way through the thorns and briars, even if we were obliged to cut a road with our knives and tomahawks.  We journeyed on till sunset, when we came to a deep dry gully, on the very edge of the prickly pear barrier, and there we encamped for the night.  To go farther without something to eat was impossible.  The wild and haggard looks of my companions, their sunken eyes, and sallow, fleshless faces, too plainly showed that some subsistence must be speedily provided more nutritious than the unripe and strongly acidulated fruit presented to us.  We drew lots, and the parson’s horse was doomed; in a few minutes, his hide was off, and a part of the flesh distributed.

The meat of a young mustang is excellent, but that of an old broken-down horse is quite another affair.  It was as tough as india-rubber, and the more a piece of it was masticated, the larger it became in the mouth.  A man never knows what he can eat, until driven to desperation by a week’s starving, and the jolly parson, who had pledged himself never to eat even calf’s meat, fiercely attacked the leathery remains of his faithful ambler.

The next morning we directed our steps in a south course, and crossing the gully, we entered in what appeared to be a passage, or a bear’s path through the prickly pears; but after travelling some six or eight miles, we found our further progress cut off by a deep and precipitous chasm, lined with impassable briars.  To return was our only alternative, and, at noon we again found ourselves near to the point from whence we had started in the morning.

A consultation was now held as to our future course.  The lawyers and Roche proposed to go farther south, and make another attempt, but recollecting, that on the morning of the preceding day we had passed a large, though shallow, sandy stream, Gabriel and I thought it more advisable to return to it.  This stream was evidently one of the tributaries of the Red River, and was running in an easterly direction, and we were persuaded that it must flow through the chasm, and enter into the forest.