To the prevalence of these breezes, and to the want of all leafy covert,
may we also attribute the freedom from those flies and other insects
so tormenting to man and beast during the summer months, in the lower
plains, which are bordered and interspersed with woodland.
The monotony of these immense landscapes, also, would be as wearisome as
that of the ocean, were it not relieved in some degree by the purity and
elasticity of the atmosphere, and the beauty of the heavens. The sky
has that delicious blue for which the sky of Italy is renowned; the sun
shines with a splendor unobscured by any cloud or vapor, and a starlight
night on the prairies is glorious. This purity and elasticity of
atmosphere increases as the traveller approaches the mountains and
gradually rises into more elevated prairies.
On the second day of the journey, Mr. Hunt arranged the party into small
and convenient messes, distributing among them the camp kettles. The
encampments at night were as before; some sleeping under tents, and
others bivouacking in the open air. The Canadians proved as patient of
toll and hardship on the land as on the water; indeed, nothing could
surpass the patience and good-humor of these men upon the march. They
were the cheerful drudges of the party, loading and unloading the
horses, pitching the tents, making the fires, cooking; in short,
performing all those household and menial offices which the Indians
usually assign to the squaws; and, like the squaws, they left all the
hunting and fighting to others.
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