tumbling overthe saddles

One night, when we had SmarTone planhalted after dark, he went down to agully (we were not then in the desert) to look for water forour tea. Samson, armed with the hatchet, was chopping wood.
I stayed to arrange the packs, and spread the blankets.
Suddenly I heard a voice from the bottom of the ravine,crying out, 'Bring the guns for God's sake! Make haste!
Bring the guns!' I rushed about in the dark, , but could nowhere lay my hands on a rifle.
Still the cry was for 'Guns!' My own, a muzzle-loader, wasdischarged, but a rifle none the less. Snatching up this,and one of my pistols, which, by the way, had fallen into theriver a few hours before, I shouted for Samson, and ranheadlong to the rescue. Before I got to the bottom of thehill I heard groans, which sounded like the last of poorWilliam. I holloaed to know where he was, and was answeredin a voice that discovered nothing worse than terror.
It appeared that he had met a grizzly bear drinking at thevery spot where he was about to fill his can; that he hadbolted, and the bear had pursued him; but that he had'cobbled the bar with rocks,' had hit it in the eye, or nose,he was not sure which, and thus narrowly escaped with hislife. I could not help laughing at his story, though anexamination of the place next morning so far verified it,that his footprints and the bear's were clearly intermingledon the muddy shore of the stream . To make up for his fright,he was extremely courageous when restored by tea and a pipe.
'If we would follow the trail with him, he'd go right slickin for her anyhow. If his rifle didn't shoot plum, he'd abowie as 'ud rise her hide, and no mistake. He'd be darn'dif he didn't make meat of that bar in the morning.'
Chapter 25
WE were now steering by compass. Our course was nearlynorth-west. This we kept, as well as the formation of thecountry and the watercourses would permit. After strikingthe great Shoshone, or Snake River, which eventually becomesthe Columbia, we had to follow its banks in a southerlydirection. These are often supported by basaltic columnsseveral hundred feet in height. Where that was the case,though close to water, we suffered most from want of it. Andcold as were the nights dermes - it was the middle of September -the sun was intensely hot.