THE sketches collected in this little volume have been printed in various periodicals within the last eight or nine years and the reader will bear this in mind as an explanation of the fresh enthusiasm with which some of them speak of scenes not so unfamiliar to the reading pub- lic now as when these papers were written. This is particularly true of the Sketches of the Yellowstone Country, which it was my privilege to traverse in 1871, when few white men had seen its beauties and wonders. With the single exception of The Widow Baker, the contents of the book are studies of character and scenery in the Far West. The only justification I can offer for including a New-England story in such a collection is the fact that the language and the influence of New England are found everywhere in the West, and that nobody objects to their com- pany. BROOKLYN, N.Y., Dec. 10, 1879. R. W. R. CONTENTS. PAGE THANKSGIVING JOE 7 AGAMEMNON 47 I. Young Bullion 47 II. Further . Acquaintance . . . . 60 III. The Prodigal Father 71 IV. The School-Teacher 81 V. Not Miss Mary but quite Contrairy . 91 VI. Similia Similibus Curantur .... 99 WIDOW BAKEK 104 I. II. Squire and Deacon The Story of the Bakers . . . 104 .110 III. Board and Lodging 117 IV. Susan Peabody 124 V. Jotham VI. How the Widow Interfered . . . 129 .139 WONDERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 153 I. An Exploring Party 153 II. Up the Madison 162 III. March and Camp 168 IV. Hot-Springs and Geysers . . . .177 V. The Lower Geyser-Basin of the Fire-Hole . 186 VI. The Upper Geyser-Basin of the Fire-Hole . .193 VII. Yellowstone Lake and River . . . .201 THE ICE-CAVES OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY . . 208 THE ASCENT OF GRAYS PEAK . . .225 CAMP AKD CABIN. THANKSGIVING JOE. A STORY OF THE SAGE-BRUSH. EXACTLY whereabouts in the State of Nevada lies the now depopulated and abandoned district once known to its numerous residents, and introduced by The Reese River Reveille to fame, as Silver Sheen, T shall not reveal, lest some enterprising person should start at once to find it, and to relocate that is to say, jump the extremely valuable claims which some of my friends still own and hope to sell within its borders. Suffice it to say, therefore, that Silver Sheen was somewhere between Washoe and White Pine, and partook, in the opinion of its population, of the favorable indications of both places. Certainly it looked quite as promising as did either of those famously productive mining-fields before their treasures had been discovered. But, to be candid, so does any point you 7