Adventure and adventurers > Away in the wilderness, or, Life among the red Indians and fur-traders of North America

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AWAY IN THE WILDERNESS.
in -what is called voyagmr costume—coats or
capotes of blue or grey cloth, with hoods to come
over their heads at night, and fastened round
their waists with scarlet worsted belts ; corduroy
or grey trousers, gartered outside at the knees,
moccasins, and caps. But most of them threw
off their coats, and appeared in blue and red
striped cotton shirts, which were open at the
throat, exposing their broad, sun-burned, hairy
chests. There was variety, too, in the caps—some
had Scotch bonnets, others red nightcaps, a few
had tall hats, ornamented with gold and silver
cords and tassels, and a good many wore no cover¬
ing at all except their own thickly-matted hair.
Their faces were burned to every shade of red,
brown, and black, from constant exposure, and
they were strong as lions, wild as zebras, and
frolicksome as kittens !
It was no wonder, then, that Heywood got
into an extraordinary state of excitement and
delight as he beheld these wild fine-looking men
smoking their pipes and cooking their suppers,
sitting, lying, and standing, talking and singing,
and laughing, with teeth glistening and eyes glit¬
tering in the red blaze of the fires—each of which
fires was big enough to have roasted a whole ox !
The young artist certainly made good use of
his opportunity. He went about from fire to
fire, sketch-book in hand, sketching all the best-