CHAPTER VIII.

The hickory stick--Chawing up ruins--A forest scene--A curious questioner --Hard and soft shells--Dangers of a ferry--The western prairies-- Nocturnal detention--The Wild West and the Father of Rivers--Breakfast in a shed--What is an alligator?--Physiognomy, and its uses--The ladies' parlour--A Chicago hotel, its inmates and its horrors--A water-drinking people--The Prairie City--Progress of the West.