Near one side of it was a spring--the waters of which issuing forth ran nearly around the circumference of the valley, and then escaped through one of the troughs of the prairie.

The course of this rivulet could be traced by the low trees--cotton-woods and willows--that fringed its banks; so that the central part of the valley presented the appearance of a small circular meadow almost surrounded by a grove.
It was in this meadow that a spectacle was offered to the eyes of our adventurers, which caused them to rein suddenly up, and sit gazing down upon it with singular emotions.

The spectacle was that of a number of animals engaged in what appeared to be a mixed and terrible combat! There was not over a dozen of them in all, but they were large animals, of fierce aspect and furious bearing; and so desperately were they assailing one another, that the green turf around them was torn and furrowed by their hoofs.

It was in the middle of the meadow that this indiscriminate contest was carried on--in the open ground--and a finer spot for such an exhibition they could hardly have chosen, had they wished to accommodate a large number of spectators.

The valley itself, with the ridges that encircled it, was not unlike one of the great Spanish amphitheatres, where bull-fights are carried on; while the smooth, level surface of the meadow represented the arena.