The Colonel at length gave his consent--the _expedition was agreed upon_.
The naturalist was greatly influenced by the desire he felt to gratify his friend the Prince.

He was influenced, too, by another feeling.

He felt secretly pleased at the bold and enterprising character thus exhibited in his children, and he was not the man to throw cold water upon any enterprise they might design.

Indeed, he often boasted to his neighbours and friends how he had trained them up to be men, calling them his "boy-men," and his "_jeunes chasseurs_." And truly had he trained them to a complete self-reliance, as far as lay in his power.
He had taught them to ride, to swim, to dive deep rivers, to fling the lasso, to climb tall trees, and scale steep cliffs, to bring down birds upon the wing, or beasts upon the run, with the arrow and the unerring rifle.

He had trained them to sleep in the open air--in the dark forest--on the unsheltered prairie--along the white snow-wreath-- anywhere--with but a blanket or a buffalo-robe for their beds.