Hunting from the Ranch 39 



cowboys at once got down their ropes and rode 

 after her ; the rest of us first rounding up the bunch 

 so as to give a fair start. After a sharp run one 

 of the men, swinging his lariat round his head, 

 got close up; in a second or two the noose settled 

 round the heifer s neck, and as it became taut she 

 was brought to with a jerk; immediately after 

 ward the other man made his throw and cleverly 

 heeled her. In a trice the red heifer was stretched 

 helpless on the ground, the two fierce little ponies, 

 a pinto and a buckskin, keeping her down on their 

 own account, tossing their heads and backing so that 

 the ropes which led from the saddle-horns to her 

 head and hind feet never slackened. Then we 

 kindled a fire; one of the cinch rings was taken off 

 to serve as a branding iron, and the heifer speedily 

 became our property for she was on our range. 



When we reached the ranch it was still early, and 

 after finishing dinner it lacked over an hour of 

 sundown. Accordingly we went for another ride; 

 and I carried my rifle. We started up a winding 

 coulie which opened back of the ranch house; and 

 after half an hour s canter clambered up the steep 

 head-ravines, and emerged on a high ridge which 

 went westward, straight as an arrow, to the main 

 divide between the Little Missouri and the Big 

 Beaver. Along this narrow, grassy crest we loped 

 and galloped; we were so high that we could look 

 far and wide over all the country round about. To 



