104 The Wilderness Hunter 



down. Meanwhile we fought to keep the fire from 

 entering the well-grassed space on the hither side 

 of the coulie, between it and a row of scoria buttes. 

 Favored by a streak of clay ground, where the grass 

 was sparse, we succeeded in beating out the flame as 

 it reached this clay streak, and again beating it out 

 when it ran round the buttes and began to back up 

 toward us against the wind. Then we recrossed 

 the coulie with the wagon, before the fire swept 

 up the further side; and so, when the flames passed 

 by, they left us camped on a green oasis in the 

 midst of a charred, smoking desert. We thus saved 

 some good grazing for our horses. 



But our fight with the fire had only begun. No 

 stockman will see a fire waste the range and destroy 

 the winter feed of the stock without spending every 

 ounce of his strength in the effort to put a stop to 

 its ravages even when, as in our case, the force of 

 men and horses at hand is so small as to offer only 

 the very slenderest hope of success. 



We set about the task in the way customary in 

 the cattle country. It is impossible for any but a 

 very large force to make head against a prairie fire 

 while there is any wind; but the wind usually fails 

 after nightfall, and accordingly the main fight is 

 generally waged during the hours of darkness. 



Before dark we drove to camp and shot a stray 

 steer, and then split its carcass in two lengthwise 

 with an axe. After sundown the wind lulled; and 



