The Deer of the River Bottoms 135 



conveys to the beholder the same idea of grace that 

 a deer does. 



In coming home, on this wagon trip, we made a 

 long moonlight ride, passing over between sunset 

 and sunrise what had taken us three days journey 

 on the outward march. Of our riding horses, two 

 were still in good condition and well able to stand a 

 twenty-four hours jaunt, in spite of hard work and 

 rough usage; the spare ones, as well as the team, 

 were pretty well done up and could get along but 

 slowly. All day long we had been riding beside the 

 wagon over barren sage brush plains, following the 

 dusty trails made by the beef-herds that had been 

 driven toward one of the Montana shipping towns. 



When we halted for the evening meal we came 

 near learning by practical experience how easy it is 

 to start a prairie fire. We were camped by a dry 

 creek on a broad bottom covered with thick, short 

 grass, as dry as so much tinder. We wished to burn 

 a good circle clear for the camp fire; lighting it, we 

 stood round with branches to keep it under. While 

 thus standing a puff of wind struck us; the fire 

 roared like a wild beast as it darted up ; and our hair 

 and eyelashes were well singed before we had beaten 

 it out. At one time it seemed as if, though but a 

 very few feet in extent, it would actually get away 

 from us ; in which case the whole bottom would have 

 been a blazing furnace within five minutes. 



After supper, looking at the worn-out condition 

 of the team, we realized that it would take three 

 more days traveling at the rate we had been going 



