284 SADDLE AND CAMP 



ing rapidly in numbers in the game refuge just 

 north of this, where all hunting is prohibited. 



Presently the snow ceased, the clouds scat- 

 tered, and the sun broke out with blinding, daz- 

 zling brilliancy. At my feet, and below the 

 snow line, lay the valley of the Buffalo, beyond 

 it the timbered stretches of the State game re- 

 serve, to the westward through a purple haze 

 the majestic Tetons, raising their jagged peaks 

 high above the surrounding landscape. 



The snow balled on the horses' feet, causing 

 them to slip and slide badly in the descent to 

 the valley, and I was glad to reach bare ground 

 again. They had been on short rations before, 

 and the night's snow had covered the grass so 

 deeply that their breakfast had been light that 

 morning. Therefore when I came to the cabin 

 of Charles Neil, an old trapper, shortly after 

 fording the Buffalo and learned he had oats and 

 hay, I halted for the day. 



Neil has been a fur trapper for more than 

 thirty years and for the early season had a good 

 showing of fall pelts, indicating that some fur- 

 bearing animals still survive here. Mink and 

 muskrat were chief among his catch. 



The road northward to Yellowstone Park 

 was through a romantic and picturesque region. 

 To the left lay the Tetons, rising bleak and rug- 



