206 A Trip on the Prairie. 



creek fulfilling the required conditions. It wound its way 

 through a valley of rich bottom land, cotton-wood trees of 

 no great height or size growing in thick groves along its 

 banks, while its bed contained many deep pools of water, 

 some of it fresh and good. I rode into a great bend, with 

 a grove of trees on its right and containing excellent 

 feed. Manitou was loosed, with the lariat round his neck, 

 to feed where he wished until I went to bed, when he was 

 to be taken to a place where the grass was thick and suc- 

 culent, and tethered out for the night. There was any 

 amount of wood with which a fire was started for cheer- 

 fulness, and some of the coals were soon raked off apart 

 to cook over. The horse blanket was spread on the 

 ground, with the oil-skin over it as a bed, underneath a 

 spreading cotton-wood tree, while the regular blanket 

 served as covering. The metal cup was soon filled with 

 water and simmering over the coals to make tea, while an 

 antelope steak was roasting on a forked stick. It is wonder- 

 ful how cosy a camp, in clear weather, becomes if there is 

 a good fire and enough to eat, and how sound the sleep is 

 afterwards in the cool air, with the brilliant stars glimmer- 

 ing through the branches overhead. In the country 

 where I was there was absolutely no danger from Indian 

 horse-thieves, and practically none from white ones, for I 

 felt pretty sure no one was anywhere within a good many 

 miles of me, and none could have seen me come into the 

 valley. Besides, in the cattle country stealing horses is a 

 hazardous profession, as any man who is found engaged in 

 it is at once, and very properly, strung up to the nearest 

 tree, or shot if no trees are handy ; so very few people fol- 



