LET US GO AFIELD 



lowing the buffalo pelts, there were marketed thou- 

 sands of wolf robes, not so good as the great robe 

 of the buffalo but serving to mark another swift 

 epoch of the West. 



The skin-hunter left his imprint upon the West 

 in habits, customs, even in language. There was 

 long current, west of the Missouri, the slang phrase, 

 "He got a 'stand' on me." Your friend would meet 

 you and say: "I am sorry I am late with my ap- 

 pointment, but I met Jones on the street, and he 

 got a stand on me and told me one of his long- 

 winded stories." The metaphor is obvious, as ap- 

 plied to the buttonholing bore. His victim could 

 not get away. This expression has been little heard 

 for ten or fifteen years in the West, and the infer- 

 ence is that we are now getting too far away from 

 the buffalo days. 



Your professional skin-hunter had his own little 

 idiosyncrasies, like any other specialist. The West- 

 ern cowboy was always particular about his hat, 

 gloves, and saddle, but as to his bed he cared little 

 where or how he slept, and his slicker was often 

 a mattress for him. The skin-hunter cared nothing 

 at all for his garb nor was there any uniformity in 

 it, and he would ride anything at all in the way of a 

 saddle. When it came to sleeping, however, he was 

 a Sybarite. If he had nothing else he was bound 



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