92 Hunting Trips of a Ranchman 



Missouri, and led along the bottoms between the 

 rows of high bluffs, continually crossing and re- 

 crossing the river. These crossings were difficult 

 and disagreeable for the horse, as they always are 

 when the ice is not quite heavy enough to bear. 

 The water had not frozen until two or three days 

 before, and the cold snap had not yet lasted long 

 enough to make the ice solid, besides which it was 

 covered with about half an inch of light snow that 

 had fallen, concealing all bad-looking places. The 

 ice after bearing the cautiously stepping pony for a 

 few yards would suddenly break and let him down 

 to the bottom, and he would then have to plunge 

 and paw his way through to the opposite shore. 

 Often it is almost impossible to make a pony attempt 

 the crossing under such circumstances; and I have 

 seen ponies which had to be knocked down and 

 pulled across glare ice on their sides. If the horse 

 slips and falls it is a serious matter to the rider; 

 for a wetting in such cold weather, with a long 

 horseback journey to make, is no joke. 



I was still several miles from the hut I was 

 striving to reach when the sun set; and for some 

 time previous the valley had been in partial dark- 

 ness, though the tops of the sombre bluffs around 

 were still lit up. The pony loped steadily on along 

 the trail, which could be dimly made out by the 

 starlight. I hurried the willing little fellow all I 

 could without distressing him, for though I knew 

 the road pretty well, yet I doubted if I could find 

 it easily in perfect darkness; and the clouds were 



