io6 The Wilderness Hunter 



the taut ropes hurt our thighs; while at times the 

 plunging horses tried to buck or bolt. It was worse 

 when we came to some deep gully or ravine, break- 

 ing the line of fire. Into this we of course had to 

 plunge, so as to get across to the fire on the other 

 side. After the glare of the flame the blackness of 

 the ravine was Stygian; we could see nothing, and 

 simply spurred our horses into it anywhere, taking 

 our chances. Down we would go, stumbling, slid- 

 ing, and pitching, over cut banks and into holes and 

 bushes, while the carcass bounded behind, now catch- 

 ing on a stump, and now fetching loose with a 

 "pluck" that brought it full on the horses' haunches, 

 driving them nearly crazy with fright. The pull 

 up the opposite bank was, if anything, worse. 



By midnight the half carcass was worn through ; 

 but we had stifled the fire in the comparatively level 

 country to the eastward. Back we went to camp, 

 drank huge draughts of muddy water, devoured 

 roast ox-ribs, and dragged out the other half car- 

 cass to fight the fire on the west. But after hours 

 of wearing labor we found ourselves altogether 

 baffled by the exceeding roughness of the ground. 

 There was some little risk to us who were on horse- 

 back, dragging the carcass; we had to feel our way 

 along knife-like ridges in the dark, one ahead and 

 the other behind, while the steer dangled over the 

 precipice on one side ; and in going down the buttes 

 and into the canyons only by extreme care could we 



