was not elaborated for us, was a 

 healthy solid affair of meat, vege- 

 tables, hot biscuit, coffee, and prunes, 

 appetisingly cooked and unstintingly 

 served, for the Bad Land appetite is 

 like unto that of the Rocky Mountains, 

 lusty and big. The saddling of fresh 

 horses made a lively scene for a few 

 moments in the corral ; then the men 

 rode off for the afternoon's business of 

 branding. 



The ranch party packed itself into 

 a three-seated buckboard and we fol- 

 lowed behind. We went at a wide 

 safe distance from the half-crazed 

 herds, which had been driven this way 

 and that until they knew not what they 

 wanted, nor what was wanted of them, 

 to where a huge fire was blazing and 

 rapidly turning cold black iron to red 

 hot. These irons were fashioned in 



