THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS. 31 



In this high, cold land, of lofty mountains, 

 deep forests, and open prairies, with its 

 beautiful lakes and rapid rivers, all the species 

 of big game mentioned above, except the 

 peccary and Columbian blacktail, are to be 

 found. Until 1880 they were very abundant, 

 and they are still, with the exception of the 

 bison, fairly plentiful. On most of the long 

 hunting expeditions which I made away from 

 my ranch, I went into this region. 



The bulk of my hunting has been done in 

 the cattle country, near my ranch on the Little 

 Missouri, and in the adjoining lands round 

 the lower Powder and Yellowstone. Until 

 1881 the valley of the Little Missouri was 

 fairly thronged with game, and was absolute- 

 ly unchanged in any respect from its original 

 condition of primeval wildness. With the 

 incoming of the stockmen all this changed, 

 and the game was wofully slaughtered ; but 

 plenty of deer and antelope, a few sheep and 

 bear, and an occasional elk are still left. 



Since the professional hunters have van- 

 ished with the vast herds of game on which 

 they preyed, the life of the ranchman is that 

 which yields most chance of hunting. Life 

 on a cattle ranch, on the great plains or among 

 the foothills of the high mountains, has a 

 peculiar attraction for those hardy, adventur- 

 ous spirits who take most kindly to a vigor- 

 ous out-of-door existence, and who are there- 

 fore most apt to care passionately for the 

 chase of big game. The free ranchman lives 

 in a wild, lonely country, and exactly as he 

 breaks and tames his own horses, and guards 

 and tends his own branded herds, so he takes 



