40 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



amphitheatres. Between them the river 

 swept in great bends from side to side ; the 

 wide bed, brimful during the time of freshets, 

 now held but a thin stream of water. Some 

 of the bottoms were covered only with grass 

 and sage brush ; others with a dense jungle of 

 trees ; while yet others looked like parks, the 

 cottonwoods growing in curved lines or in 

 clumps scattered here and there. 



On our way we came across a bunch of 

 cattle, among which the sharp eyes of my fore- 

 man detected a maverick two-year-old heifer. 

 He and one of the cowboys at once got down 

 their ropes and rode after her ; the rest of us 

 first rounding up the bunch so as to give a fair 

 start. After a sharp run one of the men, 

 swinging his lariat round his head, got close 

 up ; in a second or two the noose settled round 

 the heifer's neck, and as it became taut she 

 was brought to with a jerk; immediately after- 

 wards the other man made his throw and clev- 

 erly heeled her. In a trice the red heifer was 

 stretched helpless on the ground, the two 

 fierce little ponies, a pinto and a buckskin, 

 keeping her down on their own account, toss- 

 ing their heads and backing so that the ropes 

 which led from the saddle-horns to her head 

 and hind feet never slackened. Then we 

 kindled a fire; one of the cinch rings was 

 taken off to serve as a branding iron, and the 

 heifer speedily became our property for she 

 was on our range. 



When we reached the ranch it was still 

 early, and after finishing dinner it lacked over 

 an hour of sundown. Accordingly we went 

 for another ride ; and I carried my rifle. 



