OF A RANCHMAN n 



break ; elsewhere there are rolling hills, some- 

 times of considerable height; and in other 

 places the ground is rent and -broken into the 

 most fantastic shapes, partly by volcanic ac- 

 tion and partly by the action of water in a 

 dry climate. These latter portions form the 

 famous Bad Lands. Cotton-wood trees 

 fringe the streams or stand in groves on the 

 alluvial bottoms of the rivers; and some of 

 the steep hills and canyon sides are clad with 

 pines or stunted cedars. In the early spring, 

 when the young blades first sprout, the land 

 looks green and bright; but during the rest 

 of the year there is no such appearance of 

 freshness, for the short bunch grass is almost 

 brown, and the gray-green sage bush, bitter 

 and withered-looking, abounds everywhere, 

 and gives a peculiarly barren aspect to the 

 landscape. 



It is but little over half a dozen years since 

 these lands were won from the Indians. 

 They were their only remaining great hunt- 

 ing-grounds, and towards the end of the last 

 decade all of the northern plains tribes went 



