ON THE PRAIRIE 65 



is almost impossible to travel, and then the 

 best thing to be done is to lie up under any 

 shelter that is at hand until it blows over. 

 I remember one such camp which was made 

 in the midst of the most singular and pic- 

 turesque surroundings. It was toward the 

 end of a long wagon trip that we had been 

 taking, and all of the horses were tired by 

 incessant work. We had come through coun^ 

 try which was entirely new to us, passing 

 nearly all day in a long flat prairie through 

 which flowed a stream that we supposed to 

 be either the Box Alder or the Little Beaver. 

 In leaving this we had struck some heavy 

 sand-hills, and while pulling the loaded 

 wagon up them one of the team played out 

 completely, and we had to take her out and 

 put in one of the spare saddle-ponies, a tough 

 little fellow. Night came on fast, and the 

 sun was just setting when we crossed the 

 final ridge and came in sight of as singular 

 a bit of country as I have ever seen. The 

 cowboys, as we afterward found, had chris- 

 tened the place " Medicine Buttes." In 



