344 ATTEMPT TO LASSO THE GREY. 



dying in a few minutes, and we found that he was small, but 

 had the best coat of any we had killed. 



We stopped about three miles from the ranche, and found a 

 party of men camped near us, who had been into Carroll for 

 their winter supplies. One of them, who was a baker, was the 

 butt of the party, and they were telling him of all the Indian 

 atrocities that they could remember or invent, as he was a 

 greenhorn and had only just come from the east. They moved 

 their camp close to ours, and we remained a few days there, as 

 the feed was good. 



One day I was bringing in my grey horse, intending to ride 

 him, when he managed to slip the rope over his head and gallop 

 off. I got another horse and chased him, several of the men 

 joining me, but he was so crafty that we could not catch him. 

 He had evidently been lassoed before, and knew how to avoid 

 the rope. When you thought you must have him, and had 

 thrown the noose so that it fell just where his head should be, 

 he immediately lowered it, and the rope slipped along his back, 

 when he would raise his head again. Bowles happened to come 

 into camp just as we were thinking of giving up the chase, and 

 as he prided himself on his roping, he laughed at us, and asked 

 us to let him do it, and of course we were only too glad. He 

 started very confidently, and ran his horse down, trying to get 

 his rope over, but without succeeding, and had to give it up at 

 last, and we were obliged to drive the horse to the ranche, in 

 the yard of which we roped him. 



As our horses looked somewhat better we all started together, 

 camping in the pass between the Little and Big Snowies the 

 first night, and as we were to separate here, the other party 

 tried to persuade us to pass another night, but being in a hurry 



