224 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



mine at the second ranchc. " What horse shall I ride 1 " asked the 

 fellow sullenly. " The white mule," I replied. " When am I to 

 come back?" "Not till I send for you," was the answer; and 

 Jem Bourne ceased to be a member of our party. 



This was an excellent example, as many of these people are ex- 

 ceedingly independent, and although he received high wages (120 

 dollars monthly, in addition to his food, and a horse to ride), he 

 considered that he was quite the equal of his employer. Although 

 my other men received only half these wages, they were more useful, 

 and after this dismissal we were far more comfortable. 



It was a strange study of the Far West in these outlandish 

 and utterly uninhabited districts. When looking down from the 

 summit of the mountains, facing north, we were positively certain 

 that for more than 100 miles in a direct line there was not a 

 human habitation, and the nearest point of embryo civilisation was 

 the Government Park on the Yellowstone river, at least 150 miles 

 distant In our rear we were 80 miles from the abandoned 

 station of Powder River, with only two ranches in the interval. 

 It may be readily imagined that the laws of civilised communities 

 were difficult to administer in such a wilderness. 



The nearest railway station was "Rock Creek," about 240 

 miles, upon the Union Pacific, from whence we had originally 

 started; that point is about 7000 feet above the sea-level. A 

 curious contrivance, slung upon leather straps instead of springs, 

 represents a coach, which, drawn by four horses, plies to Fort 

 Fetterman, 90 miles distant. During this prairie journey the horses 

 are only changed twice. 



There are no dwellings to be seen throughout the undulating 

 mass of wild grass; this possesses extraordinary properties for 

 fattening cattle and wild animals ; but after a weary drive along 

 a track worn by wheels and other traffic, and occasionally well 

 defined by empty tins that had contained preserved provisions, a 

 small speck is seen upon the horizon, which is declared to be the 

 station for spare horses. 



Upon arrival at this cheerless abode we entered a small log- 

 house, containing two rooms and a kitchen ; but the cooking was 

 conducted in the public room, an apartment about 13 feet square, 

 with a useful kind of stove in one corner. The man who repre- 

 sented the establishment had of course observed the coach in the 

 far distance, therefore he was not startled by the arrival of our 

 party, which consisted of the Hon. Charles Ellis, Lady Baker, and 

 myself. He had already begun to fry bacon in a huge frying-pan 

 upon the little stove, and he had opened some large tins of pre- 



