102 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



this point had a wet bottom, making a bar to 

 the progress of the flames until they had 

 time to work across lower down. Meanwhile 

 we fought to keep the fire from entering the 

 the well-grassed space on the hither side of 

 the coulie, between it and a row of scoria 

 buttes. Favored by a streak of clay ground, 

 where the grass was sparse, we succeeded in 

 beating out the flame as it reached this clay 

 streak, and again beating it out when it ran 

 round the buttes and began to back up to- 

 wards up against the wind. Then we re- 

 crossed the coulie with the wagon, before the 

 fire swept up the farther side ; and so, when 

 the flames passed by, they left us camped on 

 a green oasis in the midst of a charred, smok- 

 ing desert. We thus saved some good graz- 

 ing for our horses. 



But our fight with the fire had only begun. 

 No stockman will see a fire waste the range 

 and destroy the winter feed of the stock with- 

 out spending every ounce of his strength in 

 the effort to put a stop to its ravages even 

 when, as in" our case, the force of men and 

 horses at hand is so small as to offer only the 

 very slenderest hope of success. 



We set about the task in the way custom- 

 ary in the cattle country. It is impossible 

 for any but a very large force to make head 

 against a prairie fire while there is any wind ; 

 but the wind usually fails after nightfall, and 

 accordingly the main fight is generally waged 

 during the hours of darkness. 



Before dark we drove to camp and shot a 

 stray steer, and then split its carcass in two 

 lengthwise with an axe. After sundown the 



