Breaking the Prairie 



breaking, considering that he was new to the 

 work, but his voice was nearly gone at the end 

 of the day with shouting at the bulls, and he 

 was very glad to stretch his tired limbs on his 

 hay couch when night came. He was, how- 

 ever, very plucky, and cheered up when told he 

 was doing well and breaking more than an 

 acre a day. 



One day Bob came riding by, and stopped 

 to take a look at what we were doing. 



" You're making a good start," said he, " but 

 I tell you what it is ; you would do a lot better 

 with a bit more power, and we have an ox we 

 are not using just now — Mike, we call him ; you're 

 welcome to his help." 



We thanked him, and he went on : 



" I shall be passing again to-morrow and will 

 bring Mike, and you hitch him on outside Joe, 

 who can keep to the furrow, as he is the one 

 for that." 



I Bob proved as good as his word, and thence- 

 irward Tom was able to make much better 

 pogress. 

 One day I started out with the axe in search 

 I some suitable timber for a shack and stable, 

 hich I was fortunate enough to find among 

 several bluffs about a mile and a half to the 

 eastward. 



75 



