ii8 IN THE LAND OF THE GREAT SPIRIT 



the other side you may see the oat grass stretching on as 

 if to mock your l^elplessness. These trails are very, very 

 old, and some of them can only be used, if at all, in 

 the driest time. The fact is that not only is the bed of 

 the slew constantly changing in depth owing to silting 

 and deposit of vegetable growths, but that in this 

 alluvial prairie soil the actual position and direc- 

 tion of the slews tend to alter. And the points of 

 passage correspondingly change until in time the 

 original crossing-place is quite forsaken. But still the 

 oat grass goes on growing, a trap for the unwary in 

 the years to come. 

 ffi • This, then, is the prairie where the boys ride on 

 the beasts. The " rolling " prairie is mostly a mis- 

 leading term, excepting in so far as it expresses 

 the effect of waving summer grasses. It is only 

 about the foot-hills that the prairie " rolls." Chiefly 

 i it is a flat of incalculable area where nothing but 

 \ distance defeats the eye. In late autumn its 

 / colouring is monotonous and sombre, but in spring 

 \ and summer it is ablaze with flowers from end to end. 

 The flowers of the prairie are strikingly beautiful, 

 varying greatly of course from place to place with 

 altitude, latitude, and conditions of soil. A lovely 



^^l CUz, 





