Cold and snow took possession of the ranges 

 on one occasion while I was making a stay 

 in the winter quarters of a Montana cattle 

 company. There was a quiet, heavy snow, a 

 blizzard, and at last a sleet storm. At first the 

 cattle collected with drooping heads and waited 

 for the storm to end, but long before the sky 

 cleared, they milled and trampled confusedly 

 about. With the clearing sky came still and 

 extreme cold. Stock water changed to ice, and 

 the short, crisp grass of the plains was hope- 

 lessly cemented over with ice and snow. The 

 suffering of the cattle was beyond description. 

 For a time they wandered about, apparently 

 without an aim. There were thousands of 

 other herds in this appalling condition. At 

 last, widely scattered, they stood humped up, 

 awaiting death. But one morning the foreman 

 burst in excitedly with the news, "The Chinook 

 is coming!" Out in the snow the herds were 



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