66 The King of the Thundering Herd 



he made with a great rush, which seemed 

 fairly to wind him as he stood panting and 

 blowing at the first stopping-place for five 

 minutes. At last, however, he seemed to 

 get his wind, for he again began slowly to 

 ascend and finally reached the top. Here 

 he turned for a last look over the landscape 

 where twilight was falling fast upon the 

 prairie beyond. 



Finally he faced about and trotted leis- 

 urely away into the gathering gloom, and 

 the boys, who had stopped all proceedings 

 in the course of camp-making to watch 

 him, hurried away for fuel and water. 



A most grewsome reminder of the great 

 herd was discovered one day at the bottom 

 of a small canyon, perhaps forty feet across 

 and thirty deep, just such crevasses in the 

 face of mother earth as are often met with in 

 the more arid portions of the great plains. 



At the bottom of this canyon they dis- 

 covered bleaching in the hot sun the skull- 



