Boots and Saddles 237 



man of six feet, had joined the cavalry two 

 years before, and he now rode with the rest 

 of the troop into the Montana mountains 

 upon this bloody and unnecessary quest. 



The boy had inherited rather weak lungs 

 and his parents had advised this change, 

 thinking that the exposure and the out-of- 

 door life of the trooper would be beneficial 

 to him. The change had worked wonders, 

 and he was now one of the hardiest of the 

 troopers. 



For weeks they had been on the march, 

 making thirty or forty miles a day. At 

 first it had been over the gently undulat- 

 ing prairie, checkered by wooded creeks, 

 but as they came into Montana through the 

 little Missouri country, the land was wild 

 and picturesque. 



It abounded in rugged mountain chains, 

 intervaled by deep, slumbrous valleys. 

 Turbulent streams and broad rushing 

 rivers swept on their way ; rivers as mag- 



