AND OTHER HUNTING ADVENTURES. 331 



summer or in the autumn, after the grass has become 

 sere and yellow and the foliage along the streams 

 has faded, can have little idea of the pristine beauty 

 presented by such a valley as that of the Powder 

 river in early spring time, when the earth is carpeted 

 with verdure, the river banks lined with newly- 

 clothed trees and shrubs, and the meadows blooming 

 with flowers, the beauty and brilliancy of which 

 can not be excelled anywhere. The winter snows 

 have melted; the spring rains have come and gone, 

 leaving the earth fresh and moist; the climate 

 is mild and delightful. Under all these charming 

 conditions who would not enjoy the scene unfolding 

 before our eyes as we mount our spirited broncos 

 and ride out to the place of rendezvous which has 

 been appointed near the mouth of the river, and 

 where the clans are already gathering. Temporary 

 camps have been established by those who have 

 arrived in advance of us, around which groups of 

 cowboys are lounging. A band of horses and ponies 

 which they have liberated is contentedly grazing on 

 the river bank, and several small bands of cattle 

 may be seen in various directions, most of them 

 at considerable distances away, for they are wild 

 and avoid the presence of human beings. A cloud 

 of dust is faintly visible on top of the divide 

 nearly three miles to the south, and on examining 

 it carefully with our glasses we find it is being raised 

 by a jolly band of five cowboys, who are riding like 

 mad, each leading four or five horses. Looking away 

 to the north we see a mess- wagon, or " chuck outfit, " 

 approaching, drawn by four horses, and from the slow 

 and labored gait at which they toil along they doubt- 



