CHAPTER XII. 



THE CARE OF THE RANGE. 



When the first settlers and stockmen came into the 

 West, they found an almost virgin country for their 

 stock. As far as the eye could reach stretched billowy 

 prairies covered with grasses, the accumulation of ages. 

 This carpet of grass made a reservoir whereon every 

 drop of water and flake of snow that fell were received 

 and saved for future use. 



There were no roads or trails cutting and gashing 

 the country to offer a ready runway for the moisture. 

 The spring snows lay long under the folds of the old 

 grass, weeds or brush that covered the ground. Let the 

 wind blow as it pleased, it could not blow the snow 

 entirely off the ground. A certain amount of it was 

 allowed to remain to melt and soak into the ground, 

 thus bringing the green sprouts out early in the spring, 

 and it took a long dry spell to make any great impres- 

 sion on the soil. 



When the settler's stock began to spread out and, 

 here and there, a fire was started under the mistaken 

 impression that it benefited the grass, this covering dis- 

 appeared, and when winter came there was nothing left 

 on the ground to cover it up and offer a safe resting 

 place for the snow and rain. 



Burning Off a Range. The burning off of a range in 

 the fall or winter in order "to make better feed next 



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