A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



you and I must get our share before the cowboys 

 'take It air." 



Curley's father and mother had charge of the 

 S. M. S. headquarters messhouse on the Tongue 

 River Ranch. The great part of "Mac's" time was 

 taken up with near-by Hne or pasture riding, leaving 

 the mother and boy often alone for much of the 

 day with the cow outfit off on its work. Curley 

 always thought of the "doghouse" as the objective 

 when he could make his "getaway" ; but when he 

 could find no one there he had a habit of striking 

 out straight into the pasture, in all its uninhabited 

 Immensity, and several times had wandered some 

 distance, giving his mother much anxiety; but she 

 felt perfectly easy when any of the boys were about. 

 "Old Jack," a cross between wolfhound and grey- 

 hound, has gone to his fathers; but he is still a 

 tradition on the S. M. S. Ranch. He followed the 

 Tongue River chuck wagon for ten years, with some 

 memorable coyote encounters. He was often away 

 with the wagon for weeks; sometimes he would let 

 It go away without him, and then unerringly locate 

 it in some remote part of the pasture or sometimes 

 he would leave it and come to headquarters, evidently 

 to see Curley. They were great "pals," and so 

 close was the companionship between them that It 

 was hard to tell which had the more fleas. They 

 ate out of the same plate, when the chuck wagon was 

 at headquarters, and Jack always played fair. 



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