26 The Wilderness Hunter. 



ferent outfits represented on the round-up. Then two of 

 the best ropers rode into the corral and began to rope the 

 calves, round the hind legs by preference, but sometimes 

 round the head. The other men dismounted to ''wrestle" 

 and brand them. Once roped, the calf, bawling and 

 struggling, was swiftly dragged near the fire, where one 

 or two of the calf-wrestlers grappled with and threw the 

 kicking, plunging little beast, and held it while it was 

 branded. If the calf was large the wrestlers had hard 

 work ; and one or two young maverick bulls that is, un- 

 branded yearling bulls, which had been passed by in the 

 round-ups of the preceding year fought viciously, bel- 

 lowing and charging, and driving some of the men up 

 the sides of the corral, to the boisterous delight of the 

 others. 



After watching the work for a little while we left and 

 rode homewards. Instead of going along the river bot- 

 toms we struck back over the buttes. From time to time 

 we came out on some sharp bluff overlooking the river. 

 From these points of vantage we could see for several 

 mues up and down the valley of the Little Missouri. 

 The level bottoms were walled in by rows of sheer cliffs, 

 and steep, grassy slopes. These bluff lines were from a 

 quarter of a mile to a mile apart ; they did not run 

 straight, but in a succession of curves, so as to look like 

 the halves of many amphitheatres. Between them the 

 river swept in great bends from side to side ; the wide 

 bed, brimful during the time of freshets, now held but a 

 thin stream of water. Some of the bottoms were covered 

 only with grass and sage brush ; others with a dense jun- 



