On the Cattle Ranges. 57 



marshalling their silent forces. No man save the wilder- 

 ness dweller knows the strong melancholy fascination of 

 these long rides through lonely lands. 



At noon, that the horses might graze and drink, I 

 halted where some box-alders grew by a pool in the bed 

 of a half-dry creek ; and shifted my saddle to a fresh beast. 

 When we started again we came out on the rolling prairie, 

 where the green sea of wind-rippled grass stretched limit- 

 less as far as the eye could reach. Little striped gophers 

 scuttled away, or stood perfectly straight at the mouths 

 of their burrows, looking like picket pins. Curlews 

 clamored mournfully as they circled overhead. Prairie 

 fowl swept off, clucking and calling, or strutted about with 

 their sharp tails erect. Antelope were very plentiful 

 running like race-horses across the level, or uttering theii 

 queer, barking grunt as they stood at gaze, the white hairs 

 on their rumps all on end, their neck bands of broken 

 brown and white vivid in the sunlight. They were found 

 singly or in small straggling parties ; the master bucks 

 had not yet begun to drive out the younger and weaker 

 ones as later in the season, when each would gather into 

 a herd as many does as his jealous strength could guard 

 from rivals. The nursing does whose kids had come early 

 were often found with the bands ; the others kept apart. 

 The kids were very conspicuous figures on the prairies, 

 across which they scudded like jack rabbits, showing near- 

 ly as much speed and alertness as their parents ; only the 

 very young sought safety by lying flat to escape notice. 



The horses cantered and trotted steadily over the mat 

 of buffalo grass, steering for the group of low scoria 



