34 THE WILDERNESS HUKTTER. 



on the ranch, very many of the deer and an- 

 telope I killed were thus obtained. Of course 

 while doing the actual round-up work it is 

 impossible to attend to anything else ; but 

 we generally carry rifles while riding after the 

 saddle band in the early morning, while visit- 

 ing the line camps, or while in the saddle 

 among the cattle on the range ; and get many 

 a shot in this fashion. 



In the fall of 1890 some friends came to my 

 ranch ; and one day we took them to see a 

 round-up. The OX, a Texan steer-outfit, had 

 sent a couple of wagons to work down the 

 river, after beef cattle, and one of my men 

 had gone along to gather any of my own scat- 

 tered steers that were ready for shipping, and 

 to brand the late calves. There were perhaps 

 a dozen riders with the wagons ; and they 

 were camped for the day on a big bottom 

 where Blacktail and Whitetail creeks open 

 into the river, several miles below my ranch. 



At dawn one of the men rode off to bring 

 in the saddle band. The rest of us w^ere up 

 by sunrise ; and as we stood on the verandah 

 under the shimmering cottonwood trees, rev- 

 elling in the blue of the cloudless sky, and 

 drinking in the cool air before going to break- 

 fast, we saw the motley-colored string of 

 ponies file down from the opposite bank of the 

 river, and splash across the broad, shallow 

 ford in front of the ranch house. Cantering 

 and trotting the band swept towards the high, 

 round horse-corral, in tiie open glade to the 

 rear of the house. Guided by the jutting 

 wing which stuck out at right angles, they 

 entered the open gate, which was promptly 



