Surprises of the Prairie 



this loneliness, and sends his tremulous call across the moon- 

 light and the night. The dolorous sound of the coyote's cry 

 is added to the din that dies away and comes again from 

 evening dusk until the dawn. And when the shades of night 

 have fled away, the morning sunlight streams athwart the 

 sod, irradiating all the grassy range. 



On a pony trip of fifty miles you can count as many as 

 fifty varieties of wild-flowers on certain stretches of Western 

 prairie. You will not think of loneliness, but loveliness, as 

 you take this journey. While you talk about the wind- 

 blown West, do not forget the beauty-blown prairies. On 

 an April day you will see a bunch of buff in the short green 

 grass for a distance of a half-mile. It is the buff baptisia. 

 The blossoms stand around a central stem. They some- 

 times branch and form two or more blossom stems. The 



