NORTH DAKOTA 275 



ble, set our decoys and jumped in to await the coming 

 of the "honkers." We had been waiting only a few 

 minutes when we saw, away off on the prairie, what 

 appeared to be a man with a dog. The man seemed 

 demented, jumping and running around and lying 

 down on his back, then jumping up again and repeat- 

 ing these operations in the most eccentric manner. 

 We held a whispered consultation from pit to pit as 

 to what was best to be done. It was folly to think 

 that the geese would come from the clouds for the 

 purpose of getting a closer view of his capers. Oh 

 no ; we knew they were not such geese as that ; so it 

 was decided that I should be the Ambassador Plenipo 

 with full power to coax, drive, persuade or kick the 

 funny intruder off the prairie. When I reached him I 

 found, not a man, but a stubby, barefooted German 

 boy, whose feet were sore from walking over the 

 sharp-pointed wheat stubble. Hence his tears, I 

 thought, for he was crying. But I was mistaken. 

 His grief was not of the sore-footed sort. He was 

 only a prairie specimen of " little Bo-Peep," who had 

 lost his sheep and didn't know where to find 'em. 



With more ingenuity than veracity, and a very 

 ragged attempt to handle his mother-tongue, I told 

 him when and where I had seen them and then ad- 

 vised him to hurry away in the direction which I 

 pointed out and he would soon catch up with their 

 tails. 



