ALONG FOUR-FOOTED TRAILS 



of the dog- village, for they are very fond of young 

 prairie-dogs as well as the eggs and the young 

 of the burrowing owl. They are always to be 

 found near these homes. Sam saved the 

 rattles of this honorable snake of the plains, 

 who always gives considerate warning of its pres- 

 ence and its intention to strike. He had over 

 a dozen good-sized rattles on a string the sight 

 of which would have made any Indian maiden 

 envious. One warm afternoon in July Sam 

 with a string of rattles in his hand stood on the 

 edge of the village. He had just killed a large 

 rattlesnake and had finished adding the rattle to 

 his collection when he noticed a white speck in 

 the distance. As it grew nearer he saw it was 

 a canvas covered wagon locally called a " prairie 

 schooner/' drawn by two thin, hidebound In- 

 dian ponies. Sam's thoughts wandered back to 

 the time when he had left civilization and 

 traveled across the barren plains to the place he 

 now called home and the free, wild life he had 

 learned to love so dearly. Weeks often passed 

 without his seeing a single white man's face. The 

 covered wagon coming in his direction started all 

 kinds of thoughts in his mind. Could it be an 

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