HUNTING IN CATTLE COUNTRY 165 



ran along the ground ahead of the wagon, twittering 

 plaintively as they rose, and now and then flocks of long- 

 spurs flew hither and thither; but of larger life we saw 

 nothing, save occasional bands of range horses. The 

 drought had been severe and we were far from the river, 

 so that we saw no horned stock. Horses can travel much 

 farther to water than cattle, and, when the springs dry 

 up, they stay much farther out on the prairie. 



At last we did see a band of four antelope, lying in 

 the middle of a wide plain, but they saw us before we 

 saw them, and the ground was so barren of cover that it 

 was impossible to get near them. Moreover, they were 

 very shy and ran almost as soon as we got our eyes on 

 them. For an hour or two after this we jogged along 

 without seeing anything, while the gray clouds piled up 

 in the west and the afternoon began to darken; then, just 

 after passing Saddle Butte, we struck a rough prairie 

 road, which we knew led to the P. K. ranch a road very 

 faint in places, while in others the wheels had sunk deep 

 in the ground and made long, parallel ruts. 



Almost immediately after striking this road, on top- 

 ping a small rise, we discovered a young prongbuck 

 standing off a couple of hundred yards to one side, gazing 

 at the wagon with that absorbed curiosity which in this 

 game so often conquers its extreme wariness and timidity, 

 to a certain extent offsetting the advantage conferred 

 upon it by its marvellous vision. The little antelope stood 

 broadside on, gazing at us out of its great bulging eyes, 

 the sharply contrasted browns and whites of its coat 

 showing plainly. Lambert and I leaped off our horses 



