26 A COMRADE AND FRESH SPORTS. 



had a strong arm, I doubted my ability to hold that 

 shooting-iron long presented. 



We had a pleasant camp that night. Joe gave me a 

 great deal of information in regard to the condition of 

 things at the trading-posts, and in New Mexico, told 

 stories of his recent hunting expeditions, and showed him- 

 self a cheerful and entertaining companion. When I ex- 

 pressed my perplexity in regard to the disposal of Fondle, 

 during our hunting expeditions on the prairies, Joe in- 

 formed me that the proprietor of "Brown's Hole" sta- 

 tion would pay a good price for a tame cimaron, and I 

 then determined to go to the trouble of taking care of the 

 animal until I went to that rendezvous. The next day 

 we crossed the mountains, and at night encamped at the 

 edge of the prairies, near the head waters of the Colorado. 

 Morning had scarcely streaked the east, when we were 

 abroad in the prairie. Fondle was tied to the girth of my 

 pack mule, Flygrass who evidently felt very uneasy at the 

 proximity of the cimaron, but travelled along very well, 

 every thing considered. Within an hour we were far 

 enough advanced on the prairie to expect to see many 

 buffaloes ; but we saw only a few, and they did not look 

 in a very good condition. They were bulls ; and, as is 

 well known, buffalo bull meat is very rank and tough, 

 from June to September. We knew, however, that 

 these animals were the sentinels of a herd of cows. 



