On the Little Missouri 



but sometimes they make their flight at an 

 angle, and as they do not like to change their 

 course when once started, it is occasionally 

 possible to cut them off from the point toward 

 which they are headed, and get a reasonably 

 close shot. 



In the fall of 1896 I spent a fortnight on 

 the range with the ranch wagon. I was using 

 for the first time one of the new small-calibre, 

 smokeless-powder rifles, a 30-30160 Winches- 

 ter. I had a half-jacketed bullet, the butt 

 being cased in hard metal, while the nose was 

 of lead. 



While traveling to and fro across the range 

 we usually moved camp each day, not putting 

 up the tent at all during the trip ; but at one 

 spot we spent three nights. It was in a creek 

 bottom, bounded on either side by rows of 

 grassy hills, beyond which stretched the roll- 

 ing prairie. The creek bed, which at this 

 season was of course dry in most places, 

 wound in S-shaped curves, with here and 

 there a pool and here and there a fringe 

 of stunted wind-beaten timber. We were 

 camped near a little grove of ash, box-elder, 

 and willow, which gave us shade at noonday ; 



and there were two or three pools of good 



205 



