io4 



RECREATION. 



for the journey. My valise and a roll of 

 buffalo robes were all I needed, and, 

 in fact, all that could be carried. After 

 bidding adieu to my friends, I took a 

 seat on the sled beside Sam, the mail 

 carrier, and started on my long journey 

 to the nearest railroad station. 



It was surprising how fast the ponies 

 pranced along over the hard, packed 

 snow, 20 or 30 feet deep, in places. The 

 stage stations were 15 to 20 miles apart. 

 We made the first in good time, had 

 something to eat and drink, and by this 

 time fresh ponies were hitched to the 

 sled, when off we went to the next station. 

 After the sun set, the air became in- 

 tensely cold, but the night was clear and 

 starry, so that the driver could see his 

 landmarks — the only guide by which we 

 could travel, as the road and everything 

 else looked alike, all being a dreary, 

 desolate white. 



In due time, we got a glimpse of a 

 light, far ahead ; then lost sight of it, 

 owing to the undulations of the land. As 

 we advanced it appeared again and now 

 showed much brighter ; after this we 

 kept it in sight until we arrived at our 

 " hotel " for the night — a dug-out on the 

 hillside with holes cut through the roof, 

 capped with headless barrels for chim- 

 neys. The shack was divided into two 

 apartments, the rear one, the guests' or 

 sleeping room, in which was a large open 

 fire-place, with a blazing hot fire of pine 

 and cedar, cracking and throwing out 

 sparks like a great furnace. The front 

 part was used as a cooking and dining 

 room. 



The only occupant, beside Sam and 

 myself, was busily engaged preparing a 

 savory meal of broiled venison, canned 

 vegetables, hot biscuits and coffee. The 

 drive in the cold, bracing air gave me 

 such an appetite that I enjoyed the meal 

 with as much gusto as if it had been 

 cooked by Delmonico's chef. 



After a smoke and a chat with my new 

 friends, I unrolled my robes, spread 

 them on the earthen floor and lay down 

 to rest. When morning came we partook 

 of a hasty breakfast and started for the 

 next station, leaving Sam in charge, as 

 he had reached the end of his drive. 



The new driver, " Jim," was, like all 

 stage drivers, a good fellow to travel 

 with. The next station was made in 

 good time. After the usual change of 

 ponies, we arrived at the lay-over early 



in the evening. The drive on the fol- 

 lowing day would be much longer, con- 

 sequently we were up and out on the 

 road at an early hour, and arrived at the 

 lay-over late in the night. During the 

 day we saw a herd of buffalo, a few elk, 

 and many antelope. Of course we car- 

 ried arms, but were not on a hunting 

 trip, so the game was allowed to go un- 

 molested. 



The next day we expected to reach 

 the railroad. I was told that it would 

 be a long drive, but did not mind that, 

 feeling thankful that the sledding part 

 of my journey was so soon to end ; and 

 the prospect of hearing the iron horse 

 snort and puff, for the first time in a 

 number of years, was looked forward to 

 with great eagerness. 



The next morning we made the usual 

 early start. The sky was overcast with 

 heavy threatening clouds ; the sun was 

 shy and finally hid behind them. A pall 

 of mist hung over the top of the peak 

 near us. The driver and I had been 

 long enough in that section of the 

 country to know that it was a sign which 

 boded us no good. The mist gradu- 

 ally fell lower and lower, until it rested 

 on us like a sheet of ice. The driver 

 touched the ponies with his whip. The 

 storm was on us — the snow fell in heavy 

 flakes and the wind began to blow, at 

 first lazily and then harder and harder, 

 until it became a raging blizzard. The 

 snow began to pile up in great drifts 

 through which the ponies struggled and 

 plunged in terror. 



Herds of maddened and bellowing 

 range cattle were fleeing before the re- 

 lentless storm ; also buffalo, antelope 

 and deer, with hungry wolves on their 

 trails, all rushing toward a common 

 shelter in the bad lands. At intervals 

 there came a lull, which enabled the 

 driver to see some familiar object ; 

 then on we went ploughing through the 

 drifting waves until suddenly we were 

 brought up with a shock that upset the 

 sled and threw us headlong into the 

 snow drifts. We had run into a barbed 

 wire fence and one of the ponies was 

 badly cut and torn. After rubbing the 

 frozen snow out of his eyes, the driver 

 recognized the location. The wire, 

 he said, formed part of the station cor- 

 ral, but we could not see it through the 

 dense, blinding snow. The velocity of 

 the wind was so great that we were 



