24 



AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



before, while the Union Pacific Railroad was under construction at this 

 point, was a booming railroad town. Some of the houses were in decay 

 and others had been removed, but the evidences of its former activities 

 were shown by those remaining and the characteristic debris of tin-cans, 

 empty bottles and other refuse. We hired for our workshop a log cabin 

 that had previously seen service as a saloon, as it was large and fairly well 

 lighted. It served our purpose admirably. Here for two months we 

 worked six days a week in preparing the big game delivered to us at fre- 

 quent intervals by Ferris and Hunt, as per contract. About one day in 

 seven we devoted to hunting, and added thus to our spoils several ante- 

 lopes and coyotes, jack-rabbits and cottontails, besides many birds, includ- 

 ing a large series of sage grouse, then so abundant that Bennett and I, on 

 one occasion, shot thirty in an hour — all we could carry to camp, and 

 could have killed as many more the next hour had we needed them. As 

 no hay or similar material could be obtained at Percy, we had to substi- 

 tute dry grass for filling the skins of the mammals, and to obtain this we 

 had to tramp to a moist ravine a mile and a half away, cut it with our 

 hunting knives and carry it home on our backs. A journey of a hun- 

 dred miles by rail to Laramie was necessary to obtain material for pack- 

 ing cases, namely, discarded dry-goods boxes, which we dismantled and 

 shipped as freight to Percy and remade to suit our needs. Roughing out 

 skeletons and preparing skins of deer, elk, mountain sheep and antelope 

 occupied our time and kept us confined to our laboratory for the greater 

 part of these eight weeks, but our enthusiasm was well sustained by the 

 results, and now and then a day's tramp through the sage brush and snow 

 relieved the monotony. 



Our shipment of 17 large cases from Percy included skins and skeletons 

 of 8 elk, 12 black-tailed deer, 1 white-tailed deer, 25 prong-horned antelopes, 

 and 11 bighorn sheep; also 35 skulls of antelope and a fine series of the skulls 

 of elk and black-tailed deer, besides small game (coyotes, foxes, porcupines, 

 beaver, rabbits, etc.) and birds. It nearly filled a freight car, and was 

 shipped on December 17, but, as will be explained later, did not reach its 

 destination for several months. 



On the 19th we took an east-bound train for Omaha, already twelve 

 hours late when it reached Percy. A mile and a half east of Percy we ran 

 into a snowbank and the train was partly derailed and delayed for another 

 two hours. Between Carbon and Medicine Bow we were again stalled in 

 the snow for twenty-two hours, where we had to await the arrival of a 

 wrecking train, and two engines to replace our disabled ones. We got our 

 first square meal in two days at Sidney. We struck another heavy snow- 

 storm at North Platte, and at I^lkhorn, near Omaha, it was necessary to 



