Oct. 14, 1893.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



315 



although they were at a place so many miles from their 

 usual feeding grounds. Where they came from or how 

 they happened to be out there we can only guess. The 

 boys on the hillside were having a regular picnic with 

 the grouse, judging from the cannonading, and soon 

 Bigelow came up to camp for more ammunition. He 

 said that Jack had run out and had sent him for more. 

 It never occurs to "Old Section 37" that he can do the 

 running for himself, but he had gotten some one else to 

 forego the sport and come after fresh supplies of shells. 

 The result was, hqwever, that there was more powder 

 burned than the game bag warranted. The boys were 

 short-sighted, or the birds were wild, for they only had 

 three or four all told. 



The wind began to blow and we were afraid to start a 

 camp-fire. To set fire to the grass would be a most out- 

 rageous piece of carelessness. It is something I am very 

 nervous about; not that there is any danger to life or 

 limb from it, nine times out of ten, but on these large 

 tanges a fire started is very apt to burn miles and miles, 

 and ruin the feed that the .stockmen are depending on to 

 winter their cattle. We always have with us bunches of 

 dry wood for the small fire that is needed to cook our 

 meals, but in this case the few dead trees in the little 

 gully by the spring furnished ample fu^l. Where the 

 two gullies meet on the under side of the hill we found a 

 place suflSciently protected from the wind, that after a 

 liberal use of the spade to clear away the dry grass we 

 could build our small fire in safety; and soon Harrison 

 had coffee made, grouse broiled and, with the ever present 

 ban of baked beans, boiled potatoes, and some few gim- 

 oracks that we always have along with us, we had a 

 feast for the tired and weary. You all know how good it 

 tastes, no matter what you have cooked at such a time. 

 This was no exception. 



Before making the beds we stretched out on the dry 

 grass, had a good smoke and swapped Ues. We had no 

 sdsitors that night, as the cowboys on the ranch were 

 evidently away on a "round-up" or some other work. 

 The wind continued to blow and we thought at one time 



HALT ON TltE PEAlRIE. 



that oUr tents would sulely come down as the gale 

 Increased) but about 10 o'clock it moderated and we were 

 Soott all sound asleep. I had crawled into my sleeping- 

 bag, disdaining the shelter of the tent, and with the 

 stal'ry heavens above, the silence broken only by the 

 tired horses cropping the gra«8 near by, I as well as the 

 rest slept the sleep of the just. The sleeping-bag is a 

 success. I had foimd in previous years that hard lumps 

 continually accumulated beneath me, and to remedy this 

 I had brought along a piece of felt such as is used for 

 covering steam pipes. I imagine it was about IJin. 

 thick. Cutting this just the size of my bed, and slipping 

 it in a bag of unbleached factory cotton, I had a soft 

 comfortable mattress that could be rolled up during tlie 

 daytime conveniently within the sleeping-bag. 



It is strange, out on the lone prairie this way, the 

 hoi-ses, after they have eaten about all they want will 

 come close to the sleepers in camp, I thought several 

 times that one old spike-tailed roan would lie down with 

 me. 



We had planned for an early start, and were up before 

 daylight. While Harrison was preparing breakfast we 

 hastily packed the camp equipage. Each liad a duty to 

 perform, and as is the case where work is divided in this 

 way and each imderstands what is to be done, and what 

 he has to do, in no time at all everything was loaded and 

 in shipshape order. Two dust-proof chests with hinged 

 covers contained, one the cooking utensils and the other 

 the provisions. Besides this we had two lunch boxes 

 made of dry pine and tight enough to keep out all dust, 

 in which we managed to put away a good lunch for our 

 noonday meal. 



We expected that forenoon to run across antelope, for 

 when we were over the same ground in '88 we had seen 

 a good many of them. 



Some of the grouse of the night before putting in an 

 appearance delayed our starting a little, but the sun had 

 not been up more than half an hour before we were well 

 under way, the buckboard fetching up the rear, for we 

 intended to scout a little that day and see if we could not 

 get an antelope. We had not gone more than three or 

 four miles, when, on the hillside to tlie south of us we 

 saw a band of eight or nine in number. 



The heavier loads forged on ahead, while Briggs, the 

 Judge and myself in the buckboard determined to have 

 antelope. Driving so that the hill intervened between us 

 and the game we drove as far as we could with safety, the 

 wind blowing directly from them to us. Briggs kindly 

 consented to attend to the horses, and the Judge and I 

 thought that if we could reach the brow of the hill we 

 would have a fau- shot, and. crawling and dragging oui-- 

 selves in this way for what seemed an endlef*s distance, 

 we at last reached a point where by peering through the 

 grass and weeds we could see them. Here comes in a 

 sample of how hard it is to judge distances in this flat 

 coimtiy, for, instead of being a few hundred yards, as we 

 thought, the game was still over half a mile distant, and 

 between us and it intervened a deep gorge that in times 

 past, or possibly in early spi-ing titpe ran considerably of 



a stream. However, this made good ground for us to 

 approach the antelope. 



Beating a retreat, we entered the ravine and began cau- 

 tiously to work toward the unconscious quarry, j^t one 

 point it seemed as if they surely would see us, and hugging 

 guns we both rolled over and over down the hillside and 

 into the bottom of the dry run. As the Judge weighs in 

 the neighborhood of 2.50lbs., he could roll faster than I 

 could, but I noticed with some satisfaction that the exten- 

 sive diameter of the man was not well balanced; in other 

 words, he could not roll straight, and began to describe a 

 circle. Being built more on the lead pencil order, I did 

 not have to roll so far to catch up with him. We at last 

 reached the bottom in safety, and found it easy traveling. 



THE KID AND PADDOCK. 



and for a time there was no danger of our being detected. 

 After going some distance we came to where the gorge 

 turned directly toward them, and it would not be safe to 

 go much further in this direction. 



After comparing notes we concluded to divide forces, I 

 to take another small draw that went in back of the hills 

 from the other side, while the Judge was to work his way 

 along back of a projecting rise in the ground where he 

 thought he could get within shooting distance. Such 

 proved to be the case, for when he reached this point the 

 antelope were in full sight, some lying down and others 

 feeding. 



He gauged the distance, and correctly, to be about 

 400yds. Adjusting his sight to that distance, he lay down 

 and awaited developments. I found it easy going, but was 

 obliged to go a good ways before going up on the hillside 

 opposite where they were. Evidently a current of air was 

 swept from me to them, for I heard Judge shoot before I 

 reached the brow of the hill, and running rapidly forward 

 a few jjaces I saw the antelope running at full speed, and 

 though I blazed away at them two or three times, did 

 nothing more than raise a cloud of dust among them, but 

 a glad sight met my eyes, for there, kicking its last on the 

 brown turf, was the victim of my companion's unerring 

 aim. He explained to me that he saw the aatelope sud- 

 denly throw their nnses in the air and run round excitedly. 

 Knowing that this was his only chance, he took careful 

 aim at one that stood broadside to him. and we found that 

 the bullet had broken his back. Even then we had some 

 difiiculty in getting to it, for an intervening ravine, bef ort- 

 unnoticed, comiaelled us to make quite a circuit before we 

 could reach it. 



We could see Briggs in the distance, and, frantically 

 waving our hats at him, he knew that something had 

 happened and drove as near us as he coidd. In the mean- 

 time the Judge had dressed his game, and taking the car- 

 cass over his shoulders, I with both guns, we went down 

 the ravine and up the opposite hillside to where Briggs 

 with the buckboard was awaiting us. A more delighted 

 and happy three you never saw; it was the first antelope 

 we had ever killed; in fact, these were the first the Judge 



THE FOREMAV OF THE H. A. RANCH. 



had ever seen, and as he had made a remarkably good 

 shot, not only was he pleased, but we were all elated. 



We concluded that a tire was getting loose and some- 

 thing must be done to swell it, and as my flask happened 

 to be the handiest it was produced and opened. Putting 

 our game in the wagon we started again on the road, but 

 it was well toward noon before we reached the remainder 

 of the party, who were wondering what had becouie of us 

 and were beginning to feel alarmed, thinking we had had 

 a breakdown or some other accident. They were waiting 

 for us near the head of the Little Ejiife River, and they, 

 too, had seen several wolves and antelope. A little lunch, 

 a few bottles of beer, a smoke, a few more kodaks, and 

 we were ready to proceed. This time the buckboard took 

 the lead, for Paddock did not believe in haste. We were 

 destined for more adventures that day. 



We had figm-ed on reaching the "H. A." ranch about 

 one o'clock. In the distance we descried a lone horseman 

 j-iding at rapid gait. To an Eastern man an incident of 



this kind always brings up pictures of robbers and bandits. 

 The rapidly moving horse surmounted by some one who 

 evidently was at home in the saddle, drew near, and we 

 found that instead of a stage robber we had a pleasant- 

 faced, jovial boy from the "H. A." ranch. He was about 

 18 years old, his home was in Iowa, and he was called the 

 "Kid," all of which we learned in a very few moments. 

 He had been kindly sent by the manager of the ranch to 

 assist us in any way he could, and had ridden since morn- 

 ing from Dickinson, the entire distance we had been 

 twelve horirs longer in driving. Like all of his kind he 

 had no mercy for his horse. 



As the buckboard took the lead, the Kid concluded we 

 were the ones to accompany, and rode beside us for some 

 way, until a black smoke was seen to suddenly shoot into 

 the clear sky from a range of buttes some miles to the 

 northwest. This might mean danger to the "H. A."ranch; 

 and away the Kid dashed, putting spurs to his already 

 jaded little beast. Indeed, a cowboy has no mercy for a 

 horse or steer: I believe they consider a horse only to be 

 ridden to its death. As we drove slowly along, the rider 

 came in sight and vanished ag.iin and again as he fairly 

 flew over the swells of the broken prairie. At last he 

 reaches the summit of the distant range of hill, and hoi-se 

 and rider are outlined against the sky for a mqment only, 

 and then at the same killing: speed he turns toward us. 

 Following the hills and vallevs to the westward, he joins 

 us ere long with the information that the fire is evidently 

 beyond the Little Missouri, north of the "X's " We 

 learned later that he meant by this a ranch that branded 

 its cattle with a long slender "X:" and later on the boys 

 from the "X'a" outfit paid us a visit at oiu- camp. As we 

 topped a hill, far down in the valley to the north we saw 

 the "H. A." herd dotting the prairie with brown, red and 

 white; thousands of cattle destined ultimately for the stock 

 yards of the World's Fair city. 



"Stop the horses, Judge. What are those playing in 

 that bunch of cattle below us there? Antelope?" "Wolves!" 

 comes from the Kid. And, sure enough, wolves they are; 

 two of them big gray fellows; and we quickly see they are 

 not playing with the cattle, but mean death to a two- 



SKINNING THE ANTELOPE. 



year-old that they are nipping from behind at every 

 chance. The old steers, four or five in number, are try- 

 ing to protect the smaller one, and charge every now and 

 then at the persistent wolves. It does not keep them oft' 

 for more than an instant; for, dodging the thrusts of the 

 steers again and again, they jump upon the terrified and 

 bellowing animal. Though not over a quarter of a mile 

 from us, so intent are they on securing a dinner that we 

 are not noticed; and a plan of action has been adopted in 

 less time than I am writing this in. As they disappear 

 around a hill we drive for them, but under cover of the 

 rise of ground. Supposing of course the wolves had con- 

 tinued the chase for some time, we jumped from the 

 wagon, rifles in hand, before reaching the brow of the 

 hill (the Kid holding the horses), and running to the top 

 came fairly upon them not twenty rods away. They had 

 the "critter" down and were tearing it to death. At the 

 sight of us they started to run away, and we, blown and 

 excited, began a fusilade that frightened them if it 

 did little damage. One was struck twice, at least so it 

 seemed, and the dust flew as the balls struck either just 

 behind or just ahead of the thoroughly frightened creatures 

 running in opposite directions. I was pumping at one, 

 and the Judge and Briggs at the other at a hvely rate 

 until they were out of sight. Poor shooting, of coiu'se, 

 but, in the first place, we came on to them much nearer 

 than we expected to, and then, in the hurry the Judge 

 lost the front sight of his gun in pulling it out of the case, 

 and did not know it until he tried to shoot, and he was 

 all at sea and shot by guess. We cussed a little at our 

 bullhead exploit, and said we were each of us old enough 

 to have known better than to rush pellmell over the hill- 

 top in the way we did; and furthermore I wanted some 

 one to kick me for not shooting better anyhow. Well, 

 probably you know how it is yourself, even now we can't 

 help a sigii of regret that we did not plan it dift'erently, 

 for, as Briggs admits, they were "big wolves." The poor, 

 partially disemboweled steer had staggered to its feet dur- 

 ing the fracas, and was slowly going away, until killed by 

 a bullet from Briggs's rifle and its sufl'ering ended. 



We got under way once more, the .Judge much dis- 

 gusted at losing the sight of his Winchester, for we had 

 carefully hunted around the wagon where the gun was 

 taken out of its case and failed to find it. Some way must 

 be contrived to make a new one. Later on, when we 

 reached the H. A. ranch, we borrowed from one of the 

 cowboys there the front sight of his Winchester, and re- 

 turned it to him on our way home. This helped us out of 

 what might have been an unpleasant situation. Old 

 Spiketail, the roan, catches it from the -Judge, for it is 

 near dinner time and we are none of lis in the best of 

 humor, owing to the poor shooting and the loss of the 

 gun sight. This old roan had a peculiar way of flipping 

 his tail, which was utterly bare of hair, in our faces every 

 once in awhile, and Judge could not resist striking at the 

 elevated spike whenever it was so waved in defiance to 

 our endeavors to make reasonable progress. On our 

 return from the Bad Lands we laid in a supply of newly- 

 cut gads, and tqok o\\r reyenge by keeping up ^ respects 



