New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-28
SPORT ON THE PLAINS
1rn1s1.AToR,s VACATION.

D.. ".
ham. g. p. Putnams SONS ,. .o.ms an
,,-a, .ho egislature to the Bad Lands seems I'll
..,, transition to Mr.. Theodore hoose'oi' VIZ"
sre ~ the bandsomest volumes OF the soaSVn n".
recorded his experiences as ranch'han anu -
.aat nortnern cattle plains of Montana In
the basin of the Upper Missouri. hiio o a,,
-anot as TINS described is by no means an easy
1""' ,.5oo1 n demands strong constitution ana
S.oac;tv for roughing it to get out OF IL tho
- arovments il affords 1t is a healthiu oc-
.r.,or however. and full of solace for the lover
80 snort if only he is not tied down too strc'y "
Az core of his cattle But one oil the nam poinV'
&c interest in this out-of-door, rowing, laooriou'
sonob life il the certainty of its evanescence Inc
.o,yhov has followed the Indian and TAKEN us
n,occ and like the Indian he must giveWay III n,'
tnrn TO the steadily advancing wave Oh se''ione'
ri root cattle ranches which now occupy the
rortbern Mains must shortly disappear before inc
,,ermapent settler The vast plains over which 'ne
bufalo antelope and deer formerly roaIlou wiz
he parcelled out into farms and villages iho 'o
how will no longer ride his long ROUNDS anu 'n'
great herds of haf-wld cattle will be seen ho 'oo'
shortly Therefore il is important that Ihis po'oi"
nioneer life should be described by lai.hiu' an
;ntelEqent historian, and none better EQUIPPED loi
81 thon Mr. Roosevelt could have been found.
His own ranches, the Elkhorn and the CHIMNEY
prtte lie along the eastern border OF the caute
conntrv where the little Missouri flows through
the heart of the . Bad Lands" These lands well
aosorve their name for moro forbidding dlhcult'
or aroarv region il would be impossible to imagine.
Vet as Mr. Roosevelt shows, the country mas its
pleasant features, and the life led IN IL Is py no
means depressing. "The charm OF ranch me-
saws the author "comes.in its. freedom tahu .ne
vigorous open existence it forces man 10 ieau'
Except when hunting in bad ground, inc whoie
time away from the house is spent IN Inc saudie'
and there are so many ponies that fresh Que eau
ALWAYS be had" The hardest work comes III inc
snrinp and, fall round-ups, when the calves are
branded or the beeves gathered for market but
there is no time of the year except the very worst
Of winter when the cowboys do not find plenty to
do Mr. Roosevelt's description of life on the ranch
is graphic -.
His sporting experience, as he repeatedly reminds
the reader is not that Ofa professional sportsman
but such as could be had in the intervals OF ranch
work, or such as was strictly accessory TO ranch
work. the hunting being done to supply an empty
larder. 1t is refreshing to lind sportsman dis
claiming any title to excellence as shot, moreover.
Mr. Roosevelt frankly declares that he is not agood
shot and though many of his hunting adventures
tend TO show that his estimate is too depreci-
atory. no one could be conscientious in record
ing his failures His opinion of the average stories
of very long shots is interesting. He holds that
nearv all hunters oyerestlmate distances in shoot
ING and he cites some curious proofs of this. lie
believes that very little good shooting is done lat
camel bevond one hundred and fifty yards, and that
when hunters tell stories of killing deer or ante
lope at three OF four hundred yards, they are
romaucing He confirms the opinion that INDIANS
are ne a rule very poor shots They cannot hold
candle to practiced white hunter. and he himself
ON one occasion had match with the bucks OF
CHEYENNE camp, and found that he could beat them
hollow shooting at mark
Hisbunting experience embraces all the game on
the mains. namely the grizzly bear. buffalo, elk,
bip-horn. antelope, black-tail and white ta-deer,
and the small game, such as hare, jackass-rabbit,
geese ducks. grouse, plover, etc., While ne mas
accounts of encounters with the cougar, wolf, and
COYOTE. and interesting information about that
special nuisance of the plains the prairie-dog NO
writer on sport has had keeher or more sensitive
perception Of natural beauties, while it Is evident
OH every page that he has made special studies OF
the habits of the different birds and animals, SO
that his natural history observations and his run
ming sketches of scenery meteorological phenom-
ana add wonderful charm and interest to the
book
IL is difficult to quote from it without marrIng,
bee ,use thedescrptions elaborate and the mar
rative is diversified with so much practical inform
sports,nan is not necessarily connected with the
story in hand. The account of sport with small
game is full of interest 1t is not. only that Mr.
Roosevelt is enthusiastic. but that he observes
we'll and describes evenbetter Many of his nara
tives are enriched by bits of vivid realism which
linger in the memory like snaches of poetry Here,
for example is a sketch of a night-ride which is
perfectly simple yet full of sugeestiveness:
"we concluded we would leave the wagon with
4ha driver and taking advantage of the full moon
push through the whole distance before breakfast
the next morning Accordingly we at9 clock again
saddled the tough little ponies we had ridden an
ay and oped OFT out of the circle OF the hrellght
For nine hours rode steadily generally at quick
lope across the moonlit prairie. The hoof-beats OF
our horses rang out in steady RHYTHM through the
silence of the night, otherwise unbroken save now
and then by the walng cry OF q coyote. ne roll
ing plains stretched out on all sides OF MS simmer
Ing in the clear moonlight and occasionally band
of spectre looking antelope swept silently away
FROM before our path. Once we went by drove OF
Texan cattle who stared wildly at the lntrud ds
rumbllng beneath their tread, while their long
horns knocked against each other with the sound
like the gathering of multitude of castanets. we
could see clearly enough to keep general course
over the trackless plain steering by the stars where
the prairie sas perfectly level and without land
marks: and our ride timed well for. as we gal.
Hoped down into the valley OF the Little Missouri
the sky above the line of level bluffs IN our front
was crimson with the glow of the unrisen sum-"
And here is pregnant paragraph on the different
powers of observation possessed by plans game:
sAll game animals rely upon both eyes, ears and
nose to warn them of the approach OF danger; Du,
the amount of reliance placed ON each sense varies
greatly in different species. Those found out or
the plans pay very little attntion to what they
hear; indeed, in the open they can hardly be ap
nroacbed near enough TO make of much account
any ordinary amount of noise caused by the stalker
especially as the latter is walking over little but
grass and soft earth. The buffalo whose shaggy
frontlet of hair falls his eyes and prevents his
seeing at any great distance depends mainly upon
his exquisite sense Of smell. The antelope on the
other hand depends almost entirely upon his great
bullying eyes.and very little OH his nose His sight
is many times as good asthat of deer bothspecies Of
which as well as elk rely both upon sight and hear
- meet ne mon of smell fhell