The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1886-09-23
! for my shot guni,, Tom asked q,

g es;for my shot gunin Tom asked of
Sandy. IS i3ss. ~.
= yS ,,',, Won't want any ooting
4 "a OF take my gun7o he asked il:
great 8, surprise 81, Then how viii Il kill
There's more'n one wy N, skin, e. q
cat, !, said SAL Sandy. Wen ahoW yon
..Alls RICH tt.' said non, But be said ii,
nothing about he big six.Bho oter that
he had strapped on under His Jacket.
$ssssW hich 3waY are YOU going boys2"
the spperint tend lent asked as thew
were about to start. a ass }t
n yer to Dead Mani canyon, z was
the reply Of Sand q
: All right. II eckon SSI.ll lay GROUND
here and take aasmo lie. Il "a.
Then they flad, away IA The darkness.
The trail led them first across the
Spider creek, then toithe foot hills,
through the sage brush and grease
woods, about two miles away. It was
lonely enough even with SO many for
company Crossing the dry bed OF a
stream, that was filed with a. raging
torrent during the spring freshets,
they clambered up the ,steep bank on
ths#f urther side fter; q sitting their
horses Breathe moment, they went
onsfor two ndred 10 as further, which
/ brought them to the nnouthsof q small
canyon or split, til lot led away into;
the impanetrable darkness ~ the george
that lost itself in the moi ntains. a
Here we are,H said Sandy, and
they. all dismo Mounted, ;S ~ 49, Il
Then The men pro diced e meal sack
and inserted d hoop in The mouth Of
sit,which kept it expand to its widest.
After that Sand ,.who had lighted a
torch, SAID to Toms Ms !
low, young Teller, the fun is about
to begin. You must sid the bag with
one hand and the torch with the 9TH
er. In a few minutes the snipe will see
the light and come flying straight for
you. All you have to do is StoAc clap
your bag over them, and there they
are. So longl i
But; where are you goingswho' 8 to
stay here wit 81, ON asked in APP
!parently great iterpidation as the
whole outfit rem unted and prepared
TO drive away: h, n
q we just 90 ahead, and scatter
the menSa long, ons in asplace, till we're
all strung out with bags. Then,
when our bags are full, we come back
over the trail till We are all together
again, and then strike out for the
ranch. = VI ssss 2ai5f IS. v 4.
But this is q mighty lonesome place
to be left alone in for the first time.
One of you had better stay here and
show me; hoWyou work it, II
az on, u work it all right. SIfyou get
scared you just hollerlP And of they
rode. laughing e ,-s sis 4.
Their course led on into the canyon
and insfive minute ss the last sound of
them was lost. AS ! ON said,
it was 8 mighty lonesom place to
be left alone il for 81 boy, the
! first time, On any other time, with only
the stars dimly twinkling overhead,
and the brush and black rocks all
about; with the canyon like pit OF
darkness swallo owing everything up
in that direction. w orst of all, no
sooner had the COW boys disappeared
than on the still air came the mourn
inl3wail Of coyo tes near by, q sound
to make even q mans hair rise and
cold .chills go to ogganing down his
back bone when heard for the first
time. And Tom knew there were bears
in that very mo untains for Spencer
had told him so. B
5But the men rode on and on, wind
singin and out through the canyon,
Laughing with boistero BUS glee
sytheys Thought aofs the tend erfoot
kid, BhiVering there ithfright, waiting
for ,themt to come back. Once or twice
they paused, thinking they heard a
call, but they weren't sire. i If they
had heard the boy oller, z as they
told him to do inscase he was scared,
they would only have laughed the
harder and gone ahead just the same.
Their plan was to leave him there all
night and GO after HMM the morning,
unless he knew nough to find his own
way back to the ranch as soon as it
was light enough for him to see. IS +;
Pretty cruel test to put q city bred
boys nerves and pluck TOT That was
just where the fun for the cowboys
came in.S Il .s sis 4,
II took them half an hour to ride
through the cany on, which nitstwist-
ing and turning finally came o,it not
more than d mile further away from
the ranch than the opening where
they had entered it. The trail was an
easy one the rest Of the way, and the
moon wassnowS up. Reaching the
ranch they droven oisily up, alter the
manner ~ cowboys, and having cor
rallied their animals they made for the
cabin. n & Il q.
On entering the cabin they found
Spenc quietly reading BY the table.
Ell, boys, whore is Tom2n he ask
ed. 5ss
He got tired and allowed he'd stay
and rest q spell, z said Sandy, with q
loud laugh, In which the others hearth
" Joined. n IA.
DO You mean you've Left that boy
over lin, the canyon Alone2is :i
that q about the size $of it. He's
on q sniping bay out. re ; s};
4 That might d y il the tend
was ID man but don't you think it
pretty. rough on D. boy? Don t you
know the bears are thick around there
land you wouldn II event etshim take
his shot gun. Some sof you can get
ont there and bring him in, and you
can't be too lively about 1t, either
All right, you re the boss" said
Sandy. We didn' II mean no harm to
the kid hut 4 didn't think of the
hears. I reckon he's just about as
STARED now as he can be. Gomes on,
boysl' Z IS
+ Ont, BY one the mon went out, but
mot as hilario usly as when they
had tered. There was no use
grumbline. and il ono had to go
they all were read TO- 90 with. him.
They. could ride over ia the canyon
land he back again ia less than an
hour, and there would be the fun 81