Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-11-27
! LOST ON THE PLAINS.
VIVID PEN PICTURE OF THEIR
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS.
The Wonderful Painted cavc--rho Cactus
Losing The Trsil--Thc hooking
Birds Liquid Solss.

people, and we have sometime. inI5.
lehtoliy, played euchre. fond the iat, /
magazines. aud discussed ethics and |
lashlonsi but these things were. TO me- |
indeed incidents.
ms Is the great Panhandle cattle
S,akcd Plain; we nm reailv
anu truly frontier. Aud IL ME- who |
eve perfect passion for Il an. those
Are the conspicuous features Of life.
.pt; drlnk, sleep aud think Of the great
pains, the vast herds. the rushing winds,
Sunburnt fnces, clanling spurs and al.
ways and everywhere ponies. little bright
,,yen, Ntue-tempered, architectural look
lhs ponies. rise MP ere Il IL vet DAY
to fly to roundup. where nm as hapny
rs any spirit handicapped with flesh and
Dohes can be, with my hig. white cow
boy hGt, my splendid cowgirl snddle--
and they always give me the hcst cut
ting pony In the Misunderstanding cattle
nt Il roundup is the most glorious sport
imaginable: | eagerly leave my dinner
innd do love my dinner. 10 get look
ut or u picture Of cowboy or cowboys
or II they are not shy. and viii so far
condescend, or suffer themselves 70 he
hcguiled, TO talk TO them, and exchange
experiences and opinions with them.
have ridden. and driven. and gene
rally secuted all over these plains, IN
sun and wind. till I'm SO burned and
tanned my Gown folks" wouldn't know
me. Ah-but how well / ami | never
did care much for my complexion, any
how--it wasn't a very fine one when
first got It. aud after I'd knocked II nbOut
u bit ! thought il really very Indifferent.
Good-bye TO 1t. most chcrrfully: I've
made II brave good trade. Every fresh
coat of tan. every layer of red and
bronze. seemed to ndd plume 10 the
wings of my spirit, and to knock OF
some of its shackles of weakness, or wea-
riness or sadness.
But / was going to talk about the
plain mot prairies. Won know. but ac-
tual plain trceless. shruhlcss, watcrlcss:
Level as floor. look ont upon II
every morning when first open my eyes
and every night before ! close thcm again
IL Is n familiar creature TO me; | have
been upon it--sometimes cOmpaniOncd,
sometimes alone-in many OF It's moods
aud phases; and have watched and stud
led II in all its different aspects, With won
der, and love, aud delight. and terror; the
hewitchmpnt of Its mragcs, the pale
loyeliness Of It's suuriscs; the full heat
and blaze OF It's sumDtuuus summer
moons; the radiant glory Of It's sunsets;
the serene splcndor of It's marvellous
white moonlight the melancholy majesty
of its waning moon, or solemn stars lts
aluring mystery of unfolding fog and
rain and yet more mystical spells of twl.
light aud carly dark: the grandeur AMI
terror Of It's wild. broken, fronzied ray
inus, swept aud swept again and AGAIN
from cold bitter sky to SKY by the unhin-
dered fury of savage storms.
Ny first really intimate acquaintance
with tile pliins-or ut least the first time
we were all alone together for long
was when | set out in the early summer
TO ride about thirty of thirty.tiYe miles
from Cumming to
THE WONDERFUL PAINTED CAVE
witch is in the Rinaon dc las Mojares.
c'Rincon." or little canon, 'of the wo-
mcn'-that is. the place Of safety In
which the Comanches put their women
during some hrhtl, whore there are
wonderful hieroglyphlcs and pictures
painted upon the roclis-s0 high up.many
Of them, that there must have been
some sort of scaifolding to reaeh them
In colors that dimes bluriing touch has
hardly dimmed; first great crocodilcs,
ard curious. crawling, lying and noun
derimg creatures of n younger. worin'
fnul some OF whose bones are found ~
the chalky formation OF certain Ilfue
hills In this country thcn pictures OF u
Inter period, Indian conyenuuunliiatHls
OF soldiers with guns, etc; then rude
cowboy copies or purulies ana burleS-
amos of thusc bits OF primitive c1ricaiire
and all manner of horse aud cattle
brands.
In the first place ! set ont too lRte;
and Chico though n pony OF hatlh Hhi'A'
n most charming and Interesting conpAll,,
ion. with great variety Of plquAht una
cnntiyutiugly unexpected little Maye'
wis never-even in his young aud ioohsh
dnvs-ehnrged with being fast. But We
w,int along In the st ltc of gentle teilciiy
which pcrtaius to entire igno-an 'e,down
Ins Rucdas. C'Las Rn-thaa, the
wheels called 80 from its bends AMI
,vindinrs1 Bye and bye our road lett
tbe creek and crossed Il high mead. IL
was getting late afternoon; the slant
s,,nlicht Inv soft and warm on the open
Main. Chico's little feet scarcely stirred
H. hrooding silence, as they fell lightly
an thn prnssy trail. There was nothing
"n W 10 sfnooth line Of level but
rora clump of euthanio, or tree cactus,
r ray and solitary.
huuui'" 49,, ~. f.rrrc
THE NA'1i -
These strange creatures hWhyH ~ ny ny
thinking SO alien they are 80 uilspe i ~,
bly antique, dulled, senifed' WhIPeam,, "
the rude hands OF the cehtuIles' ~ ,,,,.
Ia NOT belong to Us, our times OF oui
country, All their congcnerA are gone
irbnv have come down 10 us Mohe
ti,nitph un-numhcred cycles, rom uls
limo Of aueer, stumbling creatures anu
formless plants There they SIT, huinped
and enigmnti,--dusky, withdraWili pipe-
nnnt with old aud deepest slgiiln'hucei
IKE strange umorphous IDOLS, WIN nrilh
growing out Of their heads ana ihees Oh
their breasts. They nave Lowell ', .,'air-