Omaha daily bee., 1894-03-25

like a devout priest at prayer; the ball grazed
his head and crazed him. AS l ran toward
him he commenced a spasmodic circling and
| ran my foot down beside him as he at
last found the door of his house, and wedged
him fast. We sent him back to the town,
of which he remained a citizen until a ten
derfoot mistook him for a common rodent
and sent him to dog heaven.
But prairie dogs are not buffalo.
For five days we journeyed up LA Belle
Republican" and the pen of Mark Twain
would find material for II chapter in each
day. Our food consisted of game, bacon.
flap jacks and buoy yaw," which is
frontier French for a combination Of side
meat-grease." flour, creek water and Ne>
braska dust, of which last you use moro
or less, according to the direction and yio-
lence of the wind. OF the first you use
''as much as you can get" mix them to-
gether, bring 'em to Il bile ana suppers
ready.
One evening an emaciated horse, turned
loose by some one because he could go no
further, attracted by the light of our camp
fire, came curiously and, for a few yards,
quickly to the top of the miniature blum of
the tiny stream on whose banks we had
camped. The bank crumbled and, in his
weakened condition, unable to turn, he came
s%prawling down the precipitOus bank into our
fire and on into the creek, from which he
pulled himself with difficulty and limped
slowly away.
BtSOuu 1tplDllCdH WY We Ntit nightly
serenaded by a coyote band. The boys said
there might be" only a few, but the monot-
onous variety of mournful howls suggested
either a multitude of voices or immense
leXibility in each individual voice. The
young man who can sleep upon the prairie,
under a Nebraska sky, and listen to the
homesick tones of a coyote serenade without
thinking Of the girl he left behind him, has
no soul for music.
REACHED TIE PROMISED LAND.
We reached what proved to be good hunt
ing ground on the Sinking water, above
what Is now Arapahoe. We assembled the
stream some miles TO get beyond the set
Elements which, even here, were being made
along the valley. That afternoon | left the
wagon and Travelled through the timber along
the creek bottom. thinking | might vary the
bill of fare at supper by adding fried turkey
to It. No turkey appeared and 1t is very
probable that. had | discovered one, 1t would
never have accompanied me to camp. l
know that when a big tlmber-wolf trotted
lelsurely into view he Notwithstanding as
he did on higher ground than | occupied, so
that his shaggy bigness was silhouetted
against the background of blue joint-he
looked as large rs an OK, and ! know that
after standing there a mOment-Or an hour
with an expression Of surprise upon his
benevolent cOuntenance, he turned calmly
away with an air OF Indifference concerning
my presence. Then | wondered what |
carried a gun iOr. Judge the turkey
would have escaped in the same manner.
Up there. on the crest of the"divide" to
the west, three huralo were lying half dOz-
ing In the afternoon sun, their eyes half
closed, their laws automatically masticating
the cud. / walked up a draw" that led
directly toward them. ! stopped, | crawled
on hands and knees as the depression grew
less deep. and then. lying at full length,
face down, with forearm bent, | dragged
myself along. using my elbows. upon the
ground until | reached effective shooting
distance. pulled my Spencer forward,
mentally questioning whether | had best
chance a shot at the recumbent mOnarchs
or-the furies take the gun. the lock was
gone. From my position | could not see the
Trail over which / had 80 laborlously dragged
myself. My shirt sleeves were, worn
through. My elbows had each parted with
a portion of cuticle the size OF a silver dol
lar. l Jumped 10 my feet, waved my hat
frantically in the air and shouted like a
beasts rose awkWardly and ambled on with
a gait which reminded ms OF the rolling
shuttle Of a sailor on shore leave.
| faced about, and there. broad and plain
lay my trail. marked by the bent down
grasses. Ten feet back the missing gun lock
lay. Associated ideas. the billowy prairie,
the vanished game, my own evaporation
brought 10 my mind the sentence, CLEANED
In schoolboy days from some fifth reader
literature In which the author after telling
Of the escape OF a whale from Its pursuers