The Greeley tribune., 1906-01-04

mile length to the slaughterlng pens
day after day, all unconscious OF its
power. When the steers had traileu
for about a fortnight the question OF
finding sufficient water for them be
gan TO be n serious one. The preceding
winter had been unusually mild. the
snowfall on the mountains averaging
less than in the recollection OF the old
est plalnsman. Summer had begun
early and waxed hot and dry. The
earth began to wrinkle and cracked
into trenches. like gaping mouths
thirsty for the water that came not
Such streams as had not dried shrank
and crawed among the willows like
Shiny things, that the herd, thirsty
though 1t was from the long drives,
had to be coaNed to drink from.
Discomfort grew. The acting fore
man. who was XXX man and
comparative stranger to that part Of
the country, refused to consult with
the W-square men In the outfit. who
knew every inch OF the ground. The
acting foreman thought the Wetmore
men looked down on him. put on dog"
and. to flaunt his authority. he ordered
lriyeu due west instead of
| ..... ;us u the north by the longer
| roula, where they would have had the
| advantage of drinking at several creeks
before crossing Green river. More
| over, the acting foreman was drinking
| hard and he insisted upon his order in
spite of. the W'etmore mems protesta-
| tons
The character of the country began
TO change: the soil took on the color OF
blood: even the omnipresent sagebrush
began to fail the landscape; sun bleach.
ed bones glstened on the red soil.
white as ulcers; all the animal trails
led back from the country into which
they were proceeding: the sky, a vivid,
cloudless blue. paled as 1t dipped earth.
! ward: there was no sign of life In all
| the land; even the grasshoppers had
left 1t to the sun, the silence and thu
desolation. Above the angry below OF
the thirsty herd the men strained their
ears again and again for this familiar
sound Of life, but there was nothing
but the believing of the cattle, tho
| trampling of their hoofs and sometimes
the long, squealing whinny of a horse
as he threw back his head in seeming
demand to know the justice Of this
thing.
Across the red plain snailed the herl
| like many jointed prehistoric rep.
tile wandering over the limitless spaces
of some prlmeval world. A cloud OF
red dust hung over them in dense
haze. trailed after them weary length.
| then all was featureless monotony.
What were thousand steers, hand.
full Of men and horses. in the land OF
the red silence? 1t had seen the com.
ings and goings of many peoples, and
once it had flowed with streams, but
that was before the curse of God came
upon it, and in its harsh, dry barren
ness 1t grew to be u menace to living
things.
The saddle stock had been watered
at some fetid alliali holes that had
scarce given enough to slake their
thirst. The effect Of the water had
weakened them, and the steers that
had been without water for thirty-six
hours were being pushed on course
slightly northwest as rapidly as the
enfeebled condition Of the saddle horses
would permit. Creek after creek that
they had made for proved to be but
dry bed.
The glare of the red earth under the
scourge of the flaming sun tormented
the eyes of the men into strange illu.
sions. The naked red plain stretched
fat like the colossal background of
screen, over which writhed huge
dragon spined with many horns, head
less, trailing its tortuous way over the
red world. Sometimes it was as un-
real as fever haunted dream, drug
inspired nightmare, when Chinese
screen, perchance, has stood at the foot
of the sleeper's bed. Sometimes the
dragon curled itself into a ball, and the
foreman sung out that they were mill
ing, and the men turned and rode away
from 1t, then dashed back Mt 1t, after
getting the necessary momentum, en-
tered like flying wedge, fought their
way into the rocking sea of surging
bodies, shouted from their thirst parch-
ed throats imprecations that were lost
in the dull sullen roar Then the
dragon would uncoil and again trail Its
way over the red waste lands
A red sun had begun to set over
red earth. and the men who had been
out since noon securing the country for
water returned to say that none had
been found, and they began to look In
to each others face for the answer
that none could give. At sunset they
made dry camp. There was but
enough water left to cook with. Each
man received as thirst auenchipg ro
tlon can of tomatoes. After supper
they consulted, and 1t was agreed TO
trail the herd till midnight, taking nd.
| vantage of the coOlness to hurry than,