The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1908-09-16

in them, eating the succulent marsh |
plants. Most of the plains rivers flow /
through sandy or muddy beds with no
vegetable growth, and to these, OF
course, the deer merely come down to +
drink or refresh themselves by bath
ing, as they contain nothing to eat
At times the Whitehall will lie so
close that it may almost be trodden on /
One June morning l was riding down I
along the river, and came to a long
bottom, crowded with rose-bushes, all /
in bloom. 1t was crossed in every di- |
rection by cattle paths. and a drove of
long-horned Texans were scattered
over it. A cow-pony gets accustomed
to travelling at speed along the cattle
trails, and the one bestrode threaded
! it's way among the twisted narrow
| paths with perfect ease Looping rapidly
onward through sea of low rose
| bushes. covered with the sweet, pink
| flowers. They gave a bright color to
| the whole plain, while the air was
| filed with the rich, full songs of the
/ yellow breasted meadow larks, as they
perched on the topmost sprays of the
I
sprang up almost from under the
horses feet, and scudded off with her
white flag Haunting There was no
reason for harming her, and she made
a pretty picture as she bounded lightly
off among the rose-red flowers, pass
ing without heed through the ranks of
the long-horned and strengthening
steers.
Doubtless she had little spotted
fawn not far away. These wee fell
lows soon after birth grow very cum
ming and able to take care of them
selves, keeping in the densest part of
the brush, through which they run and
dodge like a rabbit. If taken young
they grow very tame and are most
dainty pets. One which we had round
the house answered well to its name.
1t was at first fed with milk, which
it Tapped eagerly from saucer, shar-
ing the meal with the two cats, who
rather resented it's presence and cuff
ed it heartily when they thought it
was greedy and was taking more than
it's share. As it grew older it would
eat bread or potatoes from our hands.
and was perfectly fearless. At night
it was let go or put in the cow-shed.
whichever was handiest, but it was
generally round in time for breakfast
next morning. A blue ribbon with a
bell attached was hung round its neck,
so as to prevent It's being shot; but
In the end it shared the fate of all
pets, for one night it went of and
: never came back again.
Only once have l. ever killed white
tail buck while hunting on horseback;
and at that time | had been expecting
to fall in with black-tail
This was while we had been making
a wagon trip to the westward follow
: ing the old Keogh trail which was
made by the heavy army wagons that
journeyed to Fort Keogh in the old
DAYS when the soldiers were. except
a few daring trappers. the only white
men to be seen on the last great hunt,
ing ground of the Indians. 1t was
abandoned as a military route several
years ago. and is now only rarely
travelled over, either by the canvas
topped ranch-wagon of some wander
ing cattle-men-like oursPives-or else
by a small party Of emigrants. In two
or three prairie schooners. which con,
tain all their household goods. Never
theless, it is still as plain and distinct
as ever The two deep parallel ruts.
cut into the sod by the wheels of the
heavy wagon. stretch for scores OF
miles In a straight line across tho
level prairie, and take great turns and
doublings to avoid the impossible por-
lions of the Bad Lands. The track Is
always perfectly plain. for In the dry
climate of the western plains the &C
ton of the weather tends to preserve
rather than to obliterate it; where Ii
leads downhill. the snow water has
cut and widened the ruts into deep
gullies, so that a wagon has at those
places to travel alongside the road
From any little rising in the prairie
the road can be seen a long way Off,
as a dark line, which, when near, re-
solves itself into two sharply defined
parallel cuts.
On the trip In question we had al
first very bad weather. Leaving the
ranch in the morning, two Of us, who
were mounted, pushed on ahead tc
hunt, the wagon following slowly, with
a couple of spare saddle ponies leading
4 behind it. Early in the afternoon, while
> riding over the crest of great divide
which separates the drainage basins
! Of two important creeks, we saw that
tremendous storm was brewing witt
, that marvellous rapidity which is 81
: marked a characteristic Of weather
. changes on the plains.
Q We spurred hard to get out Of tbs
j open, riding with loose reins for the
creek. The center Of the storm swept
\ by behind US, fairly across our track
j and we only got wipe from the tai
4 Of It. Yet this itself we could not have
Q faced in the open The first gust caught
d Us few hundred yards from the creek
! almost taking US from the saddle, and