Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1908-10-16

the prairie ponds and stand knee-deep
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 1t may almost be trodden IN.
One June morning | was riding down
along the river, and came to a long
bottom, crowded with rose-bushes, all
in bloom. 1t was crossed in every d.
rection by cattle paths. and a drove of
~long-horIfed Texans were scattered
over 1T. A cow-pony gets accustomed
to travelling at speed along the cattle
trails, and the one | bestrode threaded
its way among the twisted narrow
paths with perfect ease. Looping rapidly
onward through a 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 N the topmost sprays of the
little trees. Suddenly a Whitehall doe
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 savage-looking
steers.
Doubtless she had a little spotted
fawn not far away. These wee fell
lows 500 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
1t Tapped eagerly from a saucer. shar-
ing the meal with the two cats. wha
rather resented its presence and cuff
ed 1t heartily when they thought /
was greedy and was taking more han
Its share. AS 1t grew older 1t would
eat bread or potatoes from u hands.
and was perfectly fearless. At night
it was let go or put In the cow-shed
whichever was handiest. but 1t was
tgenefaffy round IN time FOR breakfast
next morning. A blue ribbon with a
bell attached was hung round its neck.
so as to prevent its being shot; but
in the end it shared the fate of al
nntc FOR ono niOhf II wont off and
never came back again.
Only once have l ever killed a 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 q military route several
years ago, and is now only rarely
travelled over, either by the canvas
topped raneh-wagon of some wander
ing cattle-men-like ourselves-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 the
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 ac-
ton of the weather tends to preserve
rather than to obliterate it; where 1t
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 of.
as a dark line, which. when near, re-
solves itself into two sharply defined
parallel cuts.
On the trip in question we had at
first very bad weather. Leaving the
ranch In the morning, two or US, VINO
were mounted. pushed on ahead to
hunt, the wagon following slowly. with
a couple of spare saddle ponies leading
behind it. Early in the afternoon. while
riding over the crest of a great divide.
which separates the drainage basins
of two important creeks, we saw that
q tremendous storm was brewing witt
that marvellous rapidity which is so
marked a characteristic of weather
changes on the plains.
We spurred hard to get out of the
open, riding with loose reins for the
creek. The center of the storm swept
by behind us, fairly across our track.
and we only got a wipe from the tall
of 1t. Yet this itself we could not have
faced in the open. The first gust caught