The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1910-11-10

in the bracing air had seemingly tied our
tongues and weighted our eyelids. and
our goodnights were soon exchanged,
together with resolutions for early rising
in the morning.
The next morning found good-sized
gale of wind blowing: but after break
fast was to occur my first lesson in the
saddle, and as there was no wind and
weather" clause in our contract, f'boot-
ed and spurred' was the novice and
ready for what the breakfast-table con-
versation would have led one to believe
were the dangers of the morning.
Barney" who was to fall to my lot,
was no more impressive in appearance
than the average western cayuse-but
one never can tell, was assured! He
had not been ridden for weeks, but,
managing the ascent into the saddle
with more speed than grace, felt very
brave and very much cup in the world
as we started off for the morning in
quest of some small game.
Over hill and dale, along the creek,
and around the wheat fields, across
bitches and up and down dale did we go,
and nothing more than couple of mag
pies rewarded our searching eyes until,
about dinner time, we started home and,
in run" or little 'creek,' as it is
called out here, started up flock of
prairie chickens. was left to hold the
hunters horse while he followed up the
birds, and all went we'll until the first
report of the gun. Then it appeared
that Barney had notions of his own
about the destruction of game-or of
shooting at it, at any rate-for there fol-
lowed a performance that surely would
have been worth ''the price of admis-
sion' had there been an audience.
Round and round went Mr.. Barney, ut
terly oblivious of my violent tugs on the
reins Round and round again at each
of the succeeding five shots. Up the hill
he would not go; toward the house he
would not go--for in that direction lay
the offending gun, and round and round
he would go in spite of my protests with
heel and rein. He objected to the ap-
proach of the gun,-in fact, seemed to
have objections to most things except
this one special variety Of merry 60
round, but finally he consented to return
to the ranch. He had serious doubts as
to the propriety of having his picture
taken in the same group" with the
hunter, his five handsome birds, and the
gun, however, but by that time we were
in a corral, and he couldn't very we'll
help himself!
A cold drizzle set in soon after dinner,
and Barney was turned over to Claude.
The two boys spent the afternoon afeld
and came back with nearly empty poe
kets, a grouse and a cotton-tail being
their addition to the collection. Three
of the chickens, which only that morning
had been feasting in the wheat fields,
were sizzling in the oven, and they prov
ed as delicious as we had anticipated.
We were to return to town the next
morning, but another ride was first in
order. This time it was around the
ranch in company with its owner. Bar
denotes, and we had fine ride; first
along the mile-long furrow made by the
steam plough which we passed, inactive
just then, on to locate a place for the
thresher's camp, and then up on the hill,
from whose crest magnificent piano.
rama was spread out. In the distance,
the main range of the Rockies, with
Warmers peak-the beacon of the trav-
eller of the olden days, conspicuous
nearer, the Madison cut its way through
the hills and valleys, and all around vast
fields; and then hills and hills and hills.
The ranch house down in the sheltered
valley looked like toy, and the dozen or
so of horses in the pasture near it might
have belonged to child's Noah's ark
Here and there were observable trails,
and the old road to Virginia City lay
below us. 1t was a glorious sight, and
reluctantly we descended, bound for the
house to prepare for the trip home.
1t was nineteen-mile ride over the
old road from Virginia City to Bozeman,
along which most of the pioneers had
toiled their danger-fraught way. We
had just been reading Emerson Hough's
''Story of the Outlaw and could almost
imagine some of Plummer's band that
terrorized the country in concealment at
the Robbers Roost," a rocky and
rather precipitous place in the highway.
The country schoolhouses that we pass
ed were much like the familiar New Eng
land ones, except that always one or
more saddle horses were tied to the
fences or grazing in the yards. The
new church under construction by the
Hollanders was outlined on hilltop, and
everywhere were the wheat fields wait
ing for the threshers Some ranchers
had their crop ready to haul to the eleva-
tors and we must have passed bagged
wheat to the amount of several hundred
thousand dollars: but that was a small