The Republican journal., 1916-03-16

wild and woolly" West. We spent a
most enjoyable hour listening to his
yarns and examining the Indian and pio-
neer relics carefully preserved in show
case near by.
We anxiously watched the skies next
morning, and finally decided, despite
their somewhat threatening appearance,
to carry out our cherished plans for a
"real Western" picnic. A capacious
surrey, with two lively "cayuses" as
motive power, was niven up to the door,
and speedily loaded with cooking uten-
sils, picnic paraphernalia, and wraps,
until there was scarcely room for its
prospective occupants. We managed to
squeeze ourselves, Billie and all, in some
where, however, and started off toward
the mountains, around the Little Horn"
and through the Bridger canyon. AS we
drove along we tried to trace over the
hills the probable course of the pioneers
Lewis and Clark, who were the first
white men to pass through the Gallatin
Valley. The wild flowers along the way
were especially beautiful, the wild ger
aniums in particular growing in great
profusiop, and making splashes of pur-
plish red against the green background
of the hilsides. We kept sharp look
out for the wild forget-me- nots that were
reputed to grow Whereabouts, and finally
our search was rewarded as the road des-
cended into little canyon, and the slopes
on either side were thickly dotted with
the little blue flowers. The feminine
members of the party hastily called a
halt, and alighted to revel in the novelty
of gathering forgetme-nots by the arm
fuls. Billie joined in the search with
enthusiasm and delighted in bringing up
choice specimens for maternal approval.
Before long the threatening aspect of
the clouds, and the voracious appetites
given by the bracing mountain air, COM
bined to make US think very favorably of
a stop for dinner, SO, finding sheltered
spot, with brook running conveniently
near, we FASTENED to make camp. While
the horses were being Embarrassed, we
"tenderfeet" labored diligently to find
sufficient dry wood for a fire, not sue
ceeding very well at that, as our host
speedily demonstrated on his return to
the scene. Under his more experienced
management the fire burned briskly, and
soon the sizzling bacon and frying pota-
toes, with the coffee bubbling merrily,
to appetites already keen. The proof"
of this pudding was surely in the ''eat-
lng,' and we pronounced our Western
picnic huge success. A passing shower
caused us to break camp" in hurry,
and seek the shelter afforded by the
surrey, but the rain, though heavy while
it lasted, was soon over, and before long
the bright sun gave new beauty to the
dripping landscape.
AS we drove along, saucy magpies,
looking for all the world like crows in
evening dress, screamed at US from near
by trees and fences, and innumerable
gophers scuttled through the fields or
squatted on their launches to watch US
90 by, only flirting their tails derisively
and whisking away, when made the
target for occasional shots from Will
Schoppe's twenty-five" In defence
of Willis craftsmanship l will have to
state that they were exceedingly active
targets.
Our objective point, the Bridger can
yon, though not of great length, was a
very beautiful bit of scenery, where an
enterprising little river tumbied noisily
between lofty cliffs. The cayuses were
halted long enough to allow the kodak
fiend to take a picture, and as he
scrambled up over exceedingly precari-
GUS footing to suitable vantage point,
the rest of US held our breath lest he
should enact the part of Jack in the old
nursery rhyme, and "fall down and break
his crown"
Leaving tne canyon we maze a. Dfle1
visit to State fish hatchery, where gray.
ling in different stages of development
were observed with interest. The drive
back to Bozeman, over different route,
was no less interesting than the drive
out had been, and late in the afternoon
hough it was when we arrived, we still
had time for drive through the campus
of the Montana Agricultural college, and
a brief visit to some of the buildings.
Will made more extensive visit to them
next day, while l attended most inter-
esting meeting of the local D. A. H.,
who gave a cordial welcome to visitor
from Maine chapter.
All too soon the day came to leave Boze-
man, which had already begun to seem
like home to US, and we were compelled
to take our leave of the Schoppes, with
the earnest hope of seeing them in the
East next summer. Our reservations
for the Yellowstone were already made
with the Wylie Company, SO on the
eleventh of June we took the afternoon