Evening star., 1925-07-26

only for coyote bait.
Well, I kept a-riding the bare ridges
that day and getting cattle on their
feet and moving. The next day was
the same and the chinook was still
ALLOWING and eating up the snow.
Half of it Is already melted away and
water is running down the coulees to
the creeks, making 'em the size of
rivers.
Any stranger would of thought sure
that spring'd come sudden, but
knowed the cowmen was losing sleep
for worrying, more afraid of the harm
the hard freeze would do to the stock
after the chinook'd left than the chi
nook itself could do while it was
blowing.
Along about the middle of the after
noon could feel the air getting cooler
and the breeze was shifting to the
north. The snow'd quit melting and
the creeks was getting down to creek
size again. It's good and dark by the
time l heads my horse towards camp
and 1t was getting colder every minute.
The Cypress Cattle Company was
running over &c, 900 head of cattle.
Three thousand of 'em was at Stone
Pile camp, where Dan and me was rid
Ing. The rest was at other cow camps,
and a big herd at the home ranch,
| where there was other riders and hay
shovelers looking after 'em. At our
camp there was enough hay put up
the Summer before to feed and pull
| through the Winter about 500 head
of stock. The other 1900 was sup
posed to rustic.
They could easy enough and come
| out strong in the Spring after any
| average Winter, cause the stock what
was left out on the range to rustic
through was all dry stuff and steers
Cows with calves and weaners and all
| old or weak stock was fed from the
start of the bad weather till Spring
breakup.
The weather kept clear and cold.
| The little glass tube outside our camp
| by the door was saying from 80 to 35
below, and had been keeping that up
| for about week. Lucky, we thought
the wind wasn't blowing then or every
| critter would of froZe stiff where they
stood. We kept on bringing in, the
weakest and only them what really
needed feed the most.
It was near three weeks since the
| chinook'd come and left the range a
| field of ice and crusted snow with the
| few bare spots that helped some keep
| ing the cattle alive. The willows on
| the creek bottoms and the sage was all
! ct down to the ice. and outside of the
| few branches what was too big for
them to tackle the country was clean
| as a whistle.
! The stock had so little feed in 'em
! that 1t looked like their fianks were
near touching the backbone. but the
most Of EN- was strong and If ii hadn't
! been for that chinook they would now
| be in good shape.
! 1T started clouding up before the
chinook quit, and that's when our
! hopes come back. The snow was most
| all gone to water and running down
! the draws. The country was left bare
! and brown and the cattle weaker than
| ever, but feed a-plenty was in sight
and easy to get at, and clouding up as
| it was with the wind dying down gives
! us to understand that there won't be
no real cold weather coming right soon
| anyway.
1t stayed warm, and in a couple of
/ days it started to snow, kinda wet at
/ first, but she stuck and kept on a-com-
| ing, slow but sure and steady. The
! cloudy weather was with us for a good
| two weeks and gradually getting
| colder. when IL cleared again and the
! thermometer went down to 10 below.
| There was near a foot of snow on
| the ground again and the cattle was
| having hard time roofing down to
| the feed, but the slow drop of the
| thermometer and the chance at some
| feed before the snow came recuperated
| 'em some. A few more had to be
| brought in and we did it, taking big
| chances of running out OF hay too
| soon.
And then another six inches of snow
| piled up on top of the foot already
| down, which makes us and the hay
| shovelers do heap of lingering as to
how we was going to pull the stock
| through. The hay was fed and handled
real careful, but it was dwindling away
| fast. Two thousand of the hungry
| critters was in the feed pens eating
up the hay what was supposed to carry
| over 1900 head.
| Spring was late. 1t still looked like
| the middle of Winter, and we had to
| contend not only with the usual few
| Winter calves, but Spring calves was
| beginning to pop up here and there
and showing their little white faces.
| The daggone coyotes was the only
animal getting fat. and it sure used to
do my heart lot of good to keel one
of 'em over just when he'd be doing
| some tall sneak on some poor little
| feller of calf when his nanny was
too far away or too weak to get there
| in time to do any protecting.
Like one day, riding along and keep
| ing tab on the weak ones, as usual.
| runs across COW track in the snow
A little baby calf was trying mighty
hard to keep up with her, and a little
| farther on there's two other kinds of
| tracks join in and follows. They're
| big tracks, too big for coyotes, and I
concludes they must be gray wolves
! Now. / know that as a rule wolves
wouldn't tackle them only maybe just
| for the want to kill or when horses is
getting scarce.
Anyway, 1 know I sure like to get
| EN- any time I can, no matter what
| they're after, and spurs up on the
| trail. the 5000 carbine right in my
| hands Sand the business end of it
| pointed straight ahead. Daggone en-
they are after that COW and calf.
. can see that plain enough by the signs
| in the snow where she'd stopped
, made a stand and went on for some
| place Il figgered) where she could back
up alongside cliff or something and
| have only one side to watch from
| / can see the wolves are only after
! little excitement, cause they could
| of killed both her and the calf right
| there and then if they'd wanted to.
! Instead, they just let her go and kept
on aggravating her as she went.
thought to myself, If they're so rear,
| ing for excitement I'd sure be glad to
oblige EN- that way when I catches
up.
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