davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1926-10-31
"Dude Ranch" in Wyoming Furnishes Riding and Fishing
rRerondn Cauo eNontns dsPnlm in Upland

The world of books today has no
Ngure whose career has surpassed
that of Mary Roberts Rinehart. In
the publishing trade she is known
- the author each Of whose books
ARs been a best seller" and whose
annual earnings are very large.
Yet despite her remarkable liter
cry productivity-her writings to
date include nearly 20 books Of fic-
ton, numerous miscellaneous ar
tfcles, and several plays-she has
spent much of her time in Gods
out of doors. There her Zest for
adventure her desire to see strange
places and people. have occasion
ally led her into rarely Travelled
lands, where she has encountered
perils that would have tested the
courage OF hardy. intrepid men.
In this article and two succeeding
ones Mrs. Rinehart recounts some
Of her adventures on Western
ranch and desert and in the wilds
of Lower California. On some Of
her travels she was accompanied
by her husband. DR.. Stanley NJ.
Rinehart-referred to in two of the
articles as 1.-The Head'-and one or
all Of her three sons: at other times
she was without family protec-
ton
Evening star., 1926-10-31
BY MARY ROBERTS RINEHART.

- PRING housecleaning time had
come, at which stressful pc
riod! it Is my duty to go into
~ the storeroom and secretly burn
or give away those various ar
tiCles which my family, which is large.
ly masculine, is always saving against
some future need-odd boots. for
cne.legged mendicant presumably; old
caps. pictures with the glass broken,
expired railway schedules, broken
fishing rods
Broken fishing rods. l sat on a
storeroom chair with a broken rod in
my hands, and ! recalled a number
of things-SuCh as clear mountain
streams and pine trees and wriggling
trout, which. later. were to change to
sizzling trout
And then l got the agents photo
graph Of a house on the New Eng
land Coast, a large house with forget
how many masters bedrooms, and q
billiard room in one wing. and a golf
links in the back yard
The more looked at the picture of
The house the more civilized it seemed
10 me-the more dress every evening
for dinner, the more play bridge on
the veranda every afternoon. And
suddenly ] knew l couldn't bear it.
would have to get into the wilderness
again.
Loud whoops Of joy met my decision
that evening at the dinner table, and
by midnight the orderly shelves of
the storeroom resembled those Of a
rummage sale after a highly success
full day. But it is we'll to say here
that my idea had been accepted with
Evening star., 1926-10-31
tx Bayonets Story of the Marines in Critical War Str166les

Up forward, though. all hell sud
denly broke loose. Artillery. machine
guns. rifles. even the coughing deto-
nations Of grenades, mounted to an
inconceivable fury of sound. Here
comes a battalion runner-there's the
skipper, over there-what'S up, any
Way?"
The second in command came
through his company with a light in
his eyes and he sent his voice before
him. "Deploy the first platoon. Mr..
Langford. Three.pace interval, be
sure Where's Mr.. Connor? Oh.
Chuck, you'll form the second wave
behind Tom. About SO yards. Other
two platoons in column behind the
company flanks. On yo' feet. chillun,
We're goin' up against EN-
And so. all four companies in line,
the 1st Battalion. a thousand men,
went up against the Boche. Cap
tain," said the second in command. as
they started. "we're swingin' half-left.
This tack will take us right to St.
Etienne, won't it? We were pointin'
little one side of it before-major
give you any dope?'
The Boche have come out Of St.
Etienne-two full Infantry regiments,
anyhow, and a bunch of Maxim guns
and hit the second and third in the
flank. Must be pretty bad. We're
goin' up to hit them in the flank our
selves. Bout d kilometer. I'd say.
Wait until their artillery starts this
little promenade. None Of ours in sup
port, you know"
Every man knew. as they moved
out Of the fiat and ascended the slope
ahead, that the case was desperate
but to this end was all their strength
and skill in war, all their cunning
gained in other battles. and their
hearts lifted up to meet what might
come. More interval-more interval
Evening star., 1926-10-31

shelling. They found the companies
of the I'd Battalion digging i'm astride
Il blasted road and went into position
beside them.
I've organized the company sector
with 20 men all we've got left--yOu
and 1 make % reported the second
in command, dropping YEARLY into
the shell hole where the captain had
established himself. Lord, I'm tired
and what | can't see" he
added in some wonder. lingering the
rents in his raincoat. "is why We
weren't killed, too. =
x = =
THAT night. lying in its shallow,
hastily dug holes. the remnant of
the battalion descended through fur
ther hells of shelling. The next night
tins OF beef and bread came up. There
vas some grim laughter when it came.
Captain, reported the one remain
ing sergeant. after distributing ra.
tions in the dark. they sent us chow
according to the last strength report,
three days ago-230-odd rations. The
men are building breastworks out of
the corned-wilIy cans. sir-20 of
'enl----"
Some runners got through. and Di.
vision ~. q. We'll forward in pleas
antiy exposed spot on the Souain road,
Evening star., 1926-10-31

seat one draws to tho surface and
captures with the net that mysterious
and lurking thing we call Il fish.
50 | shall pass lightly over the ad
ventures of the next day. | shall not
enlarge on the speed with which we
caught the club limit. or dilatc on that
debate as To whether they would
count our catch or not. Enough To
say that, in the end. discretion tri
umphed over cupidity. discretion.
and, too. gratitude for the hospitality
the club showed us.
At the end of a glorious morning.
sat back and spoke to that member
of the family who was rowing me
about
We'll, I'll say there are fish in this
lake" | observed.
''YOu tel 'em," hc said COIitcntedly
Having caught the limit that after
noon. we proceeded out of the club
preserves to Il small and higher lake
not far from the snow. Mounted on a
large and unstable horse of the Per
cheron variety. while the men walked.
we found the lake and, at the edge,
boat. Inside the boat was water to
the rim. and ON the water fioated
tin pail
Ii is a popularity of mountain lakes
that they are extremely deep, and
viewed the boat with misgivng, later
justified Nv the facts. For the seams
of that boat had opened. and the mos,
active bdilinE only kept the water
down to ii foot ny So in depth. Such
fish as W" caught swan around in il
ContcntodlT. along with the tails of
my riding coat. the flybOOkS the cam
era ana the head net which a club
member had loaned me against mos
quitOcS.
That night hy u great wood fire.
and stated with the supper trout. we
were prepared To boast bit But the
club members brought out pieces of
wood, on which We're outlined in pen
ell certain mammoth fish, and Our
bOasting died in our throats
Downright 192G)
Evening star., 1926-10-31

On the hill beyond St Etienne new
trenches SCARED the slope; there
were many Germans milling there,
some 1900 yards away. Save your
ammunition and lay low" the word
was passed. We're on our own
out here" And the battalon--a very
small battalion now. little more than
a hundred men-,lay along the crest
they had stormed. with their dead
and wounded and the Boche dead
and wounded around them.
x =
4 LMOST Immediately the Boche
began to react. He opened on
them a storm Of fire. high explosive
and shrapnel. and his machine guns
dinned fiercely. A counter attack
began to form toward St Etienne
Sweating gunners struggled into po-
sition with the two machine guns
that We're left in the battalion, and
these. with their crews. were knocked
out by shell fire before either had
been in action long enough to fire a
clip. But the rifles gave tongue and
continued to speak-the last few men
are always the most difficult to kill
and the Boche had little taste for
rifle fire that begins to kill at 700
yards. That counter-attack shortly
returned whence il came. and the
Evening star., 1926-10-31

reservation. The work, according
to the council, had tired me.
Therefore / was not Immediately to
mount some patient animal and, fish
ing rod and raincoat on the cantle of
my saddle and pack train with food
and tents behind. lead my little pro-
cession to divers sunny Western
peaks. trout streams. mosquitoes,
trails and sloughs that wot of. l
was first to go to 'the ranch"
The West is full of ranches, but to
us there is just "the ranch" 1t is not
our ranch, save by right of affection
and that modest sum which places it
at our disposal-horses, corral, trout
stream, mountains. canons and cow
punchers-for such periods as we
choose. 1t is. indeed, for the truth
must out eventually, what is locally
known as a dude" ranch
Its name does not mean thar 1t is
run in Gudish manner, this particu-
lar one being indeed owned and man.
aged by a group of un-browned gen.
tlemen who are of the old, quick
shooting. ride -all-day- -and-any horse
vareity-gentlemen to whom a rope
is to hang things with and to catch
horses, rather than for wash-day pur-
poses.
y =
A DUDE ranch is one which dur
ing nine months Of the year raises
alfalfa, horses, cows. punchers, wran-
glers and prices for beef on the hoof.
And for three months of that time
takes Eastern livers and Eastern
nerves. at so much per liver or nerve,
and. by putting their possessors in the
saddle. so distracts their attention to
other parts of their bodies that they
almost at once forget the aforesaid
L. and n.
To the Northwestern cowman any
thing from east of the river is a dude
He is, however, not dude on his own
side Of the bank. 1t is when he is
transplanted that he becomes ore
The dude, then, is man temporarily
without a country. and is known by
the following hallmarks:
He wears full-cut riding breeches.
He smokes machine made cigarettes
He calls the men of the outfit Cow
boys"
He makes invidious comments about
Western saddles.
He believes-correctly- all
range horses will buck some time or
other
He paid s85 for his trout reel.
He rises in the saddle to trot.
Probably no one of his markings
renders MIN so liable to scorn and
contempt as this last one. The West
ern man does not rise. He sits tight,
and I would personally give a fair
amount to know how he does 1t.
have two outdoor faults. l lift my
mead at golf and my body on West
ern horse. For the head lifting, / am
considering an appliance of which one
end Is tied to the belt and the other
Evening star., 1926-10-31

one that followed it went back also.
Whitehead of the 9th Company
pumped down alongside the captain
of the 10th. Small. very quick and
wiry. with his helmet cooked on the
side of his head, he gave the impress
sion of fierce and warlike little
hawk. Hunts comm over Fran
els he said. Bad place; worst l
ever saw. Got about 80 men left.
Hell that our machine guns got
Knocked out SO quick, wasn't 1t?
Must be two regiments of Fritzies on
our front yonder."
Capt. Hunt. senior in the field,
big. imperturbable Californian. came,
and Lieut.. Kelly. promoted by cas-
ualties in the last hour to command of
the 66th Company. How does it look
TO YOU. gentlemen" said Hunt.
Damned bad" was the consensus of
opinion, with profane embellishments
Followed some technical discussion
Well concluded the senior captain,
we've accomplished our mission
broke up their attack-better hook
up with the rest of the regiment.
Wen find them through the woods to
the right. Move off your companies
Kelly. you go first
Nobody remembers very clearly that
swing to the right, through a hail Of
machine gun fire. and an inferno of
Evening star., 1926-10-31
Woman Writer, Responding

gripped firmly in the teeth, but for
the rising to the trot, have no hope
whatever.
l have tried the dangling method,
by which ones feet are out of the
StirrupS entirely, and the gripping
| method, by which ones knees hold the
animal in a death strangle until they
develop a species of paralysis. I have
tried holding myself down with a hand
on the saddlehorn. But the plain
truth is that, with every effort. l go
up as fast as the horse does, but come
down more slowly.
So long as l have this fault, the re-
suit of expensive Eastern training. so
long as l post the trot, | shall be
dude. No long and worthy record of
packtrain trips, of mountain work. of
nights on the ground of bacon and
fiapjacks will remove the stigma.
The council. then, had decided on
the ranch first. After that. we had in
contemplation the further excursion,
one of 700 miles through the desert
in Arizona and New Mexico. But the
ranch was to come first.
On a Summer afternoon, therefore,
the tenderfoOt part of the family ar
rived at small railway station at the
foot of the Big Horn Mountains, in
Wyoming. For some time we had
been approaching the mountains, and
that call which they never lose to
those who have fought and conquered
them was very strong.
Always the mountains rest me, even
when they frighten me. Always lone
ly. always vast and still, the first
light of day and the last is theirs. To
those that love them, each peak Is q
finger which beCkonS and calls. and
even in their shadows there is peace
The mountain air was pungent and
cool. On the platform we drew long
breaths and looked around Ahead
the rows OF those vast trunks which
were necessitated by the fact that
every member of the party had
brought the accumulated outing stuff
of dozen years.
THAT night we slept in a row on
back veranda of our little cot
tage, and directly underneath a trout
stream roared and laughed at u.s.
Laughed because it could see, on a
stand near the edge, the / trout reels
and s rods, the flies and eXtractors
and fishing knives and landing nets
and stringers and creels and artificial
grasshoppers with which we meant
to fool it. And did not.
Now, a dude ranch, at least the
ranch of which / am speaking, is not
single house. 1t is about the size of
small town. During the height of
the season, $50 aSsortmentS of recOv-
ering overWorked nerves and sluggish
livers will be found at one time
housed in tiny cottages or tents.
The ranch is at its best in the morn
ing. Toward the corral, before
O'Clock, go long lines of booted. quirt
Evening star., 1926-10-31
Fight hard-boiled eggs,

FIght hard boiled eggs,
One comb,
One Jar salmon eggs.
Four cakes chocolate
The reason for the food was this:
One member of our party was sure
he knew short cut 1t is my in
variable rule, when any one knows
u short cut. to take food along.
X y
/ ONG before the ranch was awake
we had breakfasted on fried ham,
wheat cakes and coffee. And in the
gray dawn we started up the canyon
trail. The brawling stream on our
left, we climbed the steep and rocky
trail. 1000 feet of rise and of solid
effort. to where, in the upland
meadows, great herds of cattle stood
among the flowers. The sun came up,
and the snow-topped mountains which
were our destination seemed very,
very far away.
Back into the wilderness we pushed
through green valleys trimmed with
gray cliff walls, fording streams, sur
prising a deer. losing the tiny trail in
some creek bed or valley and finding
it again. Now and then / stopped. os-
tensibly to look at the view, but really
to rest. For the slow gait of a horse
on a dangerous trail is rackin&s one
and every twist of a climbing animal
is a twist for its rider.
SO, all day long we rode and climbed,
and, at last, we came to real ford
1t looked a simple matter, but that
ford was a delusion and a snare. Our
horses knew. They reared and
whirled. and so did the icy water from
the snow peaks.
But we kicked them into it. and in
IN Mt S.if In no
Of that polar stream, with only my
horses head out Of water, while my
riding boots and my pockets filled,
while a terrible rigor shook my spinal
column. and while the aforementioned
robe de mutt. ct cetera, wilted and
drowned.
At last we were out, and about to
Evening star., 1926-10-31

0ulit up a picture of Il situation suf-
hciently interesting. Four infantry
regiments were thrust SaWWiSe north
N"$t to northeast Of Blanc Mont; all
we're isolated from each other and
from tho French. who had Jagged be-.
hind tn" TANKS. -Four little islands
n turbulent BoChc sen, and the old
Boch" doing hi, damnedest.
More days ana nights. slipping.
oharaCterlc@s into each o;ncr. .,rirI.
less than a company in strength, the
lSt Battalion of the 9TH was moi
called on TO attack again. They Iat
In their holes and endured. Ana
after certain days the division was
relieved. The battalion marched out
nt night. The drluuning thunder of
the guns fell behind them and no man
turned his fac" To look again on the
bal"ful lights of tt" front.
ON the road they passed Il regiment
Of TN" relieving division full. strong
companies OF National Guardsmcn
They went up one side of the road
and in ragged columns Of twoS. un-
slightly even in th" dim and fitful
light. til" Marines plOdded down the
other side. They We're utterly weary.
with Shufting feet and hanging heads
The division had just done something
that those old masters in the art OF
war. the French, and tho world after
them, including Ludendorff, were To
acknowledge remarkable. They had
hurled the Boche from Blanc Mont
and freed the sacred city of Rheims
They had paid price hideous even
for this war. And they were spent
If there was any idea in those hanging
heads. it was food and rest
The Guard companies gibed at the
shrunkcn battalion as they passed
Singing and Joking they went High
words Of courage were on their lips.
and nervous laughter. Save for -
wearY random curse here and there
tho battalion did not answer.
"1fclI. them birds don't know no bot
ter ieh. We went up sing
in too, once good Lord. how long
ago. They won't sing when
they come out-Or any time after
( III this war. Damn you, can't YOU
march on your own side of the ro:s..?
How much room you need"
1t was nice, back in billets. rest:nc
between battles, to sit on a bench in
the sun and watch the world go L,..
odette. the strapping and gen.eel
daughter of the baker of Crouett-sur-
Marine, here herds the duck Anatole
into the courtyard OF her mothers
bakery. on. Boulanger was last heard
from on the Chemin des Danes: Nine.
Roulanger keeps the establishment go.
tnSJ The duck Anatoe has been or.
! dered for dinner by two lieutenants
OF the lst Battalion. the consideration
/ being 81 francs so centimes. Two pri
Yates of the 49th Company are choir
ing softly 'Mademoiselle from Armen
there's" as she passes. 1t is lust as
We'll that neither Odette nor Anatole
romprend fanrl7iS
tCUpS rI2ht I9"6t
Evening star., 1926-10-31

ed and breeched people of both sexes
to write their names down for a horse
that morning. mo name, no horse -
is the ranch rule.
My name was the signal for the
corral boss or his assistant to ride
rope in hand, into that maelstrom OF
whirling, nipping horsefesh. single
out my animal, throw a rope over his
head and then drag him out to where
the saddle boss stood ready, with his
assistants to go through with the
following motions:
!. Put a bit between two tightly
clenched sets of large, cannibal-look-
ing teeth
.. Throw on the saddle blanket
while the horse tries to get out from
under it.
s. Heave on the heavy saddle while
the horse tries to step on his foot.
a. Cnch the saddle.
). Listen to my complaints about
the saddle; and,
6. Lead the horse unostentatiously
to a Sloping place. so l may leap on
his back as | am shown doing in NOV
ing pictures and various photographs.
The names of Western horses-of all
horses, for that matter-are amusing.
One Summer, for instance, | rode in
succession Highball. Budweiser, Bran
dy and Cheerio. This last year, how
ever, in Difference to the prohibition
amendment and probably to my occu-
patton, l was given Ink Spot.
Later on | rode Mig, a fine big
black. with a disconcerting habit of
toying innocentlY with his bit until he
got it in his front teeth. That accom-
plished, it was Nig's habit to go some
where with extreme rapidity.
In those cases. when it seemed best
to so along. owing to a lack of soft
places to fall off in. I sometimes sue
cumbed to that crOWning ignOminy Of
clutching the saddle horn while | re-
monstrated with Mig in calming tones
and tried to steer him away from
gopher holes. Sooner or later. he
would stop, having had his run, and |
would look behind at the rest of the
party and pretend l had wanted a lit
tie run.
The weeks went on. Frontier day
was approaching, and still we had not
gone fishing. Then, one sunny after
noon, | got out my rod and reel, my
penknife for cutting the hook out of
my clothing, my trout flies and a sur
reptitiOus can of worms, for worms
are not entirely ethical in the profess
sion of trout catching.
Alone, and ever and anon catching
my rod in underbrush. I wandered to
those upper reaches near the canon
from which an Omaha gentleman was
returning each day with heavy spoil
To reach these pools, it was neces-
sary 10 slide and fall down a steep
cliff like place, carrying in my teeth
as much of my impedimenta as was
possible.
Halfway down. | spilled the worms.
Wrenched a knee. All the wav down.
Evening star., 1926-10-31

from him by the World-shattering con-
cussion.
The second in command was pulled
to his feet by Gunner Nice, who had
taken the second platoon. His head
lolled stupidity moment. then he
heard words-"an' that shell got all
the captains group, sir-all of EN-.
An my p!atoon's all casualties--"
He pulled himself together as he went
forward. His raincoat was split up
the back. under his belt. His map
case was gone--the strap that had
secured it hung loosely from his
shoulder There was blood on his
hands and the salt taste of it in his
mouth, but it didn't seem to be his.
And the front of the battalion was
very narrow now. The support
piatoons were all in the line. Strang-
est of all. the gray slope was behind
them-the trees on the crest were
only few yards away.
Behind and to the left the machine
guns still raved, but the artillery fell
away. A Greenish rocket flared from
the pines ahead and right in the
faces of the painting marines ma
chine guns and rifles blaZed. In the
shadow of the pines We're men in
cumbersome greengray uniforms,
with faces that looked hardly human
under deep round helmets. With
eyes narrowed. bodies Slanting for
ward like men in heavy rain. the
remnant of the battalion went to
them.
1t was the flank of the Boche col
umn which had come out of st.
Etienne and struck the leading bat
talions of the 5th. 1t had watched
first with keen delight, then with in
credulity, the tortured advance of the
battalion. 1t had waited too long to
open It's own fire. And now, already
shaken by the sight of these men who
would not die, it shrank from the
long American bayonetS and the pit
iless. furious faces behind the steel.
A few Brandenburger Zealots elected
TO die on their splitting Maxim guns,
working them until bayonets or
dubbed rifles made an end. \ few
iron -souled PrusSians-the BOche had
such men--stood up to meet baYonet
with bayonet, and died that way.
A great many more flung away
their arms and hleated 'kamaraden
10 men who in that red minute knew
no mercy. Some hid in holes, or
feigned death, to he hunted out as
the press thinned. There was a bat
terry of field guns down the slope,
500 yards or SO. The gunners-those
who were lucky-took to cover after
the first burst of fire. Thank Gawd
fer shot at them dam artil.erymen,
Battle-sight, an aim low. you birds
don't let any OF them get away"
Sergeant, reckon the looten
ant would let us go down an take
them 77s?"-"Shut up an work yo'
bolt, you dam fool!-Whatinell you
think YOU area army core 9"-"Be-
sides, Mr.. Connor's dead-''