Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1935-06-15

/ 4ALI MEAC IA EAAAEAJ WA&t~A S~A&a@1 VIZ
fed and strong, and shod all arouns
with heavy, sharp-calked iron worI
shoes for service on icy roads. Eaci
wagon, with its dingy canvas cove
stretched tightly over strong ash bows
was bedecked with camp tools anc
equipment. On one side hung tent
poles, noSebags and halters; on the
other, in rawhide holsters, were axes
saws and shovels. A projecting rack q,
the rear held q tent, the drivers bed
roll and box Of miscellaneous small
tools, nails, bolts and screws as well as
frying pans and coffee pots. Coils OF
extra rope swung from the sides Of the
box. Two heavy roughlock chains were
looped across its front ALI in all, each
wagon was a unit unto itself ready foE
any emergency.
Interiors of the wagon were fitted to
| give as much protection against cold as
possible. Boxes were lined with heavy
canvas to keep out the wind Buffalo
robes covered the floors. Set In boxes
Of sand, small stoves, whose pipes pro-
truded through iron guards in the wag-
on covers, furnished heat. but never
enough to make the travellers really
comfortable. Without them, however,
the trip would have been almost unen-
durable for women and children.
The front OF our wagon, under the
drivers seat, was loaded with a tier Of
sacked oats for the horses With these
for back rest and fathers tool chest
on the wagon bottom for a seat, the
whole covered with a buffalo robe,
mother had a fairly comfortable place
in which to ride, facing the little stove
and holding the Siren in her arms.
Other members of the family sat on
bedding rolls elsewhere in the wagon
and found what comfort they could as
the wagon jolted over the rough, frozen
road.
In early morning o6 a midwinter day
the start was made. The little town in
Last Chance gulch was scarcely awake
when the teams assembled in front of
Lehmans grocery, which opened by
lamp light during the short winter
days. Buffeted by keen blasts that
swept down from nearby mountains,
few early birds Scurried along the
streets, half-blinded by fine snow dash
ed In their faces by the eddying gusts,
and wondered how the women and
children in the wagons would keep from
freezing.
While sunrise was yet roseate glow
in the east, the drivers climbed to their
seats. They were clad in buffalo over
coats, 10-inch leather belts, felt boots
and overshoes, heavy wool shawls over
their shoulders, doubled across their
chests; silk handkerchiefs over their
ears and two pairs of loose fitting
gloves on their hands. Inner gloves
were Of Isle thread, the outer Of heavy
buckskin.
The fun force Of the wind was felt
as the teams passed from the shelter
OF Last Chance gulch to the level
stretches Of Prickly Pear valley. From
beneath low purplish-gray wind clouds |
clinging TO the continental divide, cold |
air swept down the valleys of Ten |
Mile and Seven Mile In wild fury, |
laden with fine snow particles whirled |
from the ground and carried on by the /
gusts. Entering through cracks and |
crannies, the fine snow sifted onto the |
occupants Of the wagons and added a |
chill the little stoves and the sunshine /
on the wagon covers could not dispel. /
Progress was slow. The cold, brittle |
snow drifted in the road and hindered
like so much dry sand. Cutting into
1t deeply, the wheels carried the fine
loose particles up to where they were
caught by the wind and, after whirl-
ing moment in the lee Of the wagons,
went scooting off across the valley like
dust. The horses had no footing and
slipped and slid continually. Two and |
q half to three miles an hour was all
they we're able to travel under such
conditions.
In sheltered spot among the willows
on Silver creek a noon halt was made
The horses were watered, fed and al
lowed long rest Coffee and a hearty
lunch served in the sunshine by q hot
campfire IN spot not reached by the
wind put every one in good spirits.
Even the siren" forgot for a time
his self-appointed task Of making life
miserable for others, and stopped cry
ing.
To work off stored up energy and
timber their legs after the mornings
ride, the Sirens brothers climbed a
bank across the road to the sagebrush
flat above. They were scarcely on top
when 40 or so sage hens burst from the
snow and roared into the air. The
noise OF an adult sage hen taking off
at ones feet almost rivals that Of a
small plane. The startled boys first
thought their end had come. Re
turning to the road a hundred yards or
more above camp, through a patch of
ouckbrush, they flushed a large flock
Of willow, or sharp tailed, grouse. These
sailed cackling over the camp and Lit
a few hundred yards down the creek ]
IN the edge Of the willows.
The sight of the prairie chickens, as !
the sharptails were called, reused the ]
TWO hunters of the party to activity and |
they were not long In getting out their !
double barreled Misunderstanding shot ]
guns and following the flock. Out of
meat, not sport, 1t mattered little to /
hem whether they killed the birds on /
the ground or In the air. They were {
ike the halfbreed who, when asked l
4 he shot his birds on the wing, re
0lied: {
Eyes. shoot 'em on the wing, shoot /
em on the tail, shoot EN- anywhere.
In a short time seven or eight birds '
we're killed. Swinging onto the hills '
N returning TO camp the hunters found ]
he flock of sage hens and bagged sew I
.ral. IL
The two boys were much interested (
when the birds were being dressed to Z
ind that, while the prairie chickens t
lad gizzards, the sage hens were pro
1ded with capacious gtonachs similar c
o rabbits. Some writer's believe that '
this largest American member Of the /
rouse family we're provided with a | q
izzard instead Of stomach, It might | &
le far more palatable. In
The afternoons journey lay up Sill \