Redskin and Cow-Boy

ng the whole width of country as they went along. Those from the other ranches would come up from the south, or in from the east, all moving towards a general meeting-plac

l, but more often undulating. The western portion was broken up into valleys and go

-west, the cattle would drift before it, always keeping their heads from the wind, and feeding as they travelled. Sometimes great herds would thus travel hundreds of miles, until brought up by some obstacle. At this time such things as fences were absolutely unknown on the plains, and when, years after, the

twenty or thirty miles of each other, so as to be able to draw together for support should the Indians prove troublesome. It was not until the afternoon that the cow-boys mounted, and the men of each outfit, collecting

d, to wash up pots, pans, and dishes, and to cut wood for the fire. In the latter task he was always assisted by the first arrivals at the camping place. The bread was baked in iron pans. The dough was made of flour and water with a mixture of saleratus, which took the place of yeast, and caused the dough t

pans were washed and packed in the waggon, the horses or mules harnessed, and he started for the spot named as the evening camping ground, where he had his fires lighted and the meal well on its way b

hat apart, and had resented any advances on the part of the strangers. He had now, however, fallen into their ways, and as soon as the saddl

work?" one of the men, known as Long Tom, asked hi

, of course, I have only seen the smooth side of

, it is no joke. I have been a sailor in my time, and I tell you that keeping watch on a wild night at sea isn't a circumstance to it. You know that if the cattle break, you have got to ride and head them off somehow; and I tell you, when you cannot see your horse's ears, and are going at a wild gallop, and know that if he puts his foot in a hole th

ce a horse-gu

lot at present; but I don't think we shall have trouble with them, for we have brought that white jackass along, and the horses are sure to keep round him. There is nothi

s more sense than a horse

replied; "and so have mu

o idea of that," Hugh said. "I should have tho

here a horse would starve. He doesn't get scared and lose his head about nothing as a horse does. If there is a noise, he just cocks one ear forward and makes up his mind wh

say that a donkey can ki

f mares came down the valley where we camped, and he went at the horses and stampeded them all down the valley. Well, we had a jack with us; he did not seem to pay much attention to what was going on until the stallion came rushing at him, thinking no doubt that he was going to knock his brains straight out with

not torn itself away, leaving a big bit of skin and flesh in the jack's mouth. The stallion went up the valley again like a flash, and the jack turned off and went on grazing as if nothing had happene

fastened the ends of their ropes to picket pins driven into the ground, so that they

u know whe

ikely to hear of it. One of the guards will ride in, and talk pretty straight to you, or like enough he will drop his rope round your foot or arm, and give you a jerk th

. Cow-boys are very fond of music, and Sam's accordion helped to while away the evening. For the next two hours there was singi

two of them accompanied the waggon in charge of the spare ho

a third of the number were calves by their mother's side. Some of them were only captured after a long chas

animals that had escaped search at the previous round-up, and it was consequently impossible to tell to what herd they belonged. When the da

rand on them he became the owner; but it was carried on so that the ranche owners all came to an agreement, and any man caught branding cattle with his own brand, except at the regular round-up, got shot. Of

n night guard, while three others, of whom Hugh was one, were to look after the horses. Hugh was to take the first wa

ou needn't even keep on your horse unless you like. As long as they graze quietly leave the

d yards from camp. At his whistle Prince at once trotted out from the rest and came u

e said with a wave of his hand; "y

of their cropping the grass, broken only by that of an occasional stamp of a hoof. He could easily hear the accordion and the singing away back at the camp. When this ceased there came occasionally the crack of a breaking twig as the herd of cattle fo

eighty yards away. Before Hugh had time to think, Broncho Harry, who was his companion, had drawn his revolver, and, as the deer bounded

"I should hardly have thought of

ugh, at over three hundred; but I look upon that as a chance shot. Up to a hundred a man ain't much of a shot who cannot bring down a deer four times out of five. I don't mean hitting. Of course y

horse, and lashed it to the back of the saddle. "I am not particul

ially after living on venison, as I have

t it has got flavour. I don't want to put my teeth into anything better than a good bear ham. If we have any luck we shall get some

y of them out

among the foot-hills. They like to lie on the rocks in t

ple get kill

rough our thick boots. The only danger is when you lie down, or something of that sort. They are fond of warmth,

bite is fatal i

ave spirits out here. I was bit once. There." And he pointed to a scar on his right hand, between the little finger and the wrist. "A rattler bit me just on the fleshy part there. I blew his head off with my revolver, and then whipped out my knife and cut the bit out. There wasn't any dung handy, and I had no spirits, so I broke up a revolver cartridge and poured the powder in, and clapped a match to it. It hurt a bit, of course, because it was bleeding and the

ame to live on rattle

turned his head up the ca?on, and sent him galloping on, and then I sheltered among the rocks. The Indians came up, no doubt, to look for cattle. I heard them pass by and then come galloping down again, and I knew they had happen

pistol was no good, for a shot would have cost me my scalp, sure, and a knife ain't the sort of weapon you would choose to use in a tussle with a rattler. When night came I could have shifted, but I guessed I had got as good a place as another, and I might ha

ithin well-nigh a hundred miles. I felt sure the Injuns wouldn't come up the valley again, but would keep watch at the mouth, for the hills went up both sides and there was no getting out anywhere 'cept there. Soon as it got light I cut a stoutish stick, tore off a strip of my sash, and tied my bowie to the end. Then I hid up agin there, but so that I could see

m. I picked up the body and went back among the bushes, skinned it, cut it up into chunks, and ate it just as it was. That was the first of them, and I had three or four more before the day was over. That night and next day I remained quiet, except to fill up my larder, and the next night crawled down to the mouth of the valley; and just where it narrowed I could hear Injuns talking. They hadn

g off his head, and as they could see nothing of me they must have thought that I had got into some hole and stuck there till I died. Their own water, too, must have been running short, and they couldn't stay any longer; so off they had gone. I wasn't much better off than I was before. They had driven the cattle a

y, choosing a place among the rocks where I could pitch a stone over it and hide the ashes if the Injuns should take it into their heads to pay me another visit. Every morning I cooked enough rattlers for the day, and then took them down and sat among

able for me. Then they wur obliged to go with the rest to drive the cattle into the station, and as soon as they got there they started out again, making up their minds that they wouldn't go back till they found my body. They reckoned for sure that I had been scalped, and never expected to do more for me than to bury me. They had been fou

id. "I suppose people do get lost

ings there ain't much chance for them unless someone happens to come along. They most all go out of their mind the same day. They run a bit and then drop down, and then run another way and drop again. I tell you there ain't a

knew I might chuck away my life by going near enough to rope him. So I fetched out my pistol and took a shot at his ankle, and, of course, down he went. As I expected, he let drop his pistol as he tumbled, and before he could get it again I had ridden up and roped

n the wrong side of them now, and if they was to catch sight of us we should have a long ride before we came up to them. We must

h the plains, had not caught the cat

you are behind them stop until you see me; or, look here, you are new at this sort of thing, so we may a

self that he had not started by himself, for riding up and down the undulations, and making a half-circle as the

and come down on the other side of them. You move on to that bush and wait until you see me coming, and then r

some forty or fifty cattle were grazing. Broncho Harry was already dashing down the opposite slope. For a moment the cattle stood with heads up and snorts of alarm, and then, as the cow-boy uttered a wild yell, dashed off down the hollow. A little behind them, one on

the waggon. "They will go on to the stream and have a drink, and then lie down in the shade of the bush

boy who had remained behind t

n luck-got a goodish

e negro replied, putting h

water, becaus

of fire in the ashes. Not expect anyone b

rying-pan; a hot dinner is better than a cold lu

ho, deer's meat be

cannot go on eating it every day as you can beef, u

ry?" Hugh asked, as they watched the beef

y we might not have got back until after dark; maybe we mightn't have got back until to-morrow. After we have done our meal we will go and see if the cattle have settled down quiet, and i

hose brought in the day before, and th

t has been there ever since we were here a year ago. I mind that someone stuck it up for a tender-foot to shoot at; now, you see me knock it off. Jehoshaphat!" he ex

nder did yo

Hugh said. "I drew my pist

. You come here as a tender-foot, and you can sit on a bucking broncho, you've a good

made up my mind to take to ranching some months ago, and I practised with the pisto

the shot was out of the way, for it wur an easy mark enough at twen

ctising, Broncho. I was told that the g

w-boys, and not having any tins out on the plains he had thrown up sods or the head of a stag for Hugh to fire at. Harry took his place about five yards from Hugh. "Now," he said. Hugh waited until the tin reached the highest point and then fired. It flew upward again; the other five s

. Now stand facing me. We will draw together. Keep your hand down by your side till I say, now; then draw, cock, and pull your trigger. S

ch he could draw, but his pistol was not out of his belt when

it again, lad." Hugh repeated the action. "Waal, that beats me; I can't see how you do it. Your hand goes up to your hip, thar's a twinkle, and thar's the pistol cocked and the hammer falling at once; it's like conjuring! Ju

said. "I have been at it

him, sure. I wouldn't have b'lieved it if I hadn't seen it; it is a kind of lightning trick. It air useful to be able to back an unbroken broncho, it air useful to throw a rope sartin and sure at full gallop over rough ground, but it air fifty times more useful to be able to draw a pistol like a flash as you do. Waal,

fear of quarrelling, everyone seems to be wonderfully good-t

l see that this kind of thing won't last long. When the work gets heavy and men don't get four hours a night in their blankets, and the herds take to stampeding, and one thing and another, men's tempers won't be as they is now; some of them grow sulky, and won't open their lips all day; and others get that crusty that they are r

day, boys, that I have ever had. I looked upon Hugh here as a tender-foot; a good un, but still new to it, and I found out that when it com

tion, for on the plains to doubt a man's word is a

od shot, although maybe there are plenty who can beat him; but when it

r, and he ain't quite sartin in his shooting when he is going at a gallop, although he'll learn that; but as

two or three of the cow-

Hugh said, standing up;

the aim, it's the quickness Bron

And taking a stick of about the thickness of his wrist from the fire, Bill Royce walk

hip, and the burning end of the brand flew in fragments.

ain't so much, it wur the quickness! How on arth did you do it? I had my eyes on your hand, and I don't know how it wur done no more nor a b

hat surprised Hugh. Long Tom picked a tiny gourd, about the diameter of a penny, from a trailing vine common on the plains, and after giving a stir to the fire to make it blaze up, went ten paces awa

to have a try,

if it were fixed at that distance, but I would not try w

erve; but I wouldn't mind holding it out

to he had borne no nickname, being the only one in camp addressed by his simple name; but he found