The Last of the Plainsmen

swept trail. We pursued a southwesterly course now, following the lead of the craggy red wall that stretched on and on for hundreds of miles into Uta

a long time catching up to it with a team of horses. Possibly we never would have caught it had not a stone checked its flight. Further manifestation of the power of the desert wind surrounded us on all sides. It had hollowed out huge stones from the cliffs, and

e height of the plateau, Jones woke u

mountain. From this I got my first clear impression of the topography of the country surrounding our objective point. Buckskin mountain ran its blunt end eastward to the Canyon-in fact, formed a hundred miles of the

round, and that a little scant silvery grass had made its appearance. Then

ell. I was more startled by the yell than by the great hand h

ook! the buffal

not Jones's incentive, but I felt enthusiasm born of the wild and beautiful picture, and added my yell to his. Th

by the Canyon. Here was a range of twenty-four hundred square miles without a foot of barb-wire, a pasture fenced in by natural forces,

romptly jumped at Moze. His selection showed poor discrimination, for Moze whipped him before I could separate them. Hearing Jones heartily greeting some one, I turned in his direction, on

wiry, and had a big, ferocious mustache, the effect of which was softened by his kindly brown eyes. Jim was tall, a littl

ou all," said Jim, in slo

eady gotten down; "an' come in. You must be worked out. Sure you've come a long w

coyote skins on the wall, saddles and cowboys' traps in a corner, a nice, large, promising cupboard,

before me, with the last of the old plainsmen. No wonder a sweet sense of ease stole over me, or that the fire seemed a

ones, punching me in my sore side. "

away from his Native Wilds, Jones had been a silent man; it had been almost impossible to get anything out of him. But now I saw that I should come to know the real man. In a very few m

Indians and mustang hunters, was settled upon. Then the gigantic task of transporting the herd of buffalo by rail from Montana to Salt Lake was begun. The two hundred and ninety miles of desert lying between the home of the Mormons and Buckskin Mountain was an obstacle almost insurmountable. The journey was undertaken and found even m

desert storm or blizzard and stand stock still in his tracks until the weather cleared. He became quite domestic, could be easily handled, and grew exceedingly fat on very little provender. The folds of his stomach were so numerous that they digested even the hardest and flintiest of corn. He had fourteen ribs on each s

about the twenty cattalo calves. He called different buffalo by name; and designated the calves by descriptive terms, such as "Whitefa

an-Mr. Wallace, I think

didn't show up. Either he backed out or missed us. I'm sorry; for when we get

dryly, with a twinkle in his eye. "The buffs are in

ow about cougar sig

miles. We'll ooze over that way, as it's goin' toward the Siwash. The Siwash breaks of the Canyon-there's the place for li

pressed a desire to

sneaked in an' downed him. The lions over there are sure a bold bunch. Well, why shouldn't they be? No one ever hunted them. You see, the mountain is hard to get at. But now you're here, if it's big cats you want we sure can find them. Only be

ith a glass from the El Tovar. We wanted to cross that way, but Rust said

was too early to come that way. There's only about three m

nes I brought never smelled a lion track. Hounds can't be trained quick wit

s a long time to break a hound off of deer, once he's chased them. Buckskin is full of deer, wol

ear? Has he got a good nose? Here he is-I like

hear him on a trail. Sounder has a nose that can't be fooled, an'

ine head, great brown eyes, very long ears and curly brownish-black hair. He wa

, decisively, after his study of Sounder. "He and Mo

ank. "Sounder is no spring chicken; an' that black and dirty white cross between a

a smile of conscious supe

He had been silent, and now his meditative gaze was on the west, through the cabin window, w

h pictures and fancies. The other fellows dropped off to sleep, and quiet reigned. Suddenly a succession of queer, sharp barks came from the plain, close to the cabin. Coyotes were paying us a call, and judging from the chorus of yelps and howls from our dogs, it was not a welcome visit.

sted excruciatingly, my lips burned and bled, and the cold I had contracted on the desert

u can ride?"

to start out on a jaunt with Buffalo Jones without being a good horseman. To be unable to stick on the back of a wild mustang, or a cayuse,

he saddle, and when he called me I did not fail to catch a covert twinkle in his merry brown eyes. Looking away toward Buckskin Mountain, whi

d to Frank and Jim much as Central Park equestrians had often looked to me. Frank shouted after me that he would catch up with us out on the range. I was not in

s-formed of running water from the corrals-greete

e buffalo hate white horses-anything white. They're liable

mething was going to happen, the particular

value of three different kinds of grass, one of which he called the Buffalo Pea, noteworthy for a beautiful blue blossom. Soon we passed out of sight of the cabin, and could see only the billowy plain, the red tips of the stony

spurring his big bay, h

inction. I cast one unmentionable word on the breeze toward the cabin and Frank, then put mind and muscle to the sore task of remaining with Spot. Jones was born on a saddle, and had been taking his meals in a saddle for about sixty-three years, and the bay horse could run. Run is not a felicitous word-he flew. And I was rendered mentally deranged for the moment to see that hundred paces between the bay and Spot materially lessen at every jump. Spot lengthened out, seemed to go down near the ground, and cut the air like a high-geared auto. If I had not heard the fast rhythmic beat of his hoofs, and h

him. Then I almost rode him down. I don't think the calf was much hurt. But those blood-thirsty devils will return, and like as not get the calf. That's the worst of cattle raising. Now, take the buffalo. Do you suppose those wolves could have gotten a buffalo calf out from under the mothe

idges, flats and hollows, searching for the buffalo. At length we spied a cloud

rd, and is driving it this w

compact mass, so dense that I could not count them, but I estimated the number at seventy-five. Frank was riding zigzag behind them, sw

, in ecstatic tones. "See how shy they ar

sful attempts to photograph them, and gave it up when Jones told me not to rid

rd. I heard the click of the instrument as he snapped a picture, and then

ralyzed at the wonderfully swift action of the shaggy brute, and I sat helpless. Spot wheeled as if he were on a pivot and plunged out of the way with a celerity that was astounding. The buffalo s

wrong to put an inexperienced man on Spot. For that matter,

sual spirit was absent from his voice, and he glanced at me soberly. I kn

you?" cried Jones. "I don

d were uneasily shifting to and fro. The bull lif

e rolling, sweeping, bearing down upon us. They expanded, blossoming out like gigantic roses

yelled Frank to me. "We've had some bad ones latel

bent to the ground; round bunches of sage went rolling before us. The puffs grew longer, steadier, harder. Then a shrieking blast howled on our trail, seeming to swoop down on us with

dly stick on the saddle. Almost before I had dared to hope, Spot stopped. Uncovering my face, I saw Jim in the doorway of the lee sid

the cabin and fell upon a buffalo robe and lay there absolutely spent. Jones and

our clothes, spoiled our food and blinded our eyes. Wind, snow, sleet and rainstorms are discomforting enou

And sure enough the roar died away about five

ons and a very tall man whom none of us knew. He was a sand-man. All that was not sand seemed a space o

n' come in, stranger,

do, sir,"

the stranger, with a grim smile. The sand streamed off his coat in

day late at the Little Colorado, saw your train cross Moncaupie Wash, and missed you because of the sandstorm there. Saw you from the other sid

I guess he won't hang fire on a long cougar chase." And Jim-slow, careful Jim, dropped a plate with the ex

te from the Mormons on that dry desert ride, and it was greeted with acclamations of pleasure. Wallace, divested of his sand guise, beamed with the gratification of a hungry man once more in the presence of friends and food. He made

d buffalo. Jones told of our experience out on t

elk at the wrong time. I pleaded with them not to undertake it. They had not studied animals as I had. That tame elk killed all of them. He had to be shot in order to get General Bull off his great antlers. You see, a wild animal must learn to respect a man. The way I used to teach the Yellowstone Park bears to be respectful and safe neighbors was to rope them around the front paw, swing them up on a tree clear of the ground, and whip them with a long pole. It was a dangerous business, and l

ade a lance by driving a nail into the end of a short pole and sharpening it. After he had chased me, I wheeled my broncho, and hurled the lance into his back, ripping a wound as long as my hand. That put the fear of Providence into him and took

ter of the herd. It was sure death to go near this one. So I shipped in another Weetah, hoping that he might whip some of the fight out of old Manitou, the Migh

ing that neither bull dared take his eyes off his adversary for a second, I felt reasonably safe. The old Weetah beat the new champion out that night, but the next morning they were at it again,

thy with their methods of reasoning. No tenderfoot stands

he told reminiscences of his eventful life, in a simple manner; yet s

ing a full-grown buffalo, how did you earn the name o

ailing any means like that, they would lie down, will themselves to die, and die. Think of a savage wild nature that could will its heart to cease beating! But it's true. Finally I found I could keep only calves under three months of age. But to capture them so young entailed time and patience. For the buffalo fig

e voice. Had the silent plainsman ever told a complete and full story o

ddy embers glowed; one of Jim's pots steamed musically and

over features we recognized as wonderful, I allowed the fire of my imagination to fuse for myself all the toil, patience