Happy Days: A Paper for Young Americans — page 14: what you’re looking at

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14 Little Lariat and the mustanger pulled 1 Pat the same instant both made a dis- covery which thrilled them, At some dis- tance coming from beyond a motte which was of somewhat greater extent than those singular “‘ islands” of timber on the great plains usually are, they saw a herd of wild mustangs, They were heading toward the stream, and it seemed, if they did not change their course, they would reach it at a point about a quarter of a mile south of the place where the two horse hunters had halted. ‘*There they are, and a herd of mares, some thirty odd in number, at least, I should say! But I don’t see asingle stallion among them,” said Matt. ‘‘Isn't that queer?’ answered Little Lariat. ‘*‘ There is always a stallion ina herd of mares, and he always acts as the leader of the herd, you know.” ‘It is queer,as you say. But maybe the stallion of this herd has been recently cap- tured, and another has not come to join them yet,” answered Matt. ‘* Hal Look there!” he added, almost in- stantly. And just then Little Lariat saw a black stallion gallop into sight from the sha- dows of the motte in the rear of the herd and make for the front, But the next moment the lad’s heart seemed to leap to his throat in one great bound of intense excitement, as a beautiful ure white stallion galloped into sight rom the motte, evidently in pursuit of the black. At one glance the lad saw the strange surcingle of buckskin upon the back of the white mustang, and he cried out ina voice that trembled with intense excite- ment: ** There he is at last! The white mustang with the belt of gold!” “By gum, yer right, boy!” answered Matt, scarcely less excited than the boy. Fortunately they were to the windward of the mustangs and the latter had not scentéd them. | They kept their horses motionless and watched the white mustang with almost breathless interest. And it is safe to say they were both delighted to see the sur- cingle of buckskin was yet apparently safe on the white stallion, The latter snorted and screamed as the wild stallions do when fighting, and he kept on after the black. But suddenly the latter halted and wheeled about. In a mo- re ee i di at it with eth an oof: perately, and er oes Sani ng Copperately ne surcingle of gold should be torn from the back of the white, and the precious con- tents scattered and trampled into the earth, ‘*Ah, I understand it all! The white stallion tried to join this herd of which the black is the leader, They are now fightin to settle which one shall be the leader hereafter, It is always this way. The wild stallions are always fighting for leader- ship,” said Matt. They watched the battle between the two stallions, filled with excitement and inter- est. The fight was a fierce one, Snorting and screaming, the two stallions reared and struck at each other with their hoofs, and bit viciously. Round and round each other they cir- cled, pawing the air, now charging, now each with his teeth fixed in the neck of the other. And the muzzle of the white stallion was soon red with his blood, But at the outset the white seemed to be the more active and courageous, and ere long he had the black in full flight, whip- and thoroughly cowed, it seemed, for e ran on and on, and the white pursued him, until at last, as if disgusted with the conduct of his late antagonist, he came prancing back to the herd with his neck prone arched, whinnying and showing off SS ny is paces, as much as tosay: ‘“ Behold, I am the victor and your new leader,” And still the strange surcingle remained upon his back. The teeth of the black stallion had not torn it from its place, nor did it seem to have been rent to any ex- tent in the recent fight. ** He’s a noble fellow, that white stallion, and the black has got enough and won’t trouble him any more. See, the black is still running away. Now he'll hunt up some other fhatd, and there’ll be another battle of stallions,” said Matt, “Yes, yes. But now to capture the white stallion! We must never lose track of him again,” the lad answered, ‘*No, I'll have a try at him with the las- so or the rifle, as circumstances seem to say will answer the best. Do you remain here, boy, and I'll creep along down to where the herd will strike the stream,” replied Matt. aping from his animal, he threw the bridle rein to the lad, and taking his lasso and rifle with him, he stole along inthe timber stealthily until he arrived near the place where the mustangs seemed likely to reach the water. There he crouched down in the bushes, The mustangs, now triumphantly led by ‘ “SHAPPY DAYS et the white stallion, continued to approach, but as luck would have it, the wind began to shift, and presently it was blowing JSrom Matt directly toward the mustangs, who were yet beyond riflerange of the con- cealed horse hunters. : Suddenly the white mustang halted, threw up his head and began to sniff the air, while his delicate nostrils dilated and his small ears became erect. ‘‘It’s allup with my plan to get a shot at him or use the lasso,” thought Matt, very much disappointed. He was right. The white mustang must have at once scented him, for in a moment he uttered a warning snort which caused all the mares to prick up their ears and stand sniffing. Then, with a defiant toss of his long main, the white stallion wheel- ed about and went galloping away. _ The mares followed him, and Matt rush- ed out of the bushes and signaled Little Lariat to come on with the horses. This the boy did. Matt leaped into the saddle as soon as the boy rode up with his horse. ‘* Now then, we’ve got to set in to ‘walk down’ that herd! The mares belong to this range. They will follow the white stallion as long as he sticks to it, but he can’t lead them off of it, and he won’t de- sert the mares!” said the mustanger, hast- y- : ‘** If it was not that I fear we might thus call the greasers or the Indians down on us, we might now fire a volley of shots in the hope of thus bringing our comrades here. But as things are you had better ride to the place where we agreed to.camp to-night, and tell the men when they come in, that [ have started to ‘ walk down’ the white mustang an’ a herd he’s jined. Tell "em I'll sound my whistle when the chase brings me anywhere near the camp. Then two of them will ride out to relieve me, and continue the chase of the herd.” ‘* Allright! You may be sureI’ll be one of the first to take your place to follow the white stallion,” answered Little Lariat, And then, as eS, Matt galloped away after the fleeing herd, the lad wheeled his horse and rode at full speed up the stream, ; ’ - He kept Lexington on at his best speed. Sometime after the night, which was a bright moonlight one, had completely fall- en, he reached the camp where he found all the horse hunters had already come in, He hastened to tell them of the discovery of the white mustang, and he repeated cS a Were trom that time on the alert to hear Matt’s whistle, Little Lariat and one of the party stood ready to mount and dash away the instant they heard the signal, yY” CHAPTER XIL § | LITTLE LARIAT ALONE IN PURSUIT OF THE WHITE MUSTANG, DuRING the day, which had closed, Lit- tle Lariat had ridden his horse, Lexington, many miles, and the animal needed rest, so the lad had picketed him out to graze, and one of the party had suggested that as the re estes mustang which had been captured in the morning had rested all day, the boy should ride him when he went to relieve eae Matt. Little Lariat had fallen in with this sug- gestion, and he held the captured mus- tang by the bridle as he waited to hear Matt’s whistle. Hicks, the mustanger, whom we have pebbignes 3 had occasion to introduce by name, volunteered to acccompany the lad, And he had selected one of the mustangs, which seemed to be less jaded than any of the other animals, that had been ridden |’ during the day. Ma The chosen mustang was a wiry, iron gray, and as the man who had ridden him was the first one to return to the camp that evening, the little horse had rested longer than his companions. : Some hours elapsed, while Little Lariat and Hicks impatiently waited for the sig- nal, which was to call them to take the place of Mustang Matt as pursuers of the white mustang and his herd, And at length the boy became very un- easy. He began to imagine many things which might have occurred tocarry the mustang- er chief far away from the camp, and to cause the animal with the treasure secured upon him to again become lost to him. ‘IT wonder why we hear nothing of Matt —why he does not sound his whistle to call us?” he said, anon. ‘** Well, you know that for the first few hours, when they are chased, the wild mustangs run as fast as they kin, an’ the hunter has all he can do to keep them in sight, an’ fust off, the herd may have raced away ter the part of their range furthest from our camp, But don’t lose heart, lad, The wild mustangs ain't likely to go back on their habits, just ter spite us this time. They are sure to travel in a circle round their range in the end, an’ I'm certain such a course will finally bring them near us an’ we kin hear a blast from Matt’s shrill ~ . t ind |lion finally gave it up. For some time the herd has hoes Ge silver whistle for miles on these ‘ere silent level plains,” answered Hicks, ‘** But I am thinking of the chance, which ou do not seem to take into account, that att may have encountered the band of Torrez,” Little Lariat made reply. *“ Yes, I do. But because none of us have seen any signs of the greasers and Indians on the range which we have scout- ed over during the day, I’m pretty sure they are nowhere near.’ **T hope you are right, but——” began the boy, when he paused suddenly as, at last, he heard the welcome signal for which he was so anxiously waiting. | . Shrill and clear the whistle of the mus- tanger chief sounded from the east of the camp. Little Lariat had heard that whistle before. He knew he could not be mistaken in thinking it was produced by Matt. ‘* There it is—the whistle at last !" he ex- claimed joyfully as he mounted his ready mustang. : Hicks also sprang into his saddle. He and the lad, and indeed all the mem- bers of the party, looked eagerly in an easterly direction, but they were unable to see anything of Matt or the herd of mus- tangs, Despite the light of the moon and stars, the prairie blended into dark shadows in the distance, and they knew beyond that canopy of the night they must seek for the mustanger., In a moment they were galloping away. They rode steadily eastward. And from time to time they were guided on their course by repetitions of the shrill whistle. These ‘sounds at length came near, and at last they saw dark moving shadows in the distance. ‘* There they are!” shouted Little Lariat, and he made his mustang bound forward at increased speed under the spurs, - Very soon he and Hicks came up with Mustang Matt, who was following the herd just fast enough to keep them in sight, Finding that Matt was not gaining upon them, for he had purposely moderated his speed in order properly to pursue the plan of ‘‘ walking them down,” the mustangs had moderated their speed after the run of the first hours of the chase, ‘** There they are, with the white mustang in the lead. He tried to lead raigh away off the range in es > tai- | running in a wide circular course, But I feared at one time the white mustang meant to desert the mares and go it alone for the south,” said Matt, has- tily, as his two friends joined him, ** All right, pard! Gimme your whistle and I'll sound it when the herd gets near our camp ag’in, an’ we are wanting to be relieved,” answered Hicks, Matt handed him his silver whistle, and then while the former rode slowly toward the camp, Little Lariat and his companion galloped on after the herd. Of course they continued in the manner usual with all experienced wild horse hun- ters, under similar circumstances. Without seeking to press the herd hard, they constantly kept the wild horses in sight. We remember the object of the mustangs was now to keep the herd on the move, never giving them a moment's rest, or a chance to drink oreat, until they were completely fagged out, when their capture would be an easy matter. i Sometimes, as they followed the fleeing herd, Little Lariat and Hicks could see the white mustang, because of his color, quite clearly, He ($0535 to be the most speedy ani- mal in the herd, and he constantly ran at some distance ahead of the mares, But it was not long before Hicks’ mus- tang began to lag behind, while Little Lariat’s fresh mount showed no signs of weariness, And when they had followed the herd for about two hours, an accident befell Hicks’ horse, He stumbled and came to his knees, Hicks got him up at once, but he had strained one of his fore legs in his fall, and he limped badly. Seeing it would be useless to attempt to follow the wild mustangs on his disabled horse, Hicks called out to Little Lariat, who had witnessed his mishap: ‘**- You keep on after the herd, an’ I'll try to git my hoss back to camp.” * All right; I'll not lose sight of them. But give me Matt’s whistle before you go,” answered tbe lad. Hicks handed him the silver whistle, and | | while the former started toward the camp with his lame mustang, Little Lariat rode on alone. About an hour after that, during which time he had ridden steadily and always kept the fleeing herd in sight, the boy sud- denly drew rein. His abrupt halt was caused by the dis- covery of several dark forms coming to- ward him in the distance, Ata second glance, despite the shadows afar, which the moonlight did not dispel, he made out ‘ Cas a. Lae a 4 Z, . ee . ‘ : F het Bs AL. Saaecs in : Mf ¥ ee MPS . “ak 8 eat i . a Yon . a : oy * . ee a AE EN eee Er ey y, . -_—P. <_< - ‘ = ‘ ; | that the approaching persons were four — mounted Indians. Their scalp feathers, nodding in the night wind, told him the ~ mounted men were not whites. ai And among the four Indians he presen ly made out a strange, shapeless object upon the back of a mustang, which one of _ the Indians seemed to be leading by the bridle rein. | ase While he made these observations, Lit- tle Lariat hoped the Indians had notsight- ed him, and he looked about for some place in which he could conceal himself, forif he then went on after the herd of wild horses he knew the Indians would soon see him, es 4 At but a short distance he sightedone of those odd depressions, which are occasion- — ally found on the great plains of Texas. __ It was but the task of a moment orsofor the lad to reach it, The depression was more like an old buffalo wallow than any- ; thing else. It was about twelve feet long and quite narrow. The sides were steep, and some three feet high in places, but at other points the hollow was scarcely more than a foot in depth. Little Lariat made his mustang lay down in the hollow, and he crouched beside the animal, rifle in hand, close to the edge of the depression, on the side toward the In- dians, Then, much to his alarm, he saw the red men were heading straight for his eg lace, and realized that his situa- ion w * t “9 eae | La = a < a wf rag 8 THE PIANOS AND BICYCLES WILL BE CIVEN IN No. i3!. - —__ —______ ——_ > 4 § = ¢ COC Snagging in the Missouri. COMPARATIVELY few persons realize the vast amount of work now under way by the government in improving the Missouri River. Ever since the fall of 1891 the gov- | ernment has expended considerable money each year in improving the stream. Prior to that time there had not been any snag- ging whatever done above Sioux City. ‘he fact that the river is navigable for — 1,649 miles above the city makes the work | of keeping the channel clear a vast under- _ ae 7 ye i this stream are the numerous snags which dot the river after every season of high water. Many of these snags are the trunks of old trees which year by year have been undermined by the waters of the river un- til they finally toppled, over into the stream, to be swept downward until they strike a sandbar or other shallow place in the main channel, when they become sta- tionary, and remain a menace to every eye steamer, z The largest and best of these snag boats is the James B. McPherson, which was built at Dubuque in 1891. The McPherson is 36 feet beam by 171 feet long and 51-2 feet depth of hold, with a complete steel hull. It has compound engines 16 and 32 inches by 6 feet; Scotch marine boiler, air pumps, and a full condensing apparatus. [his steamer is said to be the only boat on Western waters, and it is believed to be the only stern-wheel steamboat in the country that is fitted with these improve- ments, Her engines are placed one on each side of the boat, like ordinary high-pressure steamboat cylinders. The exhaust from her five auxiliary engines, and even the waste of the capstan cylinder cocks are condensed and refed into the boiler, The - McPherson is fitted with a complete snag- ging outfit, and,in addition, has a lar pressure pump for washing the earth from the roots of snags and stumps, so that the stumps can be closely trimmed and made to dry better when banked, thereby float ing should they again be washed into the As the water of the Missouri River is very ragga it is utterly impossible to see into it. wing to this fact the question sometimes arises: ‘‘ How can the men on the snag-boats tell where the snags are when they are in the main channel, en- tirely covered by water ?” For an experienced personit is no hard matter to locate a snag, even though it had eight or ten feet of water over it. The swift current of the Missouri River is the. means by which the snags are found, Should there bea large rock on the bot- tom of the river, in the main channel di- rectly over it an eddy will be seen, which eaves a *‘ tail,” as the river men call it, ex- tending from the eddy directly over the obstruction to a point some distance be- _ Pa se in they: ripple, the tail or- rrow in the water growing narrow Beets the end of it is reatiied. . es ae | There is little danger connected with snagging. Once in awhile some careless _ peewor may get ahand orarm pinched by _ ing caught inarope or cable when it > ne Pe thus ev no loss of life has occurred during sn ng operati ong the Missouri Fiver.” a ee ae