The range-rider of tho Judith Gap
was playing freeze-out In the stage
ranch saloon. There wore four play
era, the makes were the drinks, and It
cost $1 a round for whisky every few
minutes, for "red liker" was two blls
a drink In the days before the railroads
In Montana. That made no difference
to the range-rider, however. He might
lose his monthly stipend of J.'iO In one
night, hut he could run "some of a bill,"
for he had an all winter's Job ahead of
him, and the profit on the goods was so
many hundred per cent, that the host
could afford to take the chances. And
then, you know. If he got real hard up
h could get a few horses to break, and
$5 was easily earned by riding some
thing that uo one else would. It was a
little risky, to be sure; hut then how
else could cow-punchers die If not roll
ed on or trampled to death by some ter
rified horse. So the game went on.
The wind howled around the log
building, and the fine snow sifted
through some of the cracks where mud
daubing had fallen nut. The box stove
roared and got red in the cheeks In au
unsuccessful attempt to keep a pail of
water that stood in a far corner from
freezing. Notwithstanding Its efforts,
the crinkle of the ice w'us heard as the
cold outside Increased, and penetrating
the cracks fought back the efforts of
the stove.
It. was about 10 o'clock in the morn
ing, but the sun was only up an hour or
00, and the Ice-laden storm from the
north was making u very successful at
tempt to conceal the fact. A "blue fog"
was rolling through the gap, and the
mercury had all dropped into the bull),
tired of trying to keep track of the ec
centricities of a climate borrowed for
the occasion from the snowy wastes of
British America.
The game went on at the table in a
quiet kind of way. Every time the
range-rider moved his foot the spur
chains jingled on the floor. The stage
stock tender on tile other side of the ta
ble was playing Ills best, for he knew
lie had reached the limit of his credit
at the bar, but the cards were against
him. Two sheep-herders completed the
quartette, and the sneaky-looking,
blear-eyed stock-tender sized them up
with a glance that boded 111 If they per
chance fell asleep before the till behind
the bar had received their rolls, earned
by standing out on the hills in the
storms of the six or seven months past.
Two wet col ley dogs lay by the stove
with smoking pelts, dreaming of the
trail, for every once In n while one of
them would give a curious "ylp-ylp"
that suggested efforts to get a slow
band of sheep Into the corral. The bar
tender stood with his elbows on the
counter, peering out of the window
and waiting for the inevitable moment,
that occurred at more or less regular
Intervals, when some one of the play
ers would "go broke," requiring a
round of drinks, a dollar added to the
steadily increasing store in the till, and
a redivlslon of the chips.
After doing the honors on one of
these occasions, he opened the door, ad
mitting a cold blast of air and snow
Hint made the card players swear. And,
peering out. he said:
"Time fur the stage. 1 guess the Kid
must ha' missed the trail."
"Well, what If lie lias?" growled the
stock tender, to whom the arrival of
the stage meant au hour of cold and
disagreeable work. "It's no use freez
ing us to death looklu' for him: he's uo
chicken.' '
Theshivp-herdorslniighod, the range
rider yawned, when a rattling of
.wheels and harness and a cheerful
"hullo" outside caused the game to be
forgotten, and all made a rush to the
door. They were greeted by two or
three mall sacks thrown with consider
able force; and as the stocktender led
away the horses tho driver, n great
bundle of blankets, shawls and buffalo
robe, rolled off his seat and followed
the mall sacks, as they were dragged
through the saloon by the harkeeior,
Into the store beyond.
After the driver had loosened tip his
outer wraps and melted the front from
his eyelashes, he lookiM around and
nodded to those present. When ills eye
lit on the range-rider, he said:
"Hullo. Kill; 1 saw Campbell at the
river, ami he sent a note to you. Here
it Is," aud he handed a piece of paper
to the rider. Hill looked at it it moment,
and then whispered softly to himself,
glancing out of the window at the
currying snow meanwhile.
"He wants you to go down the south
aide of the Gap nnd see If them Basin
cnttle that has drifted through are bad
ly mixed up with the Musselshell outfit,
o he told hip," said the driver. "He
aid fur you to go down this morning,
top over night at the O. II. home ranch
on Careless Creek, and send word by
me when I come back to-morrow; aud
'
If the cattle ain't scattered ylt he'll
send over a wagon outfit and try and
work 'em back into the Basin.' '
"Yes," siirtl Bill slowly, "that Is what
he says here; but, great God! does he
expect me to go when this fog Is a-blow-ing?"
"I suppose so," said the driver. "He
said If you didn't go now It would be
no use later, fur the cattle would be
scattered sure, and the Basin round-up
would lose a heap."
The eow-puncher made no reply, but
stepping up to the bar he said: "Give
mea drink, Jack; It'll take considerable
of your stuff to keep a man from freez
ln' to death to-day." Taking a liberal
dose of the liquor referred to he pulled
up the belt of his leather "chaps," ad
justed his six-shooter, and taking a
blanket-lined canvas overcoat from a
nail on the wall, pulled It on. He then
tied a silk handkerchief over his ears
nnd pulled his sombrero well down over
his eyes. "So-long," he said as he went
out the door. "I'll be back to-morrow
night and play you another stack of
freeze-out," aud the clank of his spur
clialns was deadened in the snow as
lie went out to the stable.
"This Is tough business, Mike," he
snid as he tightened up the saddle
cinches on his sorrel horse, that was
standing In the barn. "Some day you
an' I'll retire from cow-punchlu' an' be
honest grangers, an' then uo bloody
boss can order us out when we don't
want to go; nn' Instead of some old
greasy buck to cook our meals, we'll
have a nice little woman" here "the
adept hand stopped in Its adjustment
of the straps, nnd a reverie followed
that caused the expectant horse to
BILL ANDERSON SLEPT TIIROUGI1
glance around to see what new devil
ment his master was up to for had he
not often put stones under the saddle
blanket aud otherwise outraged the
equine feelings to make Him buck when
he was to be loaned to some ambitious
tenderfoot? But the horse simply saw
his master leaning his head on a hand
that rested on the saddlehoru, and he
moved Impatiently.
"No," said the rider slowly, "that will
not be, Mike; fur they ain't fur such as
we;" and giving an extra pull on the
front cinch that caused Mike to kick
and snort, the rider put the bridle on
the horse and led him out of the low
log stable. The storm still raged furi
ously, nnd It was bitter odd. With a
glance nt the sky and a muttered oath
ho placed his hand on the horn, climbed
Into the saddle with au easy, practiced
swing, nnd started toward the south,
following In the snow the fast disap
pearing trail of the stage that had pre
coded him but a few minutes.
He rode In this direction for some
time. The storm, which was at their
backs, did not seotn much to these two,
hardened to the parching wind of sum
mer nnd the freezing blast of winter in
that open country. The puncher rolled
a cigarette or two. He noticed the cold
was sharp on his fingers when he un
gloved, and It was with considerable
difficulty that he kept his eyes free
from frost; but that would make a
story to toll on the hot and dusty drive
next summer. He passed n few stray
cattle, and with practiced eye read the
brands as coming from the round-up
he represented. Leaving the stage road
to the right, outlined by the two high
ridges of hard packed snow crunched
by the wheels of the dally stages, he
bore down toward the Careless Creek
drainage. The hills looked all the same
In the driving storm, but the wind was
toady and gave hi m clew to direc
tion. Suddenly there loomed up In front
of him what to the uninitiated eye re
sembled houses, with outlines dimmed
by the driving storm, but the rider
knew they were cattle. He changed
his course aud rode up closer to read
the brands. They were covered with
frost, but he was satisfied that these
were the cattle he was after; and what
was more, that there were several hun
dred of them in this one bunch. The
best service he could render his em
ployers was to bunch this outfit, turn
them toward the Gap, and take them
back the next day before they scat
tered. The puncher's mind was strangely
dimmed. His thoughts would revert
to days when, on the old Missouri farm
In the States, he lay at noon in the
shade of the haystack and ate the
bountiful lunch provided by mother
aud sisters. He could hear the water
pouring over the old mill-dam down
below the orchard aud then he was In
the orchard. But this would never do.
He waa now on the Montana prairie,
one of the best cow bauds In the Basin,'
and here was a bunch of cattle to be
taken care of; he and Mike were all
that stood between their employers
and the loss of several thousand dol
lars. The puncher rolled the big row
els of bis spurs into Mike's sides, the
game cow-pony sprang forward, and
they went around and around the cat
tle until they had them bunched. It
was hard work to get them strung out
against the storm; they would do noth
ing but mill, for the frosty air cut like
needles In their faces when they turn
ed In the direction the solitary puncher
was trying to make them go. But he
found himself strangely lacking that
life and energy which had won
hi hi his wide reputation on the
ranges. Sleep hung heavy on his eyes.
He rolled In the saddle, and when Mike
made one of bis famous quick turns his
rider clung to the horns of the saddle
to keep from falling oft. Suddenly it
seemed to the puncher that it was get
ting dark; the herd was but a dim out
line; the wind tore at the bunches of
sage and grease wood, piling up the
snow on one side and cutting out caves
on the other. The rider was warm and
cold at intervals. His mind wandered
to the last fall drive, when on the night
herd he was wont to slip from his
horse and seek the friendly cover of a
4
ills LAST GAME OF FREEZE-OUT.
buffalo wallow, or a badger hill, topped
by bunch of sage, to slip the long bri
dle line over his arm and curl up on
the ground within the friendly shelter
nud sleep. Why not now? The shelter
was bettor for the drifted snow, nnd lie
was so sleepy. A few moments' rest
and he would be able to resume his soil
tary watch aud hold the herd until day.
He slid from his horse aud followed out
the suggestion. It was cozy and com
fortable. Mike swung his hindquarters
toward the north, clamped his tail be
tween his legs, humped his back and
philosophically nodded off to sleep. The
puncher slept ulso.
The sun rose uext morning on a
scene of crystal splendor dazzling to
the eye. aud when the two men who
lived at O. II. home ranch rode out that
morning they were nearly blinded by
the glare.
"We'll look up the north fence first,"
said the foreman to the other. "The
cattle may have broken It down yester
day In the storm."
As they rode along the fence, but a
few rods from the cabins and corrals
they saw on the other side an animal
motionless on the prairie. When they
approached they saw that it waa a sad
dled horse, covered with snow and lee.
rutting spurs to their mounts they
rode rapidly in that direction. The
ehlverlug brute on the other side of the
fence hoard them coming, pricked up
his ears, whinnied and pawed the
ground, but did not move away; his bri
dle rein was around an arm that could
not relax Its grip. For Bill Anderson,
with a smile of peace upon his face,
had slept through his last game of
frecie-out, and the bar to which he waa
now called, to make final settlement,
waa the Bar of Judgment
Type are Hhtly less than 1 Inch In
length.
: ,
m
AeHnl Travel.
Prof. S. P. Langley la repor'.ej as Buy
ing In a recent interview that, having
proved both theoretically and practical
ly that machines can be made to travel
through the air. If he had the time and
money to spend, he believed he could
make one "on a scale such as would
demonstrate to the world that a large
passenger-carrying flying machine can
be a commercial as well as a scientific
success."
Onntrer from Wnll Pnner,
It was formerly supposed that the
r":iann why will! papers contain!!! nr
seulc were dangerous to health was be
cause arsenetted hydrogen was formed
through the action "of mold upon the
paper, nnd then given off in the nir of
the room. Recent experiments In Ger
many, however, seem to show that the
danger really arises from particles of
dust procedlug from the paper. It is
said that at present few wnll-papers
containing arsenic are manufactured.
Guarding a Const by Klectriclty.
A correspondent of Nature suggests
that a long coast-llue may be rendered
safe to ships In foggy weather by
nouns of nn electric cable lying ten
miles offshore, nnd parallel with the
coast. In about fifty fathoms of water.
When ever an Iron ship approached
within 200 yards of the cable, he says,
an electric detector on board the vessel
would give the alarm In support of
the suggestion he asserts that messages
sent along an electric cable lying on the
sea-bottom have been read, with suita
ble apparatus, on a ship floating above
the cable.
. More Monster of Olden Times.
The fossil remains of an apparently
new species of the aucient reptile
named by geologists the "tnosasaur"
have Just been discovered in the chalk
beds of Northern France. These rep
tiles, which became extinct ages ago,
were of enormous size, some being sev
enty or more feet In length. They had
comparatively Nleudor bodies, like a
snake, paddles like a whale, and some
of the characteristic features of a liz
ard. They were especially abundant In
America, nnd their remains have been
fonud In New Jersey and in the States
bordering the Gulf of Mexico, as well
as west of the Mississippi River.
A Vnn'slied River's Track.
Explorations made last autumn
brought to light many interesting facts
about what Is known to geologists as
the "Nlpisslng-Mattawa River." This
is believed to have been the nncient
outlet for the Great Lakes Huron,
Michigan and Superior before their wa
ters began to flow through Lnke Erie.
The old river bed was traced, In the
Canadian province of Ontario, from
Lnke Niplsslng, near the northern part
of Georglnn Bay, to the valley of the
Ottawa Klver. At one place the site of
an ancient cataract was discovered,
nud reason was found for believing
that the size of the vanished river was
very similar to that of the St. Clair
aud Detroit Rivers, through which the
Great Lakes now have their outlet.
L-qold Crystal.
Among the minor wonders of mod
ern chemical discovery are Doctor
Lehman's "liquid crystals." ' Recently
Professor Mlers. of the Royal Society,
lias been experiment lug with some of
these curious substances, and he finds
that when "azoxyphenol" crystals ure
warmed on a microscopic slide they un
dergo a sudden transformation from
the solid to the liquid condition on
reaching n temperature of 134 degrees.
Yet. hnvlug become liquid, the sub-
I stance nevertheless retains the form
of crystals, and these remarkable crys
tals possess the property of double re
fraction. If heated up to 1(53 degrees,
the substance undergoes another
chnnge, and loses its double refrne-
j tlvity.
I Is It nn Ancient AlphnbetT
I Monsieur Piette has made some re
; markable discoveries In a cave at Le
! Mas-d'Azll. In Southern France, near
the Tyrenees. This cave, shaped like
a tunnel, was evideutly Inhabited In
very ancient days by the race of peo
ple called the "cave-dwellers" who
lived In the Neolithic, or Later Stone,
age. They left a great number of ob
long nnd flattened pebbles on which
they had painted curious figures and
devices with peroxide of Iron. Some of
the pebbles contain ouly dots, or
stripes, which, the discoverer thinks,
may have been symbols for numbers.
Others bear devices having some re
semblance to alphabetic characters.
One pebble has
painted upon It
the singular row
of flsrnres huro
represented, and Monsieur Tlette does
not uesitnte to suggest that some of
these designs are possibly phonetic
symbols, which had a definite- mean-
lng to the inhabitants of the cave. A
writer in Nature, reviewing Monsieur
Piette's "astonishing discoveries,"
makes an additional suggestion. "As
suming these markings to :e syllabic
signs," he says, "can it be possible that
these pebbles were employed In build-.
lng up words and sentences, much ai
children use boxes of letters?" '
Slirage in Alaska.
The most wonderful mirages ever be
held by mortal eyes are those that are
seen in the twilight winter days in
northern Alaska. Those remarkably
ghastly pictures of things, both Imagin
ary and real, are mirrored on the sur
face of.the waste plains instead of upon
the clouds or In the atmosphere, says
a correspondent of the St. Louis Repub
lic. Mimic lakes and wnter cources
fringed with vegetation are to be seen
pictured as real ns life on the surface
of the snow, while grassy mounds.
stumps, trees, logs, etc., which have an
actual existence some place on the
earth's surface, are outlined against
mountains of snow in all kinds of fan
tastic shapes. Some of these objects
are distorted and magnified into tho
shapes of huge, ungainly animals and
reptiles of enormous proportions.
The fogs and mists nre driven across
these waters by the winds, and, as the
objects referred to loom up in the fly
ing vapors, they appear like living crea
tures, and seem to be actually moving
rapidly across the plain At other times
they appear high In the nir, but this is
a characteristic of the northern mirages
that are seen near the seashore. When
the vapors nnd mists nre driven out
to sea the images mirrored in them ap
pear to be lunglug through the waters
at a terrific rate of speed, dashing the
spray high in the air, while huge break
ers roll over them and onward toward
the mountainous Islands beyond, nnd
against which they all nppear to be
dashing.
Monstrous serpents, apparently sev
eral hundred feet long, sometimes with
riders on their backs, men on horse
back thirty to fifty feet In height, ani
mals and birds of all kinds of horrible
shapes nnd colors, seem to be scurrying
past, racing and chasing each other,
until they ure lost in twilight fogs or
dashed to pieces upon the rocky Islands
mentioned above, nud which nre twenty
miles out at sea.
Tho Children's Sleep.
A physician in nn address before a
woman's club on the care of children's
health, recently said that it is criminal
to attempt to save a little money by
not giving every child In the family a
bed to himself. The physician also
emphasized the need of early sleep.
"It Is so easy," be said, "to let a ner
vous child lose sleep in the early even
lug, when he or she should be hard at
It. When a physician prescribes some
important remedy that must be taken
and which Is not pleasant, a mother
feels that It Is time well expended to
coax and wheedle, and even bribe the
little one to swallow It. Spend just as
much thought nnd effort In getting your
child to sleep every night, if he does
not fall off his chair at the evening
meal from drowsiness, as the normal
child should. Give up concerts, thea
ters, parties, auytbing till you have
secured for the nervous, twitching boy
or girl tho benign habit of sleep. Coax
him to his room, give him a quick
sponge bath, tuck him in his single bed,
with a light wool blanket over him be
sides the sheet, nud in a lowered light
sit by hlni and talk to hlni till he is
quieted. Tell hlni gentle, soothing
stories, nothing to excite his Imagina
tion, nnd when he is finally asleep,
have the room cool, dark nnd quiet.
Don't let him try to sleep In a room
which has been a sitting room all tho
evening, without having It thoroughly
refilled with fresh outdoor air. which
may be accomplished by throwing win
dows wide open for fifteen minutes."
The Buffalo Nearly Exterminated.
Gen. A. W. Greeley, of the War De
partment, In a paper read recently, de
plored the wholesale slaughter of the
buffaloes which has been going on for
50 years and which has well-nigh ex
terminated this useful animal. From
the lips of nn old army officer he ascer
tained that in the valley of the Arkan
sashesaw in the MCs an enormous herd
of buffalo terrifying even to look upon.
The old army officer says he crossed at
right angles a moving herd which was
75 miles in width ana so dense as to
render travel dangerous. The general
himself saw 50 miles of territory liter
ally covered with bison. In the winter
of '75 and '7(3 he knew of 104.000 buffalo
skins being brought into Griffin, Tex.
Equal to tho Emergency.
Chinese cheap labor may yet ruin
New Zealand. In Otago, where there
are a good many Scotchmen, a contract
for road mending was awarded to the
lowest bid, which was signed "Mac
Puerson." When the bidder appeared
to sign the contract he was yellow and
had a pigtail. "But," said the official
who met him, "your name cannot be
MncPherson."
"All tlfrhteo M anovaniil tliA PKInat.
man, "nobody catchee contlact In Ota
go unless be named Mac," and the con
tract was signed.
Hnn To.
"Will -you mind the baby. Jack, for a.
little while?" asked Mrs. Elsmore.
"1 shall have to, I s'pose," replied
Elsmore. "The kid won't mind me."
Buffalo Times.