CONTENTS
[I. First Impressions]
[II. A Surprise Party]
[III. The Root Cellar]
[IV. The Great Adventure Progresses]
[V. The Government Contract]
[VI. A Variety of Runaways]
[VII. The Measure of a Man]
[VIII. The Sheep Business]
[IX. The Unexpected]
[X. Around the Christmas Fire]
[XI. Ted]
[XII. Blizzards]
[XIII. Echoes of the Past]
ILLUSTRATIONS
[Pike’s Peak from the Old Ranch]
[Roping and Cutting Out Cattle]
[Roping a Steer to Inspect Brand]
[Inspecting a Brand]
[The “Star” is a Frightened, Snorting “Broncho”]
[Trailed All the Way from New Mexico]
[Like a Solitary Fence Post]
[Bucking Horse and Rider]
[Facing Death Each Time They Ride a New Horse]
A TENDERFOOT BRIDE
I—FIRST IMPRESSIONS
When our train left Colorado Springs and headed out into those vast stretches of the prairie, which spread East like a great green ocean from the foot of Pike’s Peak, all the sensations of Christopher Columbus setting sail for a new world, and a few peculiarly my own, mingled in my breast.
As the train pounded along I stole a look at Owen. He was absorbed in the contemplation of a map of our new holdings. Under that calm exterior I suspected hidden attributes of the primitive man. Certainly there was some reason why Western life was to his liking, having had the chance to choose.