pages 260-261

Pages 260-261

                He went on to tell during the visit how they had trapped the different kinds of fur bearing animals before they had moved to this country.  He told of the big cougar cats, catamounts, puma or panther.  How in that timber country they would crouch in a tree and spring on a person as they rode by or on the backs of deer and other wild animals. That was the way they stalked their prey.

                I thought that a bit too exciting and I didn’t think I’d like living in that country.  He went on to say, “you have bobcats in this country, though not quite as dangerous, only when cornered and believe me they can put up a good fight, especially if several dogs are on his trail and the big cat becomes backed up or surrounded, just look out.”

                No one had been watching the clock and where the time went we little knew, for not two hours, but three had rolled around before he arose, picking up his hat saying,  “he guessed it was pretty late and he’d better be going.”  Jim said, “What’s your hurry?”  as he walked with him, opening the door.  He stepped out into the night and was gone only having to walk about the length of an eighty acres to his home.

                The nights were still chilly and this one was no exception for even in summer in this high altitude the nights were cool and very pleasant especially for sleeping, being so different from where Jim and I were raised.  Those nights were hot and sultry with their damp sticky atmosphere prevented one from relaxing and enjoying their much earned rest.

                As we blew out the light and got into bed, we heard the galloping of hoofs coming up the hill past the house.  They seemed to be doing a lot of milling around out by the corral.  Jackie brayed from over by the rack.  Jim lit the lantern, opening the door, held it up over his head just as the whole bunch dashed past the house and down into the canyon.  We could still hear the hoofs digging into the gravel as they continued on the gallop up the hillside to the bench.

                Jackie did not attempt to go with them.  He and Nig remained behind, eating hay at the rack.  When Jim went out to look around, later we saw the rest of our horses come up the hill, deserting the bunch of range horses that had gotten in by someone leaving the gate open.  After feeding ours.  Jim returned to the house saying. “After all this interruption, it seems like it ought to be morning.”

                We blew out the light again and went back to bed and soon fast asleep, and then being awaken abruptly at around 5 a.m. when the coyote set up his weird yapping somewhere off on a lonely hillside.

                Jim got up to look out to find a warm like wind blowing down the canyon, laden with a heavy mist.  For we had notice the red sunset  and the clouds hanging heavy, the evening before, but did not plan on a shower,  which was always welcome in this country.

                Looking out our window where we ate at the kitchen table, could see the raindrops turning to snow.  This Jim thought would be better still for it would last much longer and soak in the ground slower.  Some old timers thought one snow was worth two rains.

                “Well,” Jim said, “its just the kind of day to do some riveting and fixing harness, also to make another halter for a spare when needed.”  So he brought in what he needed to work on.,  I then put down a canvas and some paper to put the harness and things on and placed a chair while he got down the rivets from the cupboard.  He said, “just why couldn’t I have done this in the kitchen?”  Turning he saw me getting out the ironing board.  Then said, “Oh, I see,” so our time was pretty well occupied that snowy day.  He with his harness mending and I with the ironing.  When finally he said, “you really keep that stove red with that sagewood.”  I replied, “that is the way I get an ironing done up quick by adding a sage stick each time I take off an iron.”  So we talked and worked the hours away.

                By noon I had finished the ironing but from the window one could see the snow had not slackened, only continuing to come down quietly until night began settling over the valley when Jim took the repaired harness back to the barn to be hung up on the hooks.

                Then I took down the lamps, cleaned the chimneys and lit them.  As Jim came in looking like a snowball, “Brush me off,” he said handing me the broom.  I did so, then managed to sweep it out and close the door as I did so that screeching sound from the bird in the canyon as well as the howling of a coyote pierced my ears as it came to me from out of the storm.

                The storm continued throughout most of the night and with the rising of the sun from behind a bank of clouds, the wind came up to play havoc with the soft fluffy new fallen snow piling it into drifts wherever there were things to pile it against like brush, fenceposts, or buildings. It was a west wind and the front of our house caught a lot of it, but the canyon below caught the most. Plastering the bushes and trees, causing it to look like the wonders of a fairy land.

                Opening the door to look out, Jim’s first thoughts were “how great it would have been had it stayed as it fell, “ but nature plays queer tricks and what seems best to people isn’t always nature’s way so that day we enjoyed the comforts of our fireside.