ON A CATTLE RANCH
Do you remember your first sight of the sea? I've not forgotten mine,
though it must have been many years before yours. I suppose I wasn't
more than four, and kindly patronising elder brothers and sisters had
tried to describe it to me beforehand, but the most I pictured was a
very, very big pond, with water as flat and uninteresting as that of
most ponds. No one can have any real notion of the sea before seeing it;
and it is the same with the prairie. I have often imagined it, but now
that we are actually on it, driving over it, I find that all my
mind-pictures are lifeless compared with the reality. It gives one a
feeling of freedom, as if one had been living always in rooms and
suddenly got out. It is not flat like a table, but full of gentle curves
and sweeps, as if it were always just going to reveal something unknown,
and yet it reaches on for ever on all sides. It makes us feel quite
insignificant as our conveyance crawls along the centre of a gigantic
circle which appears to move with us. But the thing which is most
surprising is the beauty of it. The grass is growing freely and is very
fresh, and mingled with it, like poppies and cornflowers in a
wheatfield, are innumerable flowers, red and blue and yellow, shining
like jewels in the brilliant sunlight--some are like sunflowers, and
others, growing singly, are tall red lilies. There are clumps of trees,
too, here and there, little round islands of them, bluffs, they are
called. We have left the mountains now and descended into the great
plains once only inhabited by wild tribes of the Redskins and mighty
herds of buffalo, but now for the most part taken up by white men for
grazing-ground.
[Illustration: A LEAN SUNBURNT MAN.]
When our engine ran into Calgary station, with a great clanging of the
big bell, we found a sunburnt lean young man of twenty or so, in the
shady hat, blue shirt, breeches, and leggings we have become accustomed
to now. He greeted us very shortly: "For Mr. Humphrey's ranch?" and when
we said "Yes," led the way outside to where an odd kind of waggonette,
drawn by two horses, was waiting. We gather it is called a "democrat,"
for we heard the stationmaster say, "Put 'em in the democrat" as sundry
square wooden boxes were gathered up from a storehouse. Our luggage was
a mere trifle compared with the miscellaneous mass of sacks and boxes
and bundles that were piled in behind. We were six hours late, as we
were due at two this morning and it is now eight. I remark on it to our
silent young driver when he gathers up the reins. He laughs shortly.
"You never can tell, sometimes it's as much as a day----"
[Illustration: LONE PINE RANCH.]
The trail out on to the boundless prairie, after getting clear of the
town, is merely marked by two deep ruts. When we meet another "rig," as
conveyances of any sort are called here, the driver usually goes off on
to the grass to make way for us, as we have a heavy load, a courtesy our
young driver acknowledges by raising his whip.
It is very, very hot, and as we jog along in silence it is difficult not
to fall asleep. It seems a long, long time before the driver points with
his whip to a distant herd of cattle.
"They belong to the Lone Pine Ranch," he volunteers. That's the ranch we
are going to stay at. Then a group of log buildings, with a few trees
near, rises out of the plain, and we draw nearer and nearer steadily and
realise this is our destination.
The principal house is built entirely of logs and has a sort of verandah
around. Mr. Humphrey himself is waiting outside, and at a shout from him
a fair-haired, rosy-cheeked woman in a pretty pink cotton dress and
sunbonnet joins him, followed by a tiny toddling child.
Their welcome is as warm as all the others we have received in Canada.
To our surprise the young driver turns out to be the Humphreys' son!
His father and mother laugh heartily as he disappears round the corner
of the house to unyoke the horses.
"Edmund is the best man at holding his tongue I ever came across," says
Mr. Humphrey; "seems to have been born that way; he doesn't get it from
either of us!"
Mrs. Humphrey is doing all the work of the house herself, for her
husband, five children, and three hired men, with the help of an Indian
woman for the rough scrubbing.
"You can't get servants here," she says; "and if you brought them out
from England they'd get married in the first week."
Edmund reappears for dinner, followed by three other young men dressed
precisely alike. They sit down in a lump at one end of the wooden table
and solidly consume immense helpings of boiled beef and dumpling, which
Mrs. Humphrey carries in, disdaining any help. When we have finished she
smilingly produces half a dozen jam tartlets from a cupboard.
"I made them for you," she says, looking at you. "I'm proud of my
pastry, but I had to hide them, for Edmund and his father have an awful
sweet tooth, and if I'd put them out there wouldn't have been one
left."
There are gurgles and nudges from the lower end of the table, and I see
you grow scarlet as the plate of tartlets is solemnly put in front of
you. I'll help you out. I have a "sweet tooth" too, and the toddler will
do his best, as he has one bestowed on him by his mother.
There is a crash in the little scullery opening off the room we are in,
and as the mistress of the house jumps up with an exclamation the round
moon-face of an Indian woman appears for a moment in the doorway.
It seems she has upset the coffee which she was going to bring in. Some
of it is saved from the wreck, though the "boys" have to go without. As
they file past, back to their work, Edmund follows last and snatches a
tartlet while his mother's back is turned, winking at you as he does it.
Mr. Humphrey immediately bolts another rather guiltily, so one, looking
very small, is left alone in the plate.
I'm afraid Mrs. Humphrey thinks we have gobbled them up!
This room has nothing to hide the bare wooden walls except a few
pictures from illustrated papers and a photo or two pinned up. The great
stove is a very ugly thing, and its pipe goes out through the roof. Our
room, which opens off on the same floor, is the merest slip of a place,
with hardly room for the couple of camp-beds side by side. From the
photos I guess it is Edmund's room, and that he has gone off to sleep
with the men in their quarters near the barn meantime. We have the
luxury of an enamel basin on a tripod, but, as Mr. Humphrey explains,
it's much easier to get a wash down with a bucket outside.
While we sit on the verandah he explains that he has three other
children now at school; they will be back presently, and almost as he
speaks a waggonette with a roof over it appears in the distance, and
soon three rosy-faced girls, aged about seven, nine, and eleven, tumble
out, waving good-byes to a few friends who go on in the conveyance,
before they run in to get their dinner.
"The authorities send the children from the outlying farms to school,
and fetch them again free now," says Mr. Humphrey. "It's the latest
thing, and a good thing too, or they would have to go without education
when they live as far away as this."
"The marvel to me is how Mrs. Humphrey manages to do it all," I say.
"You haven't heard the half!" he ejaculates. "She does all the washing,
looks after the pigs and poultry you see around here, milks the cows,
and finds time to go to every dance within twenty miles. She's a great
deal keener on dancing than Edmund is, though she makes him go with her.
That's not all, either; she'll show you herself her prizes--albums and
things she has won--that very rocking-chair you are sitting in is one of
them; those are for winning ladies' races, there isn't one that can beat
her. The finest day she ever did was two years ago, when Harry, that's
the little one, was only ten months old. She got up and did the family
washing at five, milked the cows, drove into Edmonton with the kid--she
hadn't anyone to leave it with you see; she did her shopping, turned up
at Poplar Lake Fair in the afternoon, and got someone to hold Harry
while she won the ladies' race there, giving a handicap to the field!
She's the finest dancer in the country round and has won things for that
too."
Yet she looks not much more than a girl now!
Next morning we are up early, as Mr. Humphrey has asked us if we would
like to go with him to see some cattle "shipped" by rail at Red Deer,
thirty miles away on a branch of the main line between Calgary and
Edmonton.
The "boys" have been off with the beasts long before.
[Illustration: INDIANS AS THEY ARE NOW.]
We reach Red Deer by half-past nine, and see from afar the great herd of
cattle, standing lumped together, while the young men, including our
silent friend, Edmund, sit motionless as statues on ponies surrounding
them.
As we get nearer we see kraals, or enclosures, close to the railway
line, and on a siding some empty cattle-trucks ready. We are left to sit
in the buggy--another name for a conveyance--while Mr. Humphrey gives
orders and the boys begin to round the cattle up. It is a sight to see
them, for they seem simply to flow round the herd in a continuous
stream, they gallop so fast and handle their long-lashed whips so
cleverly. The outer gate of one of the kraals has been unbarred, and the
beasts are run through the opening into the kraal without the slightest
hitch.
Mr. Humphrey walks across and seats himself on the high railing of the
kraal near the trucks. Then a bar is taken out on this side, the first
opening having been closed, and the cowboys send the cattle through this
on to the slanting gangway leading to the first truck. The truck holds
just nineteen beasts, and when nineteen are out of the kraal Mr.
Humphrey drops the bar behind the last.
It is a difficult job to get the nineteen into the truck, for they are
frightened and suspicious and there is only just room enough for them
all to pack in. But at last it is done, the door is fastened, and the
truck moved on so that the next one comes abreast of the gangway. When
all the trucks but one have been loaded, we count and discover that
there are twenty-two cattle left. Mr. Humphrey shouts out that a certain
white steer must go in any case, and he indicates the three beasts which
can be left.
But, of course, when the whole lot come through in a bunch the white
steer remains till the last! They are sent back again and brought
forward once more; the three unwanted ones press forward, and the white
steer remains by himself in the kraal, refusing to come out at all. It
is exactly as if the beasts had understood what had been said and were
determined to give as much trouble as possible.
The boys do their work admirably. This time they "cut out" the three
unwanted ones and send them careering off across the prairie, to make
their own way homeward. The remaining eighteen are fitted into the
truck, and then they turn to tackle the steer, who stands in the middle
of the kraal waiting.
Two or three of them, including Edmund, sidle up to him on their ponies
and try to edge him toward the gangway. But he only paws the ground and
throws his head up in the air. Just as Mr. Humphrey shouts out a
warning, everything happens all together in a second.
The steer makes a mad rush. Edmund, who is nearest the gate, is through
it like a flash. The second man gallops for the other gate leading out
of the kraal on to the prairie, but the third, who is in the middle of
the green space, hesitates for an instant and is lost. The great beast
is at him, the pony wheels, slips, and falls, and his rider is shot off.
Another minute and the steer is on to him, pommelling at him with its
great horns. Edmund, however, has snatched up a lasso and is back into
the kraal like a streak of light; without ever checking his gallop he
flings the lasso round the enraged beast's head, and drags him away in a
great semicircle through the now open gate on to the prairie. We see him
with a sharp turn jerk the animal off its feet, and then a revolver shot
rings out; there is a convulsive kick or two and the great steer lies
dead.
Meantime the others have run to lift up the unconscious man in the
kraal. Luckily he is not much the worse, for he has only a fractured
collar-bone and a broken arm. He was stunned by his hard fall, but soon
comes round. Nobody seems to think much of this, but they all
congratulate him on having escaped with nothing worse. These accidents
are daily risks in a cowboy's life.
It is late before we get back, and we have no time to wander round the
homestead that day. Next morning you are up and out early to investigate
something for yourself. I know quite well what it is, for you talked
"gopher" in your sleep.
In coming across the prairie we saw here and there colonies of odd
little beasts that looked a cross between a squirrel and a rat. They
jumped up and sat on the tops of their holes to see us pass, and then
disappeared like a Jack-in-the-box when we got near. When I go out a bit
later I find you in fits of laughter at the inquisitive little
creatures. They can't resist peeping, and when they have popped into
their holes, back come the little heads and bright eyes to watch what
you are doing. I am pretty tired, as I was kept awake most of the night
by a bird in a tree near the window which kept saying, "Whip-poor-will"
over and over again at intervals. I understand that's its name, and it
is hated by the ranchers. No, it is not the bright little black and
white bird like a small magpie which pecks around, that is a
Whisky-Jack.
I spend a gloriously lazy morning watching you crawling around behind
the holes and trying to grab the gophers! Needless to say you never get
one!
At dinner-time Mr. Humphrey is much amused at your game. "They drive
dogs just frantic," he says, "especially young ones that don't know
them. Rabbits aren't in it!"
After dinner he suggests driving us round the ranch, and invites you to
come and help him to yoke up. A minute or two later you both reappear
without the horses.
"A brute of a skunk," says Mr. Humphrey tersely; "we'll have to wait a
while."
It seems that one of these awful beasts has got into the shed among the
harness, and till he chooses to move nothing can be done. Naturally I
want to see him.
"You'll have to be as quiet as a mouse," you say, guiding me round on
tiptoe. "Mr. Humphrey says that he has a store of acrid fluid that
stinks like rotten eggs, and if he's disturbed he lets you know it. It's
weeks and months before any place is free from the smell."
So we peep cautiously and see an animal about the size of a large cat,
with bright black and white markings, lying harmlessly on a pile of
harness. It has no sting, no formidable claws or beak, and yet it is
able to keep any number of men from disturbing it while it chooses to
lie on their possessions. No god could receive more respect from his
believers. It is after tea-time when you, creeping to report, tell us
the good news that at last Mr. Skunk has gone away!
A day or two later Mr. Humphrey says he will take us to see an Indian
reserve, as he thinks we ought not to leave the country without seeing
one.
You know the Indians are now looked after by the Government. There are
certain pieces of land kept for them, and no one else may live on them.
As the white men have spread over the land, and used it for corn and
cattle, the Indians have been driven farther back, and find more
difficulty in getting a living, so now Government agents are appointed
to manage these reserves; they know all the Indians in their charge, and
deal out to them certain amounts of stores and look after them.
The settlement we are to visit is at Battle River, about forty miles
south of Edmonton. The day chosen is the one when the Indians come in
from the country to get their rations. They are a shabby-looking crowd
as they gather up near the lumber houses where the agent lives and where
the stores are kept.
These are men and women of the tribe of the Crees, a very quiet,
peaceful tribe, not troublesome, like the Blood Indians. If you imagined
we should see them with feathers sticking out round their heads and
fringes of scalps on their leggings you will be terribly disappointed.
All these men are in European clothes, with round black felt hats,
soiled coats, and blue overalls for trousers. The only thing Indian
about them are their moccasins, the soft leather foot-covering they wear
instead of boots. They have broad faces, lanky hair, dark reddish skins,
and rather a sullen expression mostly, and look dirty and untidy, like
old tramps. The squaws, who wear old shawls and skirts, sit solemnly
smoking all the time; they nearly all carry on their backs papooses
(babies) tied up tightly like little mummies. There are endless numbers
of lean cur dogs, yapping and snarling at each other as they prowl for
scraps.
The Indians go in single file past the counter in the store and get rice
and tea and flour dealt out to them, and then each one receives a
portion of meat. The agent speaks to each of them by name, calling them
Jim, Dick, or Charlie. Such grand names as "Sitting-Bull" or
"Swift-as-the-Moose" are mostly discarded now in favour of something
more European, which is considered more fashionable. The Indians hardly
speak and never smile, the expression on their faces does not alter in
the slightest when the agent chaffs them. When they leave the store they
carry their provisions over to where a lot of rough-looking ponies are
grazing. Do you see what a simple arrangement these ponies drag? It is
made merely of a couple of long sticks, which run on each side of the
pony like shafts; at the back the ends are crossed and tied together and
trail on the ground. The goods are fixed on to these sticks, and then,
seating themselves on the top of the bundles, the Indians set off
homeward, followed by their patient squaws, who trail along after them
on foot, carrying the papooses.
[Illustration: CROSSING LAKE SUPERIOR.]