low zero, with the sun shining
bright and the sky blue; but with a frightful big yellow-and-orange
sun-dog each side of the sun, morning and evening, like two great
columns; and sometimes there would be a big orange circle around the
sun all day, with much frost in the air.

Some of the nights were light, almost, as day with the northern lights
flaming up from behind Frenchman's Butte all over the whole sky, and
all colors and shapes. On these nights the horses (they had been wild
ponies once) would stamp about in the barn, and Kaiser would growl in
his sleep. When I rubbed the cat's back it would crack and sparkle.
The wolves seemed to howl more and differently on these nights, and
once I went to the station, thinking the fire there needed fixing, and
I heard the telegraph instrument clicking fit to tear itself to
pieces. Often the next day after the northern lights would come the
storm.

It was on the very day that I had said to Kaiser and Pawsy at
breakfast (that is, January 25th) that it was a month since I had seen
any human being, that I was at the depot after a load of ground feed,
and in looking to the northwest thought I saw something moving. It did
not take me long to go up the windmill tower. It was not past ten
o'clock in the forenoon, so the light for looking toward the northwest
was good, though of course, as the sun was shining, the snow was
pretty dazzling. But I could still only make out that something was
moving south or southwest. It was impossible to tell if it were men or
horses or cattle. So I went down as fast as I could, jumped onto the
sled, and the next minute Kaiser had me at the hotel, where I got the
field-glass and went back.

Up the tower I scrambled for another look. The snow was so dazzling
that the glass did less good than you might suppose, but with it I
could soon tell that it was a party of men on horseback following
either another party or a drove of cattle or horses. The band ahead
swung gradually about and came toward Track's End. The ones behind
seemed to be trying to cut them off, but they failed to do it. On they
came, and in ten minutes I could see that it was either cattle or
horses that were being chased by twenty or twenty-five men on
horseback. The cattle were following a low, broad ridge where the snow
was less deep, and which spread out west of the town, making less snow
there also, as I have mentioned before. I thought there was something
peculiar about the riding o