, leaving him practically lost in the cottonwoods that lined the
watercourse.

What to do the young ranchman did not know, and it is safe to say that
he wished himself heartily out of the difficulty. It was so dark he
could not see three yards ahead of him, and it was only by the merest
accident that he struck the shack at last, and then he found it empty,
for the herder had gone off elsewhere on business.

So far Roosevelt had seen no game, so he was without food, and what made
matters worse, the larder of the shack proved to be empty. All he had
with him was a little package of tea.

It was a dismal outlook truly, and especially on such a cold night. But
firewood was at hand, and after turning his pony loose to shift for
itself, the future President of our country started up housekeeping for
himself by lighting a fire, bringing in some water from under the ice of
the river, and brewing himself a good, strong cup of tea! It was not a
very nourishing meal, but it was all he had, and soon after that he went
to sleep, trusting for better luck in the morning.

He was up almost before daybreak, and my young readers can rest assured
that by that time his appetite was decidedly keen. Listening intently,
he could hear the grouse drumming in the woods close by.

"I must have some of them, and that directly," he told himself, and
rifle in hand lost no time in making his way to the woods. By keeping
out of sight behind the brushwood he managed to get quite close to the
game, and so brought down one after another until he had five. Such
success was a great satisfaction to him, and returning to the shack he
fixed himself a breakfast of broiled sharptails, to which he did full
justice.

It was not all play at the ranches, and sometimes Theodore Roosevelt
went out with his men to round up the cattle and help "cut out" what was
his own. This was hard work, for frequently the cattle did not want to
be separated from the beasts belonging to another ranchman. More than
once an angry cow or a bull would charge, and then there would be a
lively scramble on pony-back or on foot to get out of the way.
Sometimes, too, the cattle would wander off and get lost, and then a
long and hard hunt would be necessary in order to find them again.

But there was fun as well as hard work, and Mr. Roosevelt has told one
story about a skunk that is sure to be remembered. He says that skunks
were very numerous, and that they were more feared than larg