"Isn't this great," cried Ham. "Just take a peek at that grove of trees.
I'll bet that grass is full of snakes and rabbits. I'd like to take a
shot at a big 'jack' this morning."

"It's an old swamp," replied Willis. "Perhaps there was once a little
lake here. Wouldn't it be a swell place for a shanty? I'll bet it's full
of grouse."

"I suppose it was once an Indian camping ground," suggested Mr. Allen.
"Just a little flat oasis on the summit of a granite mountain. Remember
where we came up last night? Now, look away off there," pointing his
finger. "We are ten thousand feet above the sea up here; up where we
can see how the world is made, and how beautiful it is."

Soon the little park came to an abrupt end, and great boulders began to
loom up on every side. They came to the edge of the cliff, and could look
far down into the valley below. Away to the west stood Black Mountain, a
rounded bluff, so densely covered with young timber that it seemed at a
distance to be a mountain of black dirt. Far below them could be seen the
silver thread of a tiny stream as it followed the canyon toward the sandy
plains. They had climbed out onto a great boulder, now, that overlooked
the canyon far below on one side and the level plains on the other. Here
they sat down to rest and talk.

"Do you see that hollow spot in the plain there, just at the foot of the
mountain?" Mr. Allen was saying. "It is what has been known for many
years as the Big Hollow Ranch. It was homesteaded in the early days,
before the war, by our friend, Daddy Wright. There is a story that tells
of how, in those days, the Indians would lie in wait and steal cattle
from the great Texas roundups as they passed, enroute to Kansas City, and
would drive large numbers of the cattle into that great hollow. After the
cattle were driven inside, a few men could guard the opening while the
other Indians drove the cattle off into lonely ravines."

"My! what a fire there must have been here sometime," exclaimed Willis,
noting the dead trees. "I have always wanted to see a forest fire; it
must be a grand sight."

"Yes, if you're far enough away to be safe," joined in Chuck. "I saw one
once, but it was several miles away. It looked fine from there. It was
the year we camped at the old hatcheries up in the Middle Park. Mount
Deception was very much like Black Mountain, then--very heavily timbered
with fine, large trees. As the years went by a very large slab pile began
to acc