the severest known for many years. With their abundance of fuel,
they kept enormous fires going and passed the days and nights in
comparative comfort.

But it was far different with their stock. During the severe
weather, the only food that could be obtained was the bark of the
cottonwood. The inner lining of this is quite palatable to animals
and in cases of extremity it affords temporary sustenance to men.
With its help actual starvation was kept away, though it came very
close.

Unusual weather always brings unusual experience, and the intense
cold developed an annoyance to the trappers upon which they had
not counted. The difficulty of finding food was felt by the wild
animals as well as domestic, and the bisons became desperate. When
they saw the horses eating their fodder, they rushed forward and
with lowered heads drove them away. If a horse or mule refused, he
was likely to be gored to death.

The beasts finally became so numerous and fierce they would have
killed all the stock of our friends if they had not kindled large
fires and mounted constant guard. When the weather moderated those
annoyances ended.

Had any explorer of the west found his way to the secluded valley
where the trappers were in winter quarters, he would have looked
upon a striking scene. The Crow Indians and white men engaged in
numerous athletic sports in friendly rivalry. They maintained the
best of terms, and when the bisons departed, the strange community
enjoyed themselves far better than would be supposed. In truth where