Anyone who has only seen the great plains late in summer or in the autumn, after the grass has become sere and yellow and the foliage along the streams has faded, can have little idea of the pristine beauty presented by such a valley as that of the Powder river in early springtime, when the earth is carpeted with verdure, the river banks lined with newly-clothed trees and shrubs, and the meadows blooming with flowers, the beauty and brilliancy of which can not be excelled anywhere. The winter snows have melted; the spring rains have come and gone, leaving the earth fresh and moist; the climate is mild and delightful. Under all these charming conditions who would not enjoy the scene unfolding before our eyes as we mount our spirited broncos and ride out to the place of rendezvous which has been appointed near the mouth of the river, and where the clans are already gathering. Temporary camps have been established by those who have arrived in advance of us, around which groups of cowboys are lounging. A band of horses and ponies which they have liberated is contentedly grazing on the river bank, and several small bands of cattle may be seen in various directions, most of them at considerable distances away, for they are wild and avoid the presence of human beings. A cloud of dust is faintly visible on top of the divide nearly three miles to the south, and on examining it carefully with our glasses we find it is being raised by a jolly band of five cowboys, who are riding like mad, each leading four or five horses. Looking away to the north we see a mess-wagon, or "chuck outfit," approaching, drawn by four horses, and from the slow and labored gait at which they toil along they doubtless bring abundant store of good things. Behind this, two riders are driving ten head of loose horses. And these small detachments continue to come in from every point of the compass all the forenoon, until, when all the ranches in this roundup district have furnished their levies, the force numbers one hundred and thirty-five men and about twelve hundred horses. Each rider has his "string" of horses, numbering from five to seven, and changes two or three times a day, riding one horse twenty to forty miles, and sixty to seventy-five miles a day is considered a fair day's work for a man. The reserve herd is placed in charge of a herder or "wrangler," who is required to keep them under perfect control, and to be able to produce such of them as are wanted on short notice, the _riata_ being frequently used in taking them out of the herd. The foreman has arrived and takes charge of the entire outfit, placing it on a thoroughly effective and working basis for the morrow.