e about twenty-five miles away, where
we lived in tents and had a taste of real camp life. With the
consent of the owner of the land we pitched our tents near his
house on the banks of the lake about three miles long and perhaps
half a mile wide. This sight of water was pleasing, but we were
warned not to drink it. We had a bountiful supply of pure healthy
water, however, from an artesian well driven over a hundred feet
into the earth and pumped by almost continuous winds into a great
basin, which furnished water in abundance for man and beast. The
only house in sight besides the one near our camp was occupied by
the brother of our host, three miles away at the other end of the
lake. The two brothers were the lords of all they surveyed. They
owned large herds of cattle that ranged over the plains around,
drank of the waters of the lake and fed upon the sparse herbage.
A few hundred of them were kept in a corral near the homesteads
for sale, but the larger portion roamed under the care of herdsmen
wherever the herbage seemed the best.

Here our hunters, with a fine pack of dogs, pursued prairie chickens,
and not only supplied our table but contributed to the soldiers in
their shelter tents near by. Mrs. Miles and I, escorted by her
young son, Sherman Miles, on horseback, had the benefit of a horse
and buggy with which we could drive in any direction. There was
no fence or bog or obstruction in the way. We generally kept in
sight of our hunters, but if we lost the trail we could go to the
hills and soon locate our camp. This free and easy life soon cured
my languor and weariness and I was able to walk or ride long
distances as well as any of the party.

Returning to Woodlake we attached our car to the train for Big
Spring in South Dakota. Here we spent two or three days, mainly
in riding through the picturesque country around. We intended to
extend our journey to Deadwood but the duties of General Miles
required him to visit St. Paul and the military post at Fort
Snelling. We returned by way of Sioux City, and thence to St.
Paul. This city and its sister Minneapolis, were familiar ground.
I had seen them when they were small towns, and had by frequent
visits kept pace with their growth, but the change noticed on my
last visit was a surprise to me. The two cities, but a few miles
apart when rival rural villages, were approaching each other and
no doubt are destined to blend into one great city of the nort