Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders from images generously made available by the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions A WOMAN TENDERFOOT By Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson 1900 In this Book the full-page Drawings were made by Ernest Seton-Thompson, G. Wright and E.M. Ashe, and the Marginals by S.N. Abbott. The cover, title-page and general make-up were designed by the Author. Thanks are due to Miller Christy for proof revision, and to A.A. Anderson for valuable suggestions on camp outfitting. (No illustrations are included in this file.) THIS BOOK IS A TRIBUTE TO THE WEST. I have used many Western phrases as necessary to the Western setting. I can only add that the events related really happened in the Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada; and this is why, being a woman, I wanted to tell about them, in the hope that some going-to-Europe-in-the-summer-woman may be tempted to go West instead. G.G.S.-T. New York City, September 1st, 1900. CONTENTS I The Why of It II Outfit and Advice for the Woman-who-goes-hunting-with-her-husband III The First Plunge of the Woman Tenderfoot IV Which Treats of the Imps and My Elk V Lost in the Mountains VI The Cook VII Among the Clouds VIII At Yeddars IX My Antelope X A Mountain Drama XI What I Know about Wahb of the Bighorn Basin XII The Dead Hunt XIII Just Rattlesnakes XIV As Cowgirl XV The Sweet Pea Lady Someone Else's Mountain Sheep XVI In which the Tenderfoot Learns a New Trick XVII _Our_ Mine XVIII The Last Word A LIST OF FULL-PAGE DRAWINGS. Costume for cross saddle riding Tears starting from your smoke-inflamed eyes Saddle cover for wet weather Policeman's equestrian rain coat She was postmistress twice a week The trail was lost in a gully Whetted one to a razor edge and threw it into a tree where it stuck quivering Not three hundred yards away ... were two bull elk in deadly combat Down the path came two of the prettiest Blacktails A misstep would have sent us flying over the cliff Thus I fought through the afternoon We whizzed across the railroad track in front of the Day Express Five feet full in front of us, they pulled their horses to a dead stop The coyotes made savage music The horrid thing was ready for me I started on a gallop, swinging one arm The warm beating heart of a mountain sheep I could not keep away from his hoofs We started forward, just as the rear wheels were hovering over the edge "You better not sit down on that kaig ... It's nitroglycerine" The tunnel caused its roof to cave in close behind me A mountain lion sneaked past my saddle-pillowed head I. THE WHY OF IT.