(Continued from page 25)

slugged along. Kremer said the warmer weather had tired the bison and they didn't want to move until the cowboys and cowgirls pushed them further into the pens. The animals will stay in the pens until the new ones are branded, others vaccinated and the cows checked for pregnancy.
• The goal of the South Dakota event is to keep the head in Custer State Park at about 1,000 bison, Kremer said. Those chosen for sale will be auctioned off in November.
• Fewer bison were being corralled this year than in the past because the park's herd count has been down due to drought, said Custer State Park Resource Program Manager Gary Brundige. In the past, as many as 1,500 buffalo would take part in the roundup.
• Dry weather conditions were also on the mind of the event organizers. Custer State Park Superintendent Matt Snyder said extra fire engines and teams were on hand in case a horse's metal hoof sliding against a rock or a car used in the roundup graced against the dry vegetation and sparked a fire.
• But organizers said no fires were sparked during Monday's event.
• That was good news for many of the spectators who have dreamed about seeing the roundup in person for years and made travel plans months in advance.
• Darla Robeck, a school nurse in Montrose, Minn., persuaded her school to change the dates of students' hearing and eye exams so she could witness the roundup. She said the experience made her think back to what life was like when buffalo roamed free on the Great Plains.
• Robeck has traveled to South Dakota many times, although she had never seen the roundup. She said she often brings exchange students to the state to see the wide open land.
• "In other countries they don't have the open country like here," she said.
•