A COUGAR HUNT 3 



us all we had food enough for dinner and for 

 a light breakfast, and we had our bedding. 

 With characteristic cattleman's generosity, our 

 new friends turned over to us two pack-mules, 

 which could carry our bedding and the like, 

 and two spare saddle-horses — both the mules 

 and the spare saddle-horses having been brought 

 down by Mansfield because of a lucky mistake 

 as to the number of men he was to meet. 



Mansfield was a representative of the best 

 type of old-style ranch foreman. It is a hard 

 climb out of the canyon on the north side, and 

 Mansfield was bound that we should have an 

 early start. He was up at half-past one in the 

 morning; we breakfasted on a few spoonfuls 

 of mush; packed the mules and saddled the 

 horses; and then in the sultry darkness, which 

 in spite of the moon filled the bottom of the 

 stupendous gorge, we started up the Bright 

 Angel trail. Cummings and the two elder boys 

 walked; the rest of us were on horseback. The 

 trail crossed and recrossed the rapid brook, and 

 for rods at a time went up its bowlder-filled 

 bed; groping and stumbling, we made our 

 blind way along it; and over an hour passed 

 before the first grayness of the dawn faintly 

 lighted our footsteps. 



At last we left the stream bed, and the trail 



