84 CAMP-FIRES IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES 



faster than they did on that lazy afternoon. When the 

 leader of this band of weary Willies reached the geo- 

 graphical centre of the sky-meadow, about two hundred 

 yards from us, he decided to take a sun-bath, on the most 

 luxurious basis possible to him. Slowly he focussed his 

 mind upon a level bench of earth, about four feet wide. 

 It contained an old goat-bed, of loose earth, and upon 

 this he lay down, with his back uphill. 



At this point, however, he took a sudden resolution. 

 After about a minute of reflection, he decided that the 

 head of his bed was too high and too humpy; so, bracing 

 himself back with his right foreleg, like an ancient Ro- 

 man senator at a feast, he set his left leg in motion and 

 flung out from under his breast a quantity of earth. The 

 loose soil rose in a black shower, two feet high, and the 

 big hoof flung it several feet down the hill. After about 

 a dozen rakes, he settled down to bask in the warm sun- 

 shine, and blink at the scenery of Avalanche Valley. 



Five minutes later, a little higher up the slope, an- 

 other goat did the same thing; and eventually two or 

 three others laid down. One, however, deliberately sat 

 down on his haunches, dog-fashion, with his back uphill. 

 For fully a quarter of an hour he sat there in profile, 

 slowly turning his head from side to side, and gazing at 

 the scenery while the wind blew through his whiskers. 



So far as I could determine, no sentinel was posted. 

 There was no leader, and no individual seemed particu- 

 larly on the alert for enemies. One and all, they felt 

 perfectly secure. 



In observing those goats one fact became very notice- 



