A Bear-Hunt In the Sierras 



to a rude bridge, where had occurred a battle 

 of the ranchmen upon the occasion of an at- 

 tempted entry by a "tramp" owner with his 

 flock into somebody's "summer range." The 

 intruder was killed, and I believe in this par- 

 ticular instance the possessor of the unwritten 

 right of exclusive pasturage upon Govern- 

 ment land found the laws of California awk- 

 ward to deal with ; not so deadly, it may be, 

 as a six-shooter, but expensive and discourag- 

 ing to quiet pastoral methods. 



Another point of interest was Rattlesnake 

 Rock, which we rounded upon the trail. This 

 was a spot peculiarly sheltered and favored by 

 the winds, the warmest corner that snakes wot 

 of, and here they assemble for their winter's 

 sleep. In the mild days of early spring, when 

 the rest of the world is still frozen and forbid- 

 den, this one little nook, catching all the sun, 

 is thawed and genial. From beneath the ledge 

 crawl forth into the warmth great store of rat- 

 tlers, big and little. Coming out from the Yo- 

 semite Valley, I had killed one quite four feet 

 in length and of exactly the same girth as my 

 wrist, which I was assured was not at all an 

 extraordinary size for them "in these parts." 

 Near this rock, in an unfeeling manner, I shot 



