182 SADDLE AND CAMP 



region by Kit Carson and his adventurous com- 

 panions, gathering a harvest of beaver pelts 

 while they maintained an almost constant war- 

 fare against the Indians. 



There were several local sportsmen on the 

 train, bound for various stations, all eager to 

 be first in the field with the opening of the prai- 

 rie chicken season the following day. No in- 

 troduction was needed, and I made myself a 

 member of several groups and obtained some 

 hints which served to verify reports previously 

 made me by guides with whom I had been in 

 correspondence. 



Our train reached Steamboat Springs, the 

 terminus of the road, at seven o'clock in the 

 evening. This is an attractive place, sur- 

 rounded by numerous springs of soda, sulphur, 

 iron, and other mineralized waters, and boasts 

 a comfortable hotel. It is rather far west to 

 meet the guides, most of them, in the Routt 

 County district, living in the neighborhood of 

 Yampa. 



The following morning I took an early train 

 to Phippsburg, in Yampa township, a few miles 

 to the eastward of Steamboat Springs, where I 

 met Albert Whitney, a well-known bear and 

 lion hunter and guide, as well as several other 

 of the local hunters. It had been my hope to 



