50 CAMP-FIRES OF A NATURALIST. 



leaves. The bushes were torn and stripped and the 

 tops chewed off, presenting a sorrowful sight. I 

 determined to get back to camp and start to-morrow 

 with five days' rations in my haversack, and find 

 those bears or die in the attempt. 



"I wandered along revolving my plans in my 

 mind, and came out of the big woods on a mesa 

 about two hundred yards wide, flanked on one side 

 by a heavy forest, while on the other was a sheer 

 fall of several hundred feet. It was a beautiful 

 place, and I thought it would be an amusing occupa- 

 tion to roll stones down the canon, but was too tired 

 to put the idea into practice. I was walking slowly 

 along, looking now and then towards the woods, but 

 not thinking of seeing anything, when suddenly 

 there appeared at the edge of the timber a number 

 of moving objects. I could not make out what they 

 were, but there was such a number of them I con- 

 cluded they must be goats. Mexicans sometimes 

 bring goats up the Pecos River into this country, and 

 I thought a herd might have been driven out of the 

 regular trail. As they appeared to be coming 

 towards me I waited and soon got another glimpse 

 of them about three hundred yards away. They 

 were among the trees, and the sun through the leaves 

 gave them a spotted appearance which convinced me 

 that they were goats, for many of the Mexican goats 

 are spotted. I could not see the herder and stood 

 perfectly still waiting for them to get nearer. Sud- 

 denly there came out of the forest, directly to the 

 west of me and not over seventy yards away, a huge 

 grizzly bear. 



