'Hunting at High 'Altitudes 



so deep that the horses could not dig through it 

 and secure food enough to keep them in good con- 

 dition, so we determined that they should be sent 

 back to the ranch, to be brought out here again as 

 soon as the snow melted enough to enable us to get 

 the wagon out. Accordingly, on the 5th of No- 

 vember, John started for the ranch, packing two 

 deer on one horse and riding the other. He be- 

 lieved that twelve or fifteen miles would take him 

 home, but I feared that he might have trouble with 

 snowdrifts. Cornelius and I remained in camp 

 with little to do, for the snow was two feet deep, 

 and it was difficult to move about in it. However, 

 we had plenty of provisions, abundant venison and 

 a brook full of trout, almost in front of the tent 

 door. 



On the 6th of November Cornelius and I deter- 

 mined to make a hunt. We did so, and killed two 

 deer; but returned at night almost broken down 

 with fatigue, for the labor of walking through two 

 feet of snow was extraordinary. The next few 

 days we spent in camp, loading cartridges, fishing 

 and performing various camp tasks. The weather 

 was mild and the snow thawed so rapidly that we 

 determined to hunt the following day. It was 

 still warm, and I set out and followed three white- 

 tails up into the Dines where I killed a large buck 



36 



