Memories of a Bear Hunter 



north and to the south. It was cool and some ice 

 had formed in the water buckets. The wind was 

 blowing hard and cold, and I determined not to 

 move camp this day. About i o'clock I set out to 

 look for sheep on a high tableland that we had not 

 hunted hitherto. Just before ascending the moun- 

 tain, I saw what I supposed to be a band of sheep 

 just on the path that I had picked out to follow 

 to the summit. Instead of going up further, I kept 

 on down the valley until out of their sight, and 

 then turned up and climbed the mountain until I 

 was above them, and by a long and weary tramp 

 approached them. I at length discovered them 

 lying down below me, about a hundred and fifty 

 yards distant on the mountainside, but horizontally 

 only about a hundred and twenty yards. I shot at 

 a ewe and broke her hindleg, and the others not 

 knowing the direction whence the danger came, ran 

 directly up the mountain toward me. As I was 

 preparing to use the double triggers, the rifle went 

 off accidentally, and the ball passed over the sheep, 

 so I lost a fine chance to kill another. I then hur- 

 ried down the mountain at breakneck speed, and 

 shot the wounded animal, which proved to be an 

 antelope, a I had discovered when the band ran 

 toward me. I took a ham and went to the gulch, 

 where we had previously found the sheep and 



in 



