In the Sierra 



foremost rank plunged in and swam bravely 

 to the farther shore. Then suddenly all 

 rushed in pell-mell together, trampling one 

 another under water, while we vainly tried 

 to hold them back. The Don jumped into 

 the thickest of the gasping, gurgling, drown- 

 ing mass, and shoved them right and left as 

 if each sheep was a piece of floating timber. 

 The current also served to drift them 

 apart ; a long bent column was soon formed, 

 and in a few minutes all were over and 

 began baaing and feeding as if nothing out 

 of the common had happened. That none 

 were drowned seems wonderful. I fully ex- 

 pected that hundreds would gain the roman- 

 tic fate of being swept into Yosemite over 

 the highest waterfall in the world. 



As the day was far spent, we camped a 

 little way back from the ford, and let the 

 dripping flock scatter and feed until sun- 

 down. The wool is dry now, and calm, cud- 

 chewing peace has fallen on all the comfort- 

 able band, leaving no trace of the watery 



