IN THE PACIFIC. 49 



his pipe, accidentally sefc fire to the dry grass ; 

 in a moment the whole place was in a blaze, 

 and the flames spread so rapidly that we had to 

 hasten down the valley and take refuge in a 

 wood. Upon emerging from this wood on the 

 opposite side from which the flames were 

 approaching, we caught sight of a small herd 

 of goats, led by one fine old ram ; they galloped 

 off on seeing us, and made towards the cliffs, 

 where they have paths where no man could 

 follow them. 



By running to cut them off I reached the 

 edge of the cliff just in time to see the old 

 fellow leading his flock along a narrow path 

 below me : a lucky snap shot sent a ball through 

 his head, and tumbled him over the precipice 

 to the beach, many hundred feet below. We 

 were unable to see the spot where he had fallen, 

 but some of our people were fishing not far from 

 the place, and hearing the shot, and seeing 

 what had happened, they landed and secured the 

 goat. He proved to be a fine old fellow with 

 grey beard and long horns, which latter, strange 



