124 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



necessary, for fear of spoiling it. We found it to be a two- 

 year-old, in splendid condition, and unusually fat for its 

 family in the wild state. It had, no doubt, been attracted 

 to our camp by the savory smell of bacon, which the In- 

 dian cook had left uncovered in a pan near the fire; and 

 though this was contrary to rule, yet I did not blame him 

 when I saw what it had brought me. 



During one of my short trips in the Cascade Range, I 

 was accompanied by a stock -raiser, his two sturdy sons, 

 and two Indians, who were civilized, in the sense that they 

 lived in cabins, cultivated a few acres of land, had some 

 cows and horses, and professed to be Christians. 



We were out in search of big-horns, and took the red 

 men with us, because they knew the mountains well and 

 had killed several sheep in their time. We encamped the 

 first night near a lovely tarn that was buried in a small, 

 deep valley, which was gay with wild -flowers and green 

 with generous grasses. Towering basaltic crags arose on 

 one side, like huge sentinels intended to guard the vale, 

 and on the other a coppice, composed of several varieties 

 of trees, from pine to mountain maple, grew in wild luxuri- 

 ance. The Indians objected strongly to selecting this beau- 

 tiful spot for a camp, and on asking them their reason 

 therefor they refused to tell, but they would not remain 

 there, they said, for any consideration ; and as we would 

 not leave, they picked up their traps and departed for 

 some other quarters. They rejoined us the next day, how- 

 ever, and hunted as assiduously as any of ourselves. On 

 starting out, we went in pairs, and moved in opposite di- 

 rections, so as to be able to head off any animals fleeing 

 from one side of the valley or mountain to another, and, if 

 necessary, to make a surround. My companion, who was 

 the senior pale-face of the party, was accompanied by three 

 large dogs used for hunting cattle and wild game, and they 

 seemed to be equally expert in all. Moving toward the 

 coppice, in order to work up the valley in the direction of 

 the bluffs, we were soon beating the undergrowth to see if 

 we could find game of any kind there. After quartering 



