The Mountain Sheep 197 



We stood at the empty top of the mountain 

 with our ruined day. There was not a live ani- 

 mal in sight anywhere. Those that jumped into 

 the valley were lost among the pines, and warned 

 about us beyond retrieve. We had banged away 

 at such a rate up here that a wide circle of sheep 

 must be apprised of our neighborhood. Why had 

 we done it ? For just the same reason that a num- 

 ber of brave persons ran away suddenly at Bull 

 Run as if perdition were at their heels. Surprise, 

 I take it, is at the bottom of the most unaccount- 

 able acts of men. And if you wonder why our 

 two Indians were surprised, I can only answer 

 with a theory of mine that Indians who hunt on 

 horseback have small knowledge of mountain 

 sheep. Antelope, deer, white-tail and black, and 

 even elk, can be, and are constantly thus hunted 

 by the Indians ; but when it comes to climbing 

 where the horses cannot go, I suspect that his 

 rider seldom goes either. Looking back, I see 

 now that this whole excursion was conducted 

 ignorantly, and that our guides (both of them 

 excellent hunters of other game) neglected the 

 very first principle here, namely,- to get to the 

 top of the mountains and hunt down. 



We returned our long way to camp, and the 



