HUNTERS AND TRAPPERS OF THE FAR WEST. 81 



to its forks, they struck into the upland prairies lying at the 

 foot of the mountains ; and crossing to the numerous water- 

 courses which feed the creek called " Vermilion," or " Cherry," 

 they pursued the trail over the mountain spurs until it reached 

 a fork of the Boiling Spring. Here the war-party had halted 

 and held a consultation, for from this point the trail turned at 

 a tangent to the westward, and entered the rugged gorges of 

 mountains. It was now evident to the two trappers that their 

 destination was the Bayou Slade a mountain valley which, 

 is a favorite resort of the buffalo in the winter season, and 

 which, and for this reason, is often frequented by the Yuta 

 Indians as their wintering-ground. That the Rapahos were 

 on a war expedition aganst the Yutas, there was little doubt ; 

 and Killbuck, who knew every inch of the ground, saw at once, 

 by the direction the trail had taken, that they were making for 

 the Bayou in order to surprise their enemies, and, therefore, 

 were not following the usual Indian trail up the canon of the 

 Boiling Spring river. Having made up his mind to this, he 

 at once struck across the broken ground lying at the foot of 

 the mountains, steering a course a little to the eastward of 

 north, or almost in the direction whence he had come : and 

 then, pointing westward, about noon he crossed the mountain 

 chain, and descending in a ravine through which a little rivulet 

 tumbled over its rocky bed, he at once proved the correctness 

 of his judgment by striking the Indian trail, now quite fresh, 

 as it wound through the canon along the bank of the stream. 

 The route he had followed, impracticable to pack-animals, had 

 saved at least half a day's journey, and brought them within 

 a short distance of the object of their pursuit ; for, at the 

 head of the gorge, a lofty bluff presenting itself, the hunters 

 ascended to the summit, and, looking down, described at their 

 very feet the Indian camp, with their own stolen cavallada 

 feeding quietly round. 



" Wah !" exclaimed both the hunters in a breath. "And 

 thar's the old gal at that," chuckled Killbuck, as he recog- 



