ADYENTUEES WITH MUSK-SHEEP AND CAEIBOO. 51 



cut across the angle formed by the bend of the river, and 

 had progressed about half way when I saw a female musk- 

 sheep coming after me. When a lad in the Highlands I 

 had got dreadfully punished by a tup, and the remem- 

 brances of the event had not yet been forgotten. A 

 mountain rain is a small beast compared to my present 

 pursuer, and he was able to do enough mischief. The 

 ground was very roughly sprinkled with boulders, some of 

 great size, and for the most inaccessible of those I made 

 the best speed I could muster, and only succeeded in 

 gaining a place of safety when the ewe's horns were within 

 a foot or two of my hurdies. For over an hour she kept 

 watch on me ; and, worse than all, when I got back to my 

 fish, some vermin or other had carried all the best ones off, 

 and it was getting too late to catch a new mess. When at 

 the fort the Indians soon explained the reasons of this 

 unprovoked attack, and proved the correctness of their 

 assertion by shooting the mother next morning and 

 bringing the lamb home, which we were unable to keep 

 alive for over three days, much to the regret of all." 



The second adventure is a repetition of the inexcusable 

 folly of not immediately loading your gun before 

 approaching wounded game. " In stalking some barren 

 carnboo, eight musk sheep crossed directly between me 

 and the deer. I was well hid at the time, so that they 

 came unsuspiciously within thirty yards. In a moment I 

 gave them both barrels. To the first shot an old buck 

 dropped, and rolled into a ravine ; the second barrel 

 crippled a three-quarter grown sheep so badly that I knew 

 less than a mile would lay her up. In my hurry to secure 



4 * 



