1 84 AN AMERICAN HUNTER 



so in the middle, and, moreover, the shoulders or project- 

 ing ridges in the surface spoken of above were so pro- 

 nounced, that I knew it was out of the question for the 

 animal to have seen me, but I was afraid it might have 

 heard me. The air was absolutely still, and so I had no 

 fear of its sharp nose. Twice in succession I peered with 

 the utmost caution around shoulders of the cliff, merely 

 to see nothing beyond save another shoulder some forty 

 or fifty yards distant. Then I crept up to the edge and 

 looked over the level plateau. Nothing was in sight ex- 

 cepting the horses, and these were close up to me, and, of 

 course, they all raised their heads to look. I nervously 

 turned half round, sure that if the animal, whatever it 

 was, was in sight, it would promptly take the alarm. 

 However, by good luck, it appeared that at this time it 

 was below the crest on the terrace or bench already men- 

 tioned, and, on creeping to the next shoulder, I at last 

 saw it a yearling mountain sheep walking slowly away 

 from me, and evidently utterly unsuspicious of any dan- 

 ger. I straightened up, bringing my rifle to my shoulder, 

 and as it wheeled I fired, and the sheep made two or three 

 blind jumps in my direction. So close was I to the camp, 

 and so still was the cold morning, that I distinctly heard 

 one of the three men, who had remained clustered about 

 the fire eagerly watching my movements, call, " By 

 George, he's missed! I saw the bullet strike the cliff." 

 I had fired behind the shoulders, and the bullet, going 

 through, had buried itself in the bluff beyond. The 

 wound was almost instantaneously fatal, and the sheep, 

 after striving in vain to keep its balance, fell heels over 



