340 MOUNTAIN-SHEEP. 



ridge on foot, starting early, and had barely reached the top 

 when I saw three mountain-sheep. They were on a lower 

 ridge on the other side, and a long way off, but the wind was 

 right, and I determined to try for one of them. I had a very 

 steep descent of four hundred feet, and some rocky ravines to 

 cross, then came a climb, where I had to use my hands as well, 

 after which it was all crawling, and I managed to get within a 

 hundred and twenty yards of them, when I saw they were two 

 sheep and a young ram, with well formed but short horns. I 

 had pushed the safety-bolts of my rifle forward, and now, as I 

 thought, drew them back ; but when I tried to full cock the 

 hammers, I found that I could not do so, and I took my knife- 

 handle to push the bolts further, when off went the right barrel, 

 and the sheep did the same, and I had my long scramble for 

 nothing. On my way back I shot a deer, choosing one which 

 I started close to the valley, so that I could come again for 

 more of the meat. 



On the morning of the next day I was off again, being now, 

 I calculated, only one day's journey from camp, and I was 

 riding down a ravine when I saw an immense bear coming up it. 

 I jumped off at once and got behind my pony, hoping that the 

 bear had not seen me, but he had done so, and turned up a side 

 ravine. Leaving my pony I crossed two small ridges which lay 

 between me and the ravine he was in, and arrived just in time 

 to see him go into a thick patch of dead thorn bushes. These, 

 as I have said before, are very common in that part of the 

 Montana ; fire at some time has killed them, and the bark has 

 come off and the wood become very hard, but the thorns 

 remain as sharp as ever, creepers grow over them, and they are a 

 very favourite lair for bears. This patch was about sixty yards 



