208 THE WILDERNESS HUNTER. 



two streams welled down from either side. 

 At first each flowed in but one bed, but soon 

 divided into two ; each of the twin branches 

 then joined the like branch of the brook op- 

 posite, and swept one to the east and one to 

 the west, on their long journey to the two 

 great oceans. They ran as rapid brooks, 

 through wet meadows and willow-flats, the 

 eastern to the Yellowstone, the western to 

 the Snake. The dark pine forests swept 

 down from the flanks and lower ridges of the 

 mountains to the edges of the marshy valley. 

 Above them jutted gray rock peaks, snow- 

 drifts lying in the rents that seamed their 

 northern faces. Far below us, from a great 

 basin at the foot of the cliff, filled with the 

 pine forest, rose the musical challenge of a 

 bull elk; and we saw a band of cows and 

 calves looking like mice as they ran among 

 the trees. 



It was getting late, and after some search 

 we failed to find any trail leading down ; so 

 at last we plunged over the brink at a vent- 

 ure. It was very rough scrambling, dropping 

 from bench to bench, and in places it was not 

 only difficult but dangerous for the loaded 

 pack-animals. Here and there we were 

 helped by well-beaten elk-trails, which we 

 could follow for several hundred yards at a 

 time. On one narrow pine-clad ledge, we 

 met a spike bull face to face ; and in scram- 

 bling down a very steep, bare, rock-strewn 

 shoulder the loose stones started by the 

 horses' hoofs, bounding in great leaps to the 

 forest below, dislodged two cows. 



As evening fell, we reached the bottom, and 



