CAPTIVE MOUNTAIN GOATS 335 



panied Smith into the mountains, for the purpose of cap- 

 turing kids. They found a female goat, with a kid only 

 a few days old, near the top of a lofty and very precip- 

 itous peak on the north side of Goat Creek. They 

 climbed the mountain, scaled the peak to its summit, 

 and finally succeeded in driving the mother goat and 

 her kid upon a narrow ledge which terminated against 

 an unscalable wall. 



Rope in hand, Charlie Smith followed the mother 

 goat and her young along their narrow shelf of rock al- 

 most to the end of the cul-de-sac. But there the pursuit 

 ended. From that point onward the rock wall overhung 

 so much that ten feet away from the goats a human being 

 could go no farther. Below was a perpendicular drop 

 of hundreds of feet, but the rocks above sloped suffi- 

 ciently that Norboe was able to come within about ten 

 feet of his partner. 



" Mack," said Smith, " go and cut a pole about ten 

 feet long, strong enough to swing this kid, give it to me, 

 and I'll soon have him." 



While his partner went to cut the pole, Smith sat 

 down on the ledge, with his feet hanging over eternity, 

 and waited. When the pole arrived, and had been 

 passed down to him, he bent his lariat upon the end, and 

 left a suitable noose hanging free. When all was ready, 

 he bade Norboe climb down as near to him as possible, 

 and when the word was given he reached forward, 

 noosed the kid around its neck, swung it out over the 

 abyss and up to Norboe, who took it, and carried it to 

 a place of safety. Then Smith gingerly arose, edged 



