28 A Hunting Trip 



a field-glass could I see the object to be a 

 sheep. Down the mountain we slid, crawled, 

 and slipped over loose stones, taking cover be- 

 hind every possible object in the descent. A 

 pause being made for a moment in our haste, 

 the field-glasses were again used in our anxiety 

 to learn if any change had taken place in the 

 conditions, since we started our stalk, and to 

 our discomfort the quarry was standing with 

 head erect looking directly toward us, and then 

 the Indian uttered some guttural expression of 

 regret, as w^e stole away under cover. When 

 we reached the bottom, the Indian started on 

 his circuitous route toward the top and I up 

 the canyon. The excitement under such condi- 

 tions is at its highest pitch, knowing that a mis- 

 step would overturn a stone, and away it would 

 go down the mountain, with a loud report. 



Occasionally a stone would be overturned 

 and grabbed immediately to a standstill ; then 

 a dry twig would be snapped, a crack and a 

 wry face follow. Finally after about two hours' 

 stalk the old bighorn ram, the noblest beast of 

 the chase, is in sight, feeding at the foot of a 

 perpetual snow-drift at the base of a slide. 



