CHAPTER XXI 



HUNTING AND PROSPECTING IN THE ROCKIES 



I wanted more food for my camera and Ned 

 thought he would like a hunt, so we decided to 

 cross the divide to the Vallecito on a prospecting 

 tour. We took with us Tim Hart and Macken- 

 zie, who was a miner by profession and a hunter 

 by occupation. A tent, tools, and provisions 

 were packed on a burro and after crossing the 

 divide Ned led the procession down the steep trail 

 to the Vallecito. I had fastened rifle and camera 

 to Bay Billy's saddle for the trail was so steep 

 that I wanted both hands free. I was just be- 

 hind my companion when he shouted, — 



"Two ungodly grizzlies, bigger than oxen!" 



I could see the great brutes as they shambled 



up the narrow trail shouldering one another, and 



already within a hundred feet of us. I slipped 



down between my pony and the almost vertical 



399 



