242 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES 



had to go around and ascend the mountain from the 

 other side in order to secure them. 



The same party, while climbing the rugged and 

 almost perpendicular face of Little Mountain to 

 bring down some goats they had already killed, 

 came suddenly upon a large buck in a narrow V- 

 shaped fissure in the rock, from which there was no- 

 escape but by the opening at which they had entered, 

 and across this they formed a skirmish line. The 

 goat climbed upon a narrow projection on one of the 

 walls of the fissure just out of reach of the tallest 

 man in the party, and as they had no rifles with 

 them (having left them below to lighten the labor of 

 the ascent), they tried to dislodge him by throwing 

 rocks at him, but their footing was so insecure and 

 there was such great danger of their falling that 

 they could not hurl these with sufficient force to 

 bring him down I hough several of them hit him. If 

 they had had a rope they could easily have lassoed 

 him, but there Avas no such thing at hand. They 

 finally decided to leave one of the men to guard 

 their prisoner, and on their return to camp another 

 man took a rifle, went back, killed the goat, and the 

 two bore him triumphantly down to camp. The 

 gentleman says : ' l Had I not been an eye witness, 

 and had I subsequently been shown the place where 

 the goat stood thus at bay, I could scarcely have 

 believed it possible for anything larger than a fly to 

 have found footing there. ' ' 



Fortunately, however, the successful hunting of 

 the goat is not always thus perilous, for though he 

 habitually selects for his home the roughest and 

 most inaccessible peaks to be found in the mount- 



