246 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES 



many of his passages in which I could not follow, 

 but I had to make slow and tortuous detours, coming 

 upon his trail again beyond these most dangerous 

 points. 



Had he traveled straight ahead I could never have 

 overtaken him, but the time he consumed in fre- 

 quently stopping to nip the tender leaves of the 

 mountain alder or the juicy lichens that grow upon 

 the rocks proved fatal to him, and finally, after a 

 chase of probably two miles and when near the top 

 of the peak close to timber line, I came in s'ght of 

 him. He was truly a beautiful creature. There he 

 stood, unconscious of approaching danger, look- 

 ing calmly out across a neighboring canon as if 

 enjoying the grand scenery about him. Occasionally 

 he turned to take a mouthful of some delicate mount- 

 ain herb that stood near him The pale creamy white 

 of his fleece contrasted delicately and beautifully 

 with the green of the cedars, the golden autumn -col- 

 ored leaves of the shrubs, the dull gray of the granite 

 rocks, and the pure white of the early autumn snow. 

 The sunlight glistened upon the polished black of 

 his proudly curved and beautifully rounded horns, 

 and his large black eyes gleamed as with conscious 

 innocence and pride. I contemplated his majestic 

 rnien for several minutes before I could nerve my- 

 self to the task of taking his life, but finally the 

 hunter's instinct conquered my more delicate feel- 

 ings. I put my rifle to my shoulder, pressed the 

 gently yielding trigger, and in an instant more his 

 life blood crimsoned the driven snow. 



After making temporary disposition of his remains, 

 I returned as rapidly as possible to camp to get my 



