26 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



The cony appears something of a traveller, 

 something of an explorer. A number climb to 

 the summit of the nearest peak during the sum- 

 mer and occasionally one goes far down into the 

 lower lands. 



A few times I have seen them as explorers on 

 top of Long's Peak and other peaks that rise 

 above 14,000 feet; and occasionally a cony comes 

 to my cabin and spends a few days looking 

 around, taking refuge, and spending the nights 

 in the woodpile. My cabin is at 9,000 feet, 

 and the nearest cony territory is about a mile 

 up the mountainside. 



One snowy day, while out following a number 

 of mountain sheep, I passed near the home of 

 Rocky and turned aside hoping to see him. 

 Before reaching his rock I saw a weasel coming 

 toward me with a limp cony upon his shoulder 

 and clutched by the throat. The weasel saw 

 me and kept on coming toward me, and would, 

 I believe, have brushed by. He appeared in a 

 hurry to take his kill somewhere, probably home. 



I threw a large chunk of snow which struck 

 upon a rock by him. He fell off the rock in 

 scrambling over the snow. But he clung to 

 the cony and dragged it out of reach beneath a 

 boulder. 



No fur or blood was found on Rocky's rock 

 nor on any of the rocks surrounding his den. 



