THE SHOSHONE INDIANS. 165 



the goats had pastured, he perceived them disappearing 

 in a ravine to which no visible means of access existed. 

 Had they made a leap of one hundred and eighty feet 

 from the summit of the rock to the bottom of the 

 ravine? Had they dived into the depths of the abyss 

 by some route known only to themselves 1 It was im- 

 possible to say, and neither the colonel nor his com- 

 panions could solve the mystery. The flight remained 

 a miracle ; it was so incomprehensible and inexplicable. 



On another occasion, Colonel Kearney fell in with a flock 

 of wild goats, whom the heat and the drought had driven 

 to the banks of the Missouri to quench their thirst. A 

 tribe of five hundred Indians had surrounded them, and 

 forced them right into the river. There these quadru- 

 peds, who dread the water nearly as much as the rifle, 

 nearly all fell victims to their imprudence. 



The wild goats are frequently beguiled by the devices 

 with which the Indians excite their curiosity concealing 

 themselves behind a tree, and waving a bit of cloth or a 

 white handkerchief. The lure draws the animal forward 

 until he comes within range of the hunter's gun. 



Of all the North American Indians, the Shoshones are 

 the most skilful in chasing the wild goat. When they 

 contrive to surround a troop, they drive it before them 

 into the middle of the plain. There, mounted upon excel- 

 lent horses, they separate into parties of three, and suc- 

 cessively pursue the terrified animals, who find themselves 

 met at every turn by their new enemies, before whom they 

 are forced to " wheel about face." Hemmed in on every 

 side, they are at a loss what direction to follow, and each 

 becomes the prey of the hunter, falling before his arrows. 



