376 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



crags as far as we could see. From the directions given us, 

 we supposed this to be the trail we were to follow. We 

 climbed the mountain to its summit, a hard piece of work, 

 which took till afternoon. When we got there, we found an 

 open, grassy country, such as we were looking for; but 

 bands of horses and cattle were grazing all over it, and not 

 a Sheep or Sheep-track was to be found. 



My guide, a half-breed Indian, had, in the face of my 

 earnest protest, allowed his dog to follow us. He was a 

 young mongrel, and I felt sure he would be a nuisance; but 

 Charley insisted that he was a good dog, and would be 

 useful to us in various ways. He had already had several 

 runs after Deer along the trail, and now that we had got 

 into a country where they were abundant, his squeaky yelp 

 was heard in the land all the time. He ran by sight, and 

 as soon as one Deer had gone away and left him, he would 

 jump another. Before we had had time to ascertain 

 whether there were any Sheep on this mountain or not, I 

 was mad enough tit the pup to shoot him all to pieces. I 

 knew that if there was any game in the country, he would 

 drive it all out long before we could get sight of it. I told 

 Charley if he didn't round up the infernal cur and picket 

 him, 1 would brand him with an Express bullet. He said 

 he would, just as soon as he could catch him, but that was 

 a very indefinite quantity. 



We went into camp, and the dog had Deer running all 

 around us before we got the tent pitched. Some of them 

 almost ran over us. A band of eight or ten came bounding 

 down the side of the mountain, and stopped within thirty 

 yards of us. Charley picked up his rilie and killed a fat 

 young buck, which we needed in our business. Then some 

 Indians who were camped near us, hunting Deer and dry- 

 in^ meat, came to us and asked if we wanted that dog any 

 more. Charley said we did, and they said then we had 

 better tie him up; they wanted what few Deer there were 

 around there, and he was driving them all away. We 

 asked them about the Sheep, and they said we had climbed 

 the mountain too soon: that we must go back to the creek, 



