MOUNTAIN GAME. 131 



the result ; for the second plunge of the 

 horses brought them up to their bellies in the 

 morass, where they stuck. It was freezing 

 cold, with a bitter wind blowing, and the bog 

 holes were skimmed with ice ; so that we 

 passed a thoroughly wretched two hours while 

 freeing the horses and unloading the wagon. 

 However, we eventually got across ; my com- 

 panion preserving an absolutely unruffled 

 temper throughout, perseveringly whistling 

 the •' Arkansas Traveller." At one period, 

 when we were up to our waists in the icy 

 mud, it began to sleet and hail, and I mut- 

 tered that I would "rather it did n't storm" ; 

 whereat he stopped whistling for a moment 

 to make the laconic rejoinder, " We 're not 

 having our rathers this trip." 



At nightfall we camped among the willow 

 bushes by a little brook. For firewood we had 

 only dead willow sticks ; they made a hot 

 blaze which soon died out ; and as the cold 

 grew intense, we rolled up in our blankets as 

 soon as we had eaten our supper. The cli- 

 mate of the Big Hole Basin is alpine ; that 

 night, though it was the 2olh of August, the 

 thermometer sank to 10° F. 



Early next morning we struck camp, shiv- 

 ering wiUi cold as we threw the stiff, frozen 

 harness on the horses. We soon got among 

 the foot-hills, where tiie forest was open and 

 broken by large glades, forming what is called 

 a park country. The higher we went the 

 smaller grew the glades and the denser the 

 woodland ; and it began to lie very difficult 

 to get the wagon forward. In many places 

 one man had to go ahead to pick out the way 



