CHAPTER XII. 



In the Cascades A Forest Fire After Rocky Mountain Goats 

 The First Shot Down the Mountain A Successful 

 Hunter A Night of Hardships A Naturalist's Labours. 



>HREE days spent at Thorp's ranch pre- 

 paring for an expedition after Rocky 

 Mountain goats put the horses in fair con- 

 dition for travelling, and they went along 

 at a good rate on the first day. The whole country 

 to the north and northwest was covered with smoke 

 from the forest fires which had been started by In- 

 dians to bunch the deer. Hundreds of the animals 

 were slaughtered and thousands of acres of the most 

 magnificent timber land in the country burned over 

 and ruined by these Indians. On the first day out 

 from Thorp's ranch thirty-seven deer were seen. 

 There was a camp of Indians near old Camp Victoria, 

 and here Dyche stopped for a few minutes' talk with 

 the redskins. Dozens of dogs greeted him as he ap- 

 proached the camp, and about a dozen bucks came 

 out and stretched themselves on the ground near the 

 naturalist, with the exclamation " How !" 



As the red men could talk a little broken English, 

 the hunter endeavoured to get information from them 

 regarding game. The spokesman held up five fingers 

 and said, " Mowwich, " indicating that he had killed 



174 



