The Mountain Sheep 197 



We stood at the empty top of the mountain 

 with our ruined day. There was not a live ani- 

 mal in sight anywhere. Those that jumped into 

 the valley were lost among the pines, and warned 

 about us beyond retrieve. We had banged away 

 at such a rate up here that a wide circle of sheep 

 must be apprised of our neighborhood. Why had 

 we done it ? For just the same reason that a num- 

 ber of brave persons ran away suddenly at Bull 

 Run as if perdition were at their heels. Surprise, 

 I take it, is at the bottom of the most unaccount- 

 able acts of men. And if you wonder why our 

 two Indians were surprised, I can only answer 

 with a theory of mine that Indians who hunt on 

 horseback have small knowledge of mountain 

 sheep. Antelope, deer, white-tail and black, and 

 even elk, can be, and are constantly thus hunted 

 by the Indians ; but when it comes to climbing 

 where the horses cannot go, I suspect that his 

 rider seldom goes either. Looking back, I see 

 now that this whole excursion was conducted 

 ignorantly, and that our guides (both of them 

 excellent hunters of other game) neglected the 

 very first principle here, namely, to get to the 

 top of the mountains and hunt down. 



We returned our long way to camp, and the 



