IN THE FAR WEST. 99 



in hitting 1 it, the ball entering the skull. When we approached 

 it, the last gasp of life was leaving the body, a fact of which 

 we were very glad, as I did not care to have any more shots 

 in its coating than was necessary, for fear of spoiling it. We 

 found it to be a two-year-old in splendid condition, and 

 unusually fat for its family in the wild state. It had, no doubt, 

 been attracted to our camp by the savoury smell of bacon, 

 which the Indian cook had left uncovered in a pan near the 

 fire; and though this was contrary to rule, yet I did not 

 blame him when I saw what it had brought me. 



During one of my short trips in the Cascade Range, I was 

 accompanied by a stock-raiser, his two sturdy sons, and two 

 Indians who were civilized in the sense that they lived in 

 cabins, cultivated a few acres of land, had some cows and 

 horses, and professed to be Christians. 



We were out in search of big-horns, and took the red men with 

 us because they knew the mountains well, and had killed several 

 sheep in their time. We encamped the first night near a lovely 

 tarn that was buried in a small, deep valley which was gay 

 with wild flowers and green with generous grasses. Towering 

 basaltic crags arose on one side, like huge sentinels intended 

 to guard the vale, and on the other a coppice, composed of 

 several varieties of trees, from pine to mountain maple, grew 

 in wild luxuriance. The Indians objected strongly to selecting 

 this beautiful spot for a camp, and on asking them their reason 

 for this, they refused to tell, but they would not remain there 

 they said for any consideration ; and as we would not leave, 

 they picked up their traps and departed for some other 

 quarters. They rejoined us the next day, however, and hunted 

 as assiduously as any of ourselves. On starting out we went 

 in pairs, and moved in opposite directions, so as to be able to 

 head off any animals fleeing from one side of the valley or 

 mountain to another, and, if necessary, to make a surround. 

 My companion, who was the senior pale-face of the party, 

 was accompanied by three large dogs used for hunting cattle 

 and wild game, and they seemed to be equally expert in all. 

 Moving towards the coppice, in order to work up the valley 

 in the direction of the bluffs, we were soon beating the under- 



H 2 



