358 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



the remainder followed without thinking- of the ceremony of 

 waiting 1 for the commands of the chief. If we did not reap 

 much profit from this bit of shooting- we enjoyed a good share 

 of quiet amusement, for it was quite ludicrous to see the heavy- 

 horned creatures give a startled hound, then gaze stupidly about 

 in search of the cause of their annoyance. Having been more 

 successful than the most sanguine could have expected, 

 we concluded to return to camp with our spoils, as the 

 hot August sun was becoming disagreeably intense, and it 

 was so late in the morning that we could scarcely hope 

 to meet any more sheep until the cool breeze of the evening 

 appeared. 



On reaching our caches we made a drag of the heaviest fir 

 and pine boughs we could break off by our united weight, and 

 placing the game on this we hauled it down the mountain 

 without any very laborious efforts. 



Arrived at camp, those unused to the heavy climbing of the 

 day were soon so stiff as to be scarcely able to move; but the 

 rugged minei's seemed to consider it a mere nothing, and 

 laughed heartily at the " drawing-room hunters." The suc- 

 cess of the expedition had been so great, however, that they 

 condescended to say that the " drawing-room hunters " were 

 not bad shots. I have been out among bighorns frequently 

 since then, but never did I see such good luck attend a large 

 party the first day. 



That evening, while discussing the merits of wild mutton 

 cutlets and the contents of a couple of bottles of " Chateau 

 Lafitte," the principal guide related an adventure which befell 

 him on the first occasion that he had hunted bighorns on 

 the scene of our morning's exploits. He and a companion, 

 who were " chums/'' in prospecting for gold, being out of 

 meat concluded to kill some mountain sheep, not having 

 any other means of procuring it, as there were no settlers in 

 that section of the country at the time, except a few miners. 

 The Indians, who had been very troublesome in other 

 quarters of the territory, had let them alone, and from this 

 they supposed that there were none anywhere near them. In an 

 hour after starting they came upon a flock of bighorns, and 



