Camping and Hunting in the Shoshone 



longingly as they may toward the blue line 

 on the horizon, transport is denied them ; 

 they are not, as a rule, men of large pri- 

 vate means, and cannot afford to invest in 

 transport for themselves, and so, if I may 

 be pardoned the hackneyed quotation 

 metaphorically 



"Their limbs are bow'd, though not with toil,. 

 But rusted with a vile repose." 



It is well known out West, that nothing 

 but a lucky hit of one of its best guides 

 saved from complete annihilation, during 

 the Custer campaign, a very important 

 command that had ventured after the In- 

 dians into the Big Horn Mountains. The 

 Sioux corralled the soldiers, who were in 

 great danger, and only escaped at last by 

 night, on foot, leaving their fires burning 

 and their horses tied in the timber. 

 Thoroughly organized pack-trains used to 

 be part of the establishment of all military 

 posts near the mountains. Now almost 

 all these have been broken up, the packers 

 attached to them dismissed, and the very 

 complicated gear that is absolutely neces- 

 sary to carrying supplies on mule or on 

 horseback is in such a state that it is, to 

 all intents and purposes, useless for emer- 

 gency service. Neither mules nor packers 



6 4 



