Camping and Hunting in the Shoshone 



was an evidence of their proverbial saga- 

 city. 



My next essay was undertaken thirteen 

 years after, in 1881. We had, my friend 

 and I, a magnificent trip ; rode all over 

 the Big Horn Mountains, and killed plenty 

 of game indeed, we could not help it. 

 In those days the mountains were full of 

 deer, elk, and bear too ; but somehow 

 none of us ever saw a grizzly. I cannot 

 to this day understand our want of success. 

 Four trips I have made since then ; but I 

 never saw half the amount of fresh signs 

 which we saw on the western slope of 

 those mountains, on a stream named, in 

 the maps, Shell Creek. Had I known as 

 much as I know now, I could have made 

 a much larger bag than the one I made 

 on my last trip, when I had extraordinary 

 luck, and killed eight grizzlies in three 

 weeks, our party accounting altogether for 

 twelve bears, two only of the twelve being 

 trapped. I think this is the largest au- 

 thentic score I have heard of, as made in 

 late years, in so short a time. 



I understand that the Big Horn region 

 is still a black-tail country ; but elk are 

 rare, buffalo extinct, and cattle have driven 

 out bear. As a rule, you will only find 

 grizzlies where elk are, or have recently 



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