204 MY SPORTING HOLIDAYS 



succession a buck antelope, two old buffalo bulls, and 

 one of the finest old black-tail bucks I have ever 

 seen. This latter animal simply would not get out of 

 our way because, I suppose, we did not want him ; 

 and he even threatened at one time to spoil our stalk 

 of the sheep. We eventually managed, after a long 

 climb on foot, to get within shot of four old rams, 

 killing one and wounding another that we afterwards 

 secured. Meantime, during this pursuit, we came on 

 the rest of the band, who saw us and ran. They 

 paused for a moment on the crest of the hill, and I 

 knocked over a third ram a long shot before they 

 disappeared, and wounded a fourth. We ran on to 

 the ridge of the hill, but the wounded ram had dis- 

 appeared. Following downhill the general direction 

 the herd had taken, I then jumped a grizzly out of a 

 gulch, and missed him handsomely as he galloped 

 away. A very exhausted and broken-winded biped 

 struggled back up the hill again the elevation was 

 probably over 9,000 feet and, as luck would have 

 it, I came unexpectedly on my last wounded ram 

 lying down among some rocks. He sprang up as I 

 sighted him, and ran down the hill past me, within 

 easy range. With a desperate effort I managed to 

 hold the sight on to him long enough to break his 

 back, and then sat down on the hillside, fairly ex- 

 hausted. Jack presently appeared leading the horses. 

 4 Look at the elk !' was his first remark ; and there 

 at the foot of the hill I saw a large band of these 

 beautiful deer, evidently disturbed, but not much 

 alarmed, by the shots, slowly filing out of the timber 

 into an open park a mile away. The c whistling ' season 

 had just commenced, and two fine old bulls, who were 

 evidently unwilling that the herd should travel far, 



