86 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 



of his head, which killed him instantly. The strength of four men 

 was required to drag the ferocious brute from the water, and 

 upon examining his body, he was found completely riddled ; 

 there did not appear to be four inches of his shaggy person, from 

 the hips upward, that had not received a ball. There must 

 have been at least thirty shots made at him, and probably few 

 missed him; yet such was his tenacity of life, that I have no 

 doubt he would have succeeded in crossing the river, but for the 

 last shot in the brain. He would probably weigh, at the least, 

 six hundred poundsj and was about the height of an ordinary 

 steer. The spread of the foot, laterally, was ten inches, 

 and the claws measured seven inches in length. This animal 

 was remarkably lean ; when in good condition, he would, 

 doubtless, much exceed in weight ^ estimate I have given. 

 Richardson, and two other hunters, in company, killed two in 

 the course of the afternoon, and saw several others. 



This evening, our pet antelope, poor little " Zip Koon," met 

 with a serious accident. The mule on which he rode, got her 

 feet fastened in some lava blocks, and, in the struggle to extri- 

 cate herself, fell violently on the pointed fragments. One of the 

 delicate legs of our favorite was broken, and he was otherwise 

 so bruised and hurt, that, from sheer mercy, we ordered him 

 killed. We had hoped to be able to take him to the fort which 

 we intend building on the Portneuf river, where he could have 

 been comfortably cared for. This is the only pet we have had 

 in the camp, which continued with us for more than a few days. 

 We have sometimes taken young grizzly bears, but these little 

 fellows, even when not larger than puppies, are so cross and 

 snappish, that it is dangerous to handle them, and we could 

 never become attached to any animal so ungentle, and therefore 

 young " Ephraim," (to give, him his mountain cognomen,) gene- 

 rally meets with but little mercy from us when his evil genius 

 throws him in our way. The young buffalo calf is also very 



