1 22 



THE BEST OF THE FUN 



there. Does and their fawns scampered past as we drew 

 up ; the big blue grouse fluttered into the trees, offering 

 themselves, as it were, to the pea rifle and frying-pan; and 

 the sun lingered warningly, a rough red circle on the 

 western hill-tops. Saddles were piled, packs thrown in a 

 circle, tents pitched, stock watered, the fractious members 

 picketed, and supper going in half-an-hour. 



Hardly had this been achieved than another outfit of 

 hunters and pack animals appeared on the scene, pre- 

 pared to camp on the very spot — the head of this 

 Nebraska creek— the leader of this party declaring it 

 had been his camping-ground for several "falls" before. 

 Possession being the whole of the law, we could only 

 regret benignly that we should have arrived before him, 

 who, like ourselves, had left civilisation behind many 

 days ago. The others lay for the night in our near 

 neighbourhood, and it was agreed that next morning they 

 should move to explore fresh fields. 



But I could not get it out of my head that if, as I had 

 every reason to believe, there were big buck in the vicinity, 

 it was more desirable that we should be astir and afield 

 before the new arrivals. The very fact of their being led 

 thither by an old hunter, when we believed no white men 

 to be within thirty miles, went to prove that the ground 

 was good ; and I went to bed, if not in my boots, in every 

 portion and degree of hunting raiment — indeed the cold at 

 that altitude made the wearing of even a great coat in bed 

 by no means so extravagant a measure as it may in this 

 island sound ! Rifle, cartridge-belt, field-glasses, and 

 saddle lay ready to hand ; my own saddle-horse and that 

 of the faithful cook had been picketed close by, together 

 with an amenable mule on w^hich we meant to pack the 

 deer meat of this afternoon, whenever in our morning 

 wanderings we might eventually reach it. 



But I need hardly have made such elaborate prepara- 

 tion. I have inferred that those of our camp animals 

 likely to stray had been picketed ; but I should have added 

 that the tamer were not, being supposed to cling placidly 

 to the bell mule. And this bell mule had a great partiality 

 for the neighbourhood of the camp fire. Now our 



