A HUNTER'S CAMP-FIRES 



a ram on a distant slope. Although this sheep was fully a mile 

 away and harmonized in color so well with the surrounding 

 country that it was impossible to make it out with the naked 

 eye, it had already spotted us, and w^as rapidly travelling toward 

 the distant sky-line. We continued along the timbered crest 

 of the mountains bordering the river canon for several miles, 

 flushing numerous blue grouse, and stealing up to within fifty 

 yards of a string of deer returning from feeding farther down 

 the slopes. Shortly afterv\^ard, while we were crossing a patch 

 of snow in the open, Manson's keen eyes detected four rams 

 feeding on a mountain-side some distance ahead of us. This 

 forced us to lie motionless in the melting snow for half an hour, 

 until all these animals were either feeding or gazing in the op- 

 posite direction at the same moment. Then we rapidly crawled 

 back to where we harmonized better wdth our surroundings. 

 After this we slipped and fell in the snow down through a jack- 

 pine thicket for half a mile, and w^orked up the bottom and 

 along the sides of the steep-walled cafion of Cedar Creek for 

 the same distance. 



At times we were clinging to the sides of slippery cliffs, and 

 at other times wading waist-deep in the swift, glacial torrent. 

 A final crawl up a steep, grassy slope, and we were gazing through 

 a clump of cedars at the four rams feeding on the mountain-side 

 three hundred yards distant. Selecting the largest and nearest 

 sheep, which was playfully butting a rotten log lying on the 

 hillside, I woke the echoes among the surrounding crags with 

 the report of the Winchester. At this it stumbled, and then, 

 coming down the slope with terrific bounds, was lost to sight 

 before I could get in another shot. The remaining three rams 

 started over the top of the opposite mountain, but stopped 

 in an undecided group when about five hundred yards away. 

 After firing two more shots I found the range, and toppled over 

 the nearest sheep w^ith a broken neck. This animal rolled down 

 the mountain-side until it lodged against a log a hundred yards 



266 



