138 TRAVELS IN THE EIGHTIES. 



of carrying away. On a still day the animal hears 

 one approaching, and will almost invariably stop call- 

 ing, and make a circuit to get wind of the noise, 

 should it not have actually seen the hunter. We 

 only wished for a limited number of wapiti heads, 

 which we obtained without much trouble, and 

 at the same time without much sport, though the 

 magnificent forests and lonely plains, combined with 

 the splendid climate of the summer and autumn 

 months, made every moment of the day intensely 

 enjoyable. Shortly afterwards an outfit of hide-hunters 

 pitched camp some miles off, and a little later the wapiti 

 ceased calling, for the remnant seemed to have taken 

 their departure. Both my friend and I still wanted, 

 as hunting trophies, at least three heads and antlers 

 of the mule-deer, or blacktail. We secured the three, 

 all of which I shot on the very last day of our expedi- 

 tion. To find the mule-deer we decided that it would 

 be best to ' pack ' with six horses into the wildest 

 tracts of that portion of Colorado. The way lay through 

 deep ravines, encumbered with fallen timber, on each 

 side of which the forests for hundreds of square miles 

 had been destroyed by fire, a very common occurrence 

 throughout North America. Camp was made by a 

 most unusually picturesque tarn in a wood surrounded 

 by some of the wildest cliff scenery imaginable. As 

 we were on the point of starting the following morning, 

 the King got a kick from one of his hunting horses, 

 which necessitated Broncho Bill's being sent back to 

 where the waggon had been left for medicines and 



