22 PKAIRIE WOLF AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 



took aim at the side of the cimaron nearest me, and fired. 

 The animal jumped from the rock, and made an effort 

 to follow its flying companions ; but its strength failed, 

 and after some convulsive struggle, sit fell over the rock, 

 down almost to my feet, and laid dead. It was a young 

 and fat cimaron, and that evening, when I camped, ac- 

 cording to custom, under shelter of the rocks, I made a 

 glorious meal of the juicy flesh. 



Hunting the cimaron was to me the most arduous as 

 well as the most exciting of sports. Many a day I fol- 

 lowed a flock of these animals without killing a single 

 one. They led me over paths, where a slight slip of the 

 foot, would have sent me to destruction. I learned to 

 leap with them from crag to crag, and to jump down pre- 

 cipices which at other times I would have cautiously 

 avoided. One day I wounded a young sheep, which I 

 determined to keep and train as a companion. It was a 

 brisk little animal, and as soon as its wound had partly 

 healed, its gambols about my camp became a source of 

 genuine pleasure to me. These animals are quite intelli- 

 gent, and quick to attach themselves to human beings. 

 My young cimaron soon learned to come at my call, and 

 when I stretched myself by the fire to sleep, to huddle 

 beside me. Many a wolf lurked near, in extreme hunger 

 for a taste of Fondle's sweet flesh, but they kept clear 

 of my protecting arm. 



