212 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



the danger of losing a finger, or perhaps having a wrist 

 crushed. 



As to the best weapon for a trip: Good weapons in great 

 variety are now to be had, and had cheaply. The improved 

 Winchester, 50-110, is an excellent "saddle gun." Person- 

 ally, I prefer the Bullard; the action is so silent, and the 

 shooting of such weapons as I have used can not be sur- 

 passed. But I am ready to admit that the Winchester, 

 though not so silent in its action, is a stronger rifle, and 

 more convenient on horseback. It is somewhat lighter, 

 too; and since all who are determined to follow their game 

 up and kill it in sportsmanlike manner must be prepared 

 to leave their ponies at the foot of the mountain — not on 

 "the side — every extra ounce to be carried is a burden. 



Almost as important as the rifle is the field-glass. Don't 

 spare money to get the best that is to be got; and if you 

 are a party of two or three, let one carry a powerful stalk- 

 ing-glass. Especially if going after Sheep or game that 

 is sighted at a distance, it is all-important to be able 

 to make out the size of a head before you face the arduous 

 climb of several thousand feet. It is disappointing work to 

 mistake a poor head for a good one, when you are at the 

 foot of a mountain and your game is near the top, and, 

 after long hours of toiling, you get within shot, and find 

 your coveted trophy is not worth the taking. 



Be careful, too, as to your ' '.shoeing. ' ' The higher ranges 

 of our mountains, though not clothed with ice and snow to 

 the same extent as are the Alps, present some features of 

 peculiar danger. The conglomerate formation, which is 

 almost everywhere found in them, makes walking often 

 perilous. However near game may be, never hurry; do not 

 go up a place where you are sure you can not get down. I 

 believe the danger from falls is far greater than any other 

 danger the hunter has to meet; and I know from experience 

 this danger to be considerable. 



As to outfit, two things are all-important — good ponies, 

 plenty of them, and good packers. Good guides are hard 

 to get; good packers are just as hard. For a trip into the 



