64 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Pbbruaet 24, 1881. 





yortzmnn §onm(. 



HUNTING THE MOUNTAIN COAT IN BRITISH 

 COLXMlT,L<\. 



ALTHOUGH residing for the last dozen years within 

 sight ami almost at Hie I'uot of a range of mountains 

 upon (he summits of which these animals are to be found in 

 greater or lesser numbers, I had never Until within a short time 

 availed myself of the opportunity of a day's sport. But hav- 

 ing received a request from a friend in the East to procure, if 

 possible, a few skins of this animal suitable for mounting, 

 and knowing the diilieulty of obtaining such skins, properly 

 made, through the agency of Indians, 1 resolved to combine 

 business with pleasure, buckle on my armor, and interview 

 the white-coated denizens of the inonutains in their lofty re- 

 treats. 



To make the success of the trip more certain I procured, 

 as guide and general assistant, a sub-chief of the Squatni^h 

 tribe of Indians, whose fame as a mighty goat hunter had 

 "gone abroad in the land." In negotiating for ids services I 

 thought to impress upon him the dignity of the expedition 

 by telling him that a great white chief, whose wigwam was 

 in a land toward the rising sun, had expressed a wish to ob- 

 tain some information respecting the animal of which he (the 

 Indian) was such a mighty hunter. 



But tlte sordid love of filthy lucre was deeply rooted in his 

 savage breast, and the pursuit of scientific knowledge, unre- 

 muuerated by a stipulated number of American half-dollars, 

 had about as much interest for hint as the chir-r^ring notes of 

 the kingfisher just passing in ; for with a shuffle of his moe- 

 oasmed toe in tlm sand, and an expression of face which left 

 in d 'I' i as to the meaning of his words, he replied, or rather 

 nski-ii- Kato/iitk mM yottaM?" (liow much will you 

 pay?J SO, alter considerable financial sparring, the bargain 

 was settled for one dollar per day. 



On the morning of May 36 I gathered up my traps, con- 

 sisting of blaukets, implements of taxidermy, fight breech- 

 loading shotgun, and my trusty 

 Winchester rille, and bundled in- 

 fo the canoe, and, long before the 

 drowsy inhabitants of Hastings 

 were astir, was gliding northward 

 over the blue waters of Burrard 

 Inlet. 



It was a beautiful morning, 

 even for th ; s "beautiful mouth of 

 the year," and at this time, t > a 

 lover of mountain scenery, there 

 are few places on this Northwest 

 coast more enjoyable than the 

 north arm of Burrard Inlet. All 

 along the tangled network of un- 

 flergreWth which fringes the shore 

 NalltrC is busy with palette and 

 brush touching up her carpet, and 

 drapery with the wondrous hues 

 of approaching summer. 



Here and there garlands of 

 crimson and blue dabble with the 

 ebb and flow of the tide. Yonder 

 the bright foliage of maple and 

 birch appear and disappear amid 

 the darker shades of hemlock and 

 fir, while far above the dark line 

 Of waving [lines, serrated and 

 dome-shaped peaks, frosted and 

 white with the lingering snows, 

 stand out clear cut against the sky 

 beyond. 



Cataracts, coming from heights 

 where their noise is hushed and 

 their I'oaniius lines dwindle to 

 mere Silver threads in the dis- 

 tance, tumble and leap and hurl 

 themselves into the silent waters 

 of the inlet, whose ceaseless ebb 

 and liow go on unchanged. The 

 music of our bird world, too, just 

 wakening from a night's repose, 

 tills up the enjoyment' of the sur- 

 roundings. We hear the plaintive 

 cry of tile little auk as it dips and 

 flirts like a phantom bubble just 

 ahead of us, the noisy chatter of 

 Stel lei's jay, the jovous greetings 

 of little warblers, while from far 

 up amid the foliage of sighing lira 

 comes the " Whoo, whoo, whoo" of the dusky grouse. 



I had yielded to the charm of my surroundings when my 

 reverie was broken and my ideas called back to their normal 

 state by the loud baying of a hound on the hill to our left, 

 and as I turn and watch the shore in thit ditectiou a large 

 buck (!'.,, ...,., 'i.nbiiiniix) glides noiselessly into the water, 

 and, standing at knee-deep, throws his head high in the air, 

 looking back in the direction from whence the sound of his 

 pursuer comes. What a picture of life and ileetness! We 

 might have shot him where he stood, but we have too much 

 regard for Her Majesty's game laws in this part of the Domin- 

 ion to do anything of the kind. Presently the great cars 

 begin to move back and forth, a step or two further is taken, 

 then as the notes of the approaching hound sound clearer, 

 showing with what fearful certainty the trail is followed, the 

 decrplueges into the water and strikes boldly for the oppo- 

 site shore, a mile distant. 



But ahreeze had sprung up from the gulf, and as it fresh- 

 ens we hoist < air sail, and our beautifully modeled Chinook 

 canoe skims over the water like a bird, and after four hours' 

 ritu we reach our destination and pitch our camp at the 

 mouth of a little stream at the head of the inlet. On our 

 way up the old hunter informed me that his brother Charley, 

 feeling annoyed at not having received an invitation to join 

 the hunt, and being also a little jealous of the old hunter's 

 fame, had declared his intention to follow us, and I was 

 strictly enjoined by the old fellow to pay no attention to his 

 advice concerning the mountains, for although he was an 

 average hand at spearing salmon, his opinions as regarded 

 goaf-hunting were, not to be depended on. And sure enough, 

 we bail scarcely finished arranging cam)), when Charley 'ar- 

 rived, bringing with him his two sons, lads of probably ten 

 and twelve years of age. 



As it was then noon I decided not to try the mountains 

 that day, but to occupy the lime in securing some specimens 

 of harlequin ducks and water-ouzels which the Indians in- 

 frared me were to be met with a short distance up the creek, 



8o leaving the two lads in camp we started, and had pro- 

 ceeded about half a mile, and while I was engaged in watch- 

 ing the antics of a w-ater-ouzel, which was diving from one 

 side of a piece of drift and coming up on. the other, a large 

 black bear stepped out from a chuup of bushes on the bank 

 and stood within twenty feet of us. It was but for a mo- 

 ment though, for befoie I could reach my rifle, or before the 

 Indians could raise their muskets, with a loud snort he. was 

 back under cover. In an instant Charley' was out of the 

 canoe, followed by myself, and as the place on which we had 

 discovered Bruin was an island, we thought to overtake him 

 before or while crossing the stream on the other side. We 

 were, however, disappointed, for on reachingthe other bank 

 we found he had already crossed, as his trail on Ihe opposite 

 shore indicated. When we returned to the canoe we found 

 the old hunter intently watching some object on the side of 

 the mountain opposite, and as we approached he pointed 

 with his paddle and uttered the word "Sheep."* 



1 had with me a splendid field glass, which I at once 

 brought to bear on the spot pointed out by the Indian. It 

 was an open grassy place on the Side of the mountain, down 

 the centre of which a mountain stream coursed its way, 

 emptying itself into the creek nearly opposite where 

 we were standing. Picking the Icing grass and weeds 

 which grew among the disjointed rocks were three 

 shaggy, white-coated animals. A council of war was 

 thereupon held aud an attack immediately decided upon. 

 The ascent of the mountain was comparativ ' 

 being along the course of the strea 

 opening wdien we had to make 

 order to keep under cover of the t 

 became tiresome and annoying o. 

 her of fallen trees and immense 



brella plant locally known by the very appropriate name of 

 "devil's walking stick;" and woe be to the hand whicli 

 clutches one of those sticks for a friendly support! We al 

 last reached thclevcl on which the grassy spot was situated, to- ' by the excit 

 ward which, stillpicking our footsteps and guarding against beyond the 



, until Hearing the grassy 

 long circuit to the left in 

 nber. The traveling then 

 account of the great num- 

 owth of a species of nm- 



sant with the guttural oratory of the Indian must have been 

 scathing in Ihe extreme. Ho concluded by informing him 

 that we'we're collecting the skins of animals and birds solely 

 in the interests ot science, and not killing as do the Indians 

 who hunt merely to satisfy their hungry stomachs. But 

 Charley took it all very good-naturedly, and when he got the 

 old fellow's back turned he held up two of his fingers to show 

 that he had killed two goats while the mighty hunter had only 

 bagged one. 



Our descent of the mouutains to where we had left the ca- 

 noe was not at all difficult, as the hard snow along the border 

 of the creek allowed us to drag our specimens without injury 

 to the skins. On reaching camp we found the two boys' foi- 

 tificd behind a large rock, over the top of which they had 

 mounted an old Hint-lock musket. It appeared that Shortly 

 after our leaving the camp a black bear had taken up his pos- 

 ition on the opposite side of the creek facing the camp, and 

 had remained there till a short lime before our return, and 

 the hoys, fearing an attack, very promptly placed themselves 

 Oii llufdefensive. Had they found it necessary, though, to use 

 the musket it woultl no doubt have done as much damage to 

 the besieged as to the besieger, as it was found to be nearly 

 half full of slugs and buck shot. 



The next day's sport, though of somewhat an exciting char- 

 acter, did not redound much to my fame as a goat hunter. 

 The ascent of the mountain had been difficult, and in many 

 places dangerous, and more than once the assistance of my 

 busty guides had to make up for my lack of iron nerve. 

 Creeping along the face of a cliff with a thousand feet be- 

 tween 3011 and the first halting place should you happen to 

 miss your footing Is a feat which few amateurs in mountain 

 travel may accomplish with ease. Muscle and endurance are 

 valuable adjuncts to the composition of a sportsman, but in 

 hunting the mountain goat, muscle and endurance will avail 

 him nothing if he is lacking in that most necessary of all 

 requisites, a steady head: and the enthusiastic hunter urged on 

 rent of the chase with the game keeping just 

 :aeh of his rifle, may find himself at a point. 



'■ S ; X 



the slightest snap of a twig, we kept on. Fortune seemed to where to go 011 is impossible and to return requires the nerve 

 favor us, for right in front and shutting out, the opening from and coolness of a Hlondin. 



view was a rocky, moss covered ridge, tip the side of "which | We at length reached a shelf, from which to gain the top 



the old hunter had to mount on 

 the shoulders of his brother ; af- 

 ter which he lowered the butt of 

 his musket for Charley to cling 

 to, and with my assistance he also 

 ascended. The old fellow then 

 formed a loop on one end of his 

 belt and fastening the other to 

 the butt of his musket passed if 

 down for my assistance. I, how- 

 ever, began to look at the thing 

 from a purely scientific point of 

 view. I had much to learn con- 

 cerning the habits of the mountain 

 goat; in fact, I had only just 

 commenced the task. Now the 

 belt, which wasanold one, might 

 possibly break, and a fall back to 

 the narrow shelf on which I was 

 standing might carry me over its 

 edge, and that would be the end 

 of it. So I told Ihe Indians to go 

 over the ridge, and if they found 

 any goats to conic back, that I 

 would then make the attempt. 

 They had scarcely left me ten 

 minutes when they commenced 

 firing, the sound of their muskets 

 echoing and re-echoing along the 

 mountain side. Shot after shot 

 was fired, till the whole place ap- 

 peared to resound with one con- 

 tinuous roar of musketry. I be- 

 came very much excited, and ran 

 along the shelf in hope of finding 

 some more accessible place by 

 which to reach the top ; but the 

 search was fruitless, so I came 

 back, sat down, and, lighting my 

 pipe to soothe my excitement, 

 waited the return of the Indians. 

 In the meantime the firing had 

 ceased, aud presently the old 

 hunter, with a frown on his 

 swarthy brow, appeared 011 the 

 crest of the ridge, and sliding 

 down on the shelf, seated him- 

 self beside me. 



He was decidedly in a wrathy 

 mood, and refused to have niry- 

 thing more to do with the hunt so long as Charley re- 

 mained, and urged me strongly to send him home. It ap- 

 peared that shortly after leaving ine they came upon a band 

 of seven goats, and as they had approached them from above, 

 there was a good opportunity for rare sport had they returned 

 to notify me, as I had instructed und as the old hunter 

 wished. But the uncontrollable Charley at once opened 

 lire, and the old hunter, fearful lest he 'should agaiu be lie- 

 hind, followed suit ; but whether from excitement or the in- 

 accuracy of their flint-lock muskets, it is hard to say — out of 

 all their shooting but one goat fell, and that at Charley's first 

 fire. As the old man was in bad humor, I decidi d to return to 

 camp, but on reaching the canoe an exclamation from 

 Charley drew our attention to a mountain on the opposite 

 side of the creek, where, in a small opening, we discovered 

 a she goat with a young kid, the latter appearing like a mere 

 speck of snow skipping about among the rocks. 



Before starting out I had offered a fair reward for the cap- 

 ture of a kid, and this was the old man's opportunity. As 

 he was stripping for the chase he turned to Charley and 

 commanded him to remaiu below and occupy his lime in 

 catching trout, with which the stream abounded. lie then 

 disappeared in the dense growth of limber which intervened 

 baween the creek and the foot of the mountains; while 1 

 took up a favorable position with my glass to watch the suc- 

 cess of the chase. The ascent must have been difficult, for 

 two hours passed before, the crouching form of the Indian 

 appeared in the opening. A short time before this the old 

 goat must have snuffed the danger, for she started up the 

 mountain, and at the moment the Indian came in sight had 

 readied a shelf to which the kid was unable to follow. All 

 this lime a large white-headed eagle soared in majestic cir- 

 cles directly over the scene. .After several unsuccessful at- 

 tempts to reach its dam, the kid started back toward the 

 point from which the Indian was advancing, but before pro- 

 ceeding very far sprang down upon a narrow shelf and stood 

 concealed beneath an overhanging bush, 





THE MOUNTAIN GOAT— Aploeerus eolumbianus, Coues. 



we crept, and cautiously peeped over the top, and there with- 

 in one hundredyards were three goals quietly feeding, apppar- 

 ently unconscious of our approach, while further on and about 

 four hundred feet further up, perched on the pinnacle of a 

 rock, stood a large buck-goat whose attention was apparently 

 attracted by the prospect of fresh feeding grounds on the 

 mountains across the valley. Or he might have been a sen- 

 tinel watching over the safety of his three companions in the 

 little opening below him. If so, ho was a careless one, for 

 his position commanded a clear view of the rock on which we 

 lay and no warning of our approach had been given. Choos- 

 ing our victims wc fired, aud the three dropped almost in 

 their tracks. Hastily throwing a fresh cartridge into my rifle 

 I turned to look for the sentinel, but he had disappeared. In 

 an instant Charley was off, dropping powder and ball intohisold 

 muzzle-loader as he ran ; and while I was engaged in taking 

 measurements of Ihethree wehad killed the loud report of his 

 musket sounded far up the mountain side, and presently he 

 appeared in sight on the point of rock oil which we had first 

 discovered the sentinel and, shouling down the warning 

 '■ Klosli NaniUW (look out), before I could utter a word to 

 prevent him he tumbled the carcass of the unfortunate goat 

 over Ihe cliff. Down it came, a limp, shaggy wdiite mass, 

 bounding from crag to crag till it reached the flat on which 

 we stood, shattered and torn beyond use. Its horns were 

 split into shreds, its jaws broken aud great patches of hair 

 cut clean from the skin, in fact, it was useless as a specimen. 

 I felt anuoyed and only waited the approach of Charley to 

 give him a severe reprimand for his carelessness. But the 

 old hunter, chafing under Charley's success, and indignant at 

 his presumption in acting without orders, at once opened out 

 upon him with a burst of eloquence that to any one conver- 



* Among all the tribes of Indians in this eouulry the mountain 

 goat is invariably known by the name of sheep. Indeed many of 

 the whites appear to fall into the same error, although it would 

 be about as consistent to call a marten a mink or a goose a turkey. 



