104 THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 
We went from the Hood River station to the home of Mr. Eyers 
by auto and made ready for the trip over the ridge after our buck. 
We had a good rest and got an early start with the team and wagon 
and a third man to help us pack-out. We went up the Green Point 
road to where we had turned off toward the mountain two days befcre 
and left the wagon. We put the pack saddles on the horses and 
started for the top of the ridge, taking the same route as we had 
taken before. The horses were used to such traveling and had no 
trouble in getting over fallen timber and through the underbrush. 
The horses were tied in a clump of second growth fir where there was 
shelter from the wind and rain and a manger formed by two logs 
laying close together. 
Leaving the horses, we took as near a short cut to the deer as 
possible. The weather was clearing up and the balance of the day 
looked very promising for nice weather. 
On reaching the place where we had left the deer the day before 
we found that there had been a visitor during the night. The offal 
of the deer had been cleaned up and the blood licked off the log that 
we had laid him over to drain out. Where the fir needles and fallen 
leaves were cleared away by us in tramping around the deer while 
working with it the bear tracks were very plain. He must have 
been satisfied with what he had eaten, for he did not touch the deer 
at all. He may have been figuring on the deer for his next meal, but 
we were not prepared to stay and watch for him. We skinned the 
deer out and cut it up, being very careful not to get the meat down 
in the fir needles and the dirt, packed it in our packsacks and started 
for the horses. We had the meat, hide, head and horns, and if there 
was more we would have packed it too, although we had about as 
much as we could travel under for such a steep climb. It was now 
one o’clock and the sun shining, the wind was blowing enough to 
keep us cool under our packs. Some hard work followed and we 
rested often, arriving at the horses at six o’clock. 
The horses had been there before and semed to know that we had 
game. When about in shouting distance from them Mr. Eyers called 
to them and they answered with a snort and a whinny. The pack 
down the ridge to the wagon was the hardest part of the trip as 
the horses were ready to go on the jump and the moon did not give 
much light. However, we could follow the trail most of the way by 
landmarks such as extra large trees, clumps of second growth fir and 
the outline of the hills against the sky. The wagon was a welcome © 
sight at nine o’clock and the horses smelled the grain in their bags. 
While the horses were eating the grain we took the packs off and 
harnessed up, ate the remainder of our sandwiches and made ready 
to start. We arrived at Mr. Eyers’ place at eleven o’clock, horses 
and men tired out. 
The next morning we laid the head and my packsack on an apple 
box, leaned my rifle against the horns and took the picture. Buck 
weighed 187% pounds. 
“Here is to the Buck we get in 1916,” we said with a smile. 

