IN THE GORGEOUS LAND OF PLENTY 279 



looked up into the tree. Carl dismounted We had been climbing the trail since 



and crept softly up behind her, but not so noon. Over ridges, down into gulches, 



softly but that the keen ears caught his then up again. A ridge ahead had shut 



stealthy tread, and with a bound the doe off the country we were approaching 



was out of sight in the brush, followed until we were fairly on the summit. 



by a tiny spotted fawn. Carl beckoned Then there was unrolled before our 



to us. We slipped from our hofses and eyes, a vast and inspiring panorama, 



up to the tree. In a high branch sat a The portion of the semi-circle, which 



lynx, licking his wicked tufted chops, we had viewed from our camp at break- 



and smiling complacently down upon fast, was here completed, and we looked 



us. Evidently the doe had been the over miles of valley and ranges into 



proud mother of twin fawns before this seven California counties, Trinity, with 



monster crossed her path. Carl raised snow-crested ranges on the East; Te- 



his rifle and fired and the creature, with hama, Siskiyou with white-capped 



his strangely tufted ears and beautifully Shasta blushing rosily at the kiss of the 



marked sides, fell at our feet. departing sun; Humboldt, Shasta, and 



A half mile further we jumped a Menodocino<. The Eel river stretched, 



magnificent four-point buck. He ran like a strand of gleaming silver, across 



out of the brush about twenty yards the green, timber-covered bosom of 



from the trail and stopped on a little Mendocino County. The majestic 



knoll not one hundred feet away. He mountain ranges skirting this gigantic 



was a picture of strong, masculine basin, reared jagged, tinted peaks up- 



grace and beauty, standing there in the ward to the blue, and as the twilight 



scrub and fern, bearing a fine pair of came, Shasta raised a white hand of 



antlers on his shapely head. We watched benediction in the evening calm. We 



him, until, after satisfying his curiosity, sat watching the changing shades of the 



he trotted fearlessly off over the hills, mountains. The colors faded gradu- 



In the following two hours we saw five ally, and the stars appeared. There was 



more of these proud old veterans. a whisper from one of the men who was 



It was noon when we reached the lit- sitting on a rocky ledge commanding a 

 tie lake where we were to set our turtle view of the trail, 

 nets and eat our light luncheon. The "Look!" His rifle was leveled, 

 lake was sunk in a flat several acres We followed the direction of the bar- 

 in area on the brow of a ridge. Near rel, and saw, stepping daintily down the 

 it sparkled a creek, icy as if fed by the trail, with moist black muzzle sniffing 

 snows which lingered on the mountain the air and ears alert, a young doe. 

 crests less than thirty miles away. As Someone touched the arm which held 

 we were eating our cold flap-jacks and the rifle. "Don't shoot, it's a doe." 

 bacon, a bevy of mountain quail scuttled "I know. I was just drawing a bead." 

 across the trail in front of us. The He lowered the rifle, but a second 

 shot-gun was brought into action, it later raised it again. Following on the 

 seemed a pity, but our appetites silenced trail of the doe, with lowered head and 

 our qualms, and when we started on our stealthy, padded tread, came a lithe, 

 way again we had a plump young quail graceful animal about the size of a large 

 apiece, and two dozen frogs in our sad- Newfoundland dog — it was a California 

 die bags. The last we got with a lion or panther. There was a unani- 

 "twenty-two." mous shout as the bullet, sure and dead- 



During the afternoon we rode ly, brought the supple, tawny creature 



through miles of shadowy timber, fra- to the ground. 



grant pines and firs, and over acres of It was dark when we turned home- 

 scrub flats, reaching our destination, wards, with the quail and frogs in our 

 the summit of Grizzly Peak, a barren, saddle-bags, and the pelts of the lynx 

 hoary pile of rocks, at sunset. and panther hanging from the respective 



