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but it is about one hundred yards wide. We en- 

 camped in a large interval, at the mouth of a 

 small stream, and continued here until the 12th. 

 The fur animals had now just done shedding, so 

 that we only hunted the buffaloe, cabree, and 

 mountain sheep. A party was sent to gain the 

 summit of a ridge, so as to pass over to the other 

 side, while the rest of us crawled up, surrounding 

 them on every side, excepting towards the river. 

 As soon as the signal was given, by those who 

 had ascended and gained the opposite side, we all 

 '.-aised a sudden yell, and sprang out of the grass, 

 .md the affrighted animals instantly fled from us, 

 pitched over the precipice, and were dashed 

 against the stones, at the bottom, where we killed 

 sixty-one. Some of them fell nearly two hundred 

 feet; but some of them, which were near the bot- 

 tom, made their escape. It took us several days 

 to dress and cure the meat. The method in 

 which these people cure their meat is to cut it into 

 thin slices, and dry it by the heat of the sun, or a 

 slow fire. They use no salt to preserve it. Meat 

 will continue in this state, if well dried, for a 

 longtime. We killed a wildcat, which resembled 

 the domestic cat, and was of about the same size. 

 It was of a sallow colour, and had a tail nearly 

 of the length of the body. This little animal is 

 very fierce, and often kills cabree and sheep, by 

 jumping on their necks, and eating away the sin- 

 ews and arteries until they fall, and then sucks 

 the blood. On the 25th, we proceeded up. 



