June 25,^ 1898.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
613 
Days with the White Goat» 
In the closing days bf August, '97. we started for Win- 
nipeg, where we expected to find out from the officials 
of the Hudson Bay Company, whose lieadquarters are 
located in that city, the best point at which to leave 
the railroad, with the home of the white goat as our 
final destination. We spent Thursday afternoon and 
Friday morning in Winnipeg, where we were most kindly 
received by the Hon. C. C. Chipman, and by his advice 
we set out for Vernon, Bi-itish Colitmbia. on the other 
side of the Rockies, W^e arrived in Vernon Aug. 30, 
and were very much surprised to find that we were hi 
a pleasant little town surrounded by fruit plantations 
and ranches, where grain 
•and hops are grown suc- 
cessfully, and where 
there is as good a little 
hotel as one could wish 
for in any part of the 
world. 
Vernon is only about 
i,20oft. aboA'e the sea, 
and is located at the 
liead of Okanagan Lake, 
a body of water ninety 
miles in length. W^e 
"were detained here for 
three days, trying to 
■procure guides. W^e had 
no difficulty in getting 
a cook and two packers, 
but the hunters were 
liarder to find. At last we 
secured as head guide 
Henry Macdonald, an 
Indian, and as second 
guide W^ill Thomas, 
a young chap born in 
the States, but living in 
British Cohtmbia, and 
trapping for a liveli- 
hood. Thoi:gh but 20 
years of age, Thomas 
^tood at least 6ft. 2in. in 
height, and Aveighed 
-considerably over 200] bs. 
On Friday. Sept. 4, 
Ave left Vernon with our 
party of eight men and 
thirteen horses — really 
an unlucky number of 
horses to take, as I may 
show later. The course 
we followed was south- 
east, toward the Arrow 
Takes and Columbia 
Tiiver, among the peaks ' n 
of the Gold Range, prac- 
tically the western part 
of the Selkirks. 
By Sunday noon we 
had covered the last ten 
miles of our journey and 
were encamped on the 
South Fork of Cherry 
Creek, between two 
peaks called Big and , • 
Little Goat Mountains. 
Our camp was located 
about 4,300ft. above sea , 
level, and the summits 
of the mountains which 
we Avere to hunt were ,, 
2,500ft. or more aboA^e 
us. 
W^e had seen no game , . 
excepting one or tAvo 
willow grouse, and as we 
had not brought a very > ■' ■ 
large supply of bacon — , ' 
and eight men can do a . , , ■ " 
great deal of execution ■ . , 
on bacon wdiile climbing ■ ■. ' 
mountains day after day 
— Harry and I decided, , ., . 
though it was Sunday,, 
that we would cross the 
South Fork of Cherry _ . . ^ ,., 
Creek and climb the 
mountain directly oppo- 
site Goat Mountains, 
hoping to find a mule 
deer. 
We took Avith us Will 
Thomas, and after .struggling through a wilderness of 
fallen trees and briers for a couple of hundred yards, we 
emerged upon the side of the mountain we had picked 
out to hunt. The side of the mountain Avas not so very 
steep, but Ave had to ascend about 2,000ft., and the ascent 
was continuous, without a break. It was our first climb 
of the season, and I do not know what Harry thought 
of it, but I had very little use for anything but level 
country by the time I had gotten half Avay up. We 
reached the summit, and follo^^'ing out our programme 
separated and started to circle the moimtain top. I had 
gone along the crest of the mountain as quietlj^ as pos- 
sible for a half mile or so. when I heard se\-eral shots 
at some distance to my left. I had seen several tracks, 
atid some of them fairly fresh, so I supposed that Harry 
liad started his deer. After Avaiting several minutes I 
started in the direction of the shots, and found Harry 
and Will Thomas trying to find the balance of a covey 
of grouse, tAvo of which they had killed Avith a .22cai. 
Stevens pistol. At that altitude, Avith no wind and at a 
half mile distance. I had taken the report of this weapon 
for that of a .30cal. Winchester. OnG&;Q3? twice afterward 
I made the same mistake. 
As dusk was coming on and we had quite a distance 
to go Ave started for camp. After sliding and slipping 
down the hihside until Ave had gotten Avithin a couple 
of hundred yards of the bottom we sat down to rest 
a moment, and seeing no sign of life about us I amused 
myself by rolling some loose stones down into the 
brush and small trees at the base of the hill. Suddenly 
Tholiias, 'who. was sitting between us, said: "There's 
your deer!" But unfortunately the de^l- Avas on the 
move, and before we could have located him would have 
been out of sight among the trees, but that Tliomas 
realized the situation and took a shot himself, Avhich 
luckily broke the deer's back. Thomas had Avith him 
a dog but a year old, a cross, I think, between a deer- 
hound and a mastiff. This dog had l^een well broken, 
even at this early age, in catching wounded animals. He 
had no trouble in catching a deer Avith its back broken, 
but as he is the hero of an adventure with a goat I 
mention the dog here. — Hoodlum A\'as his name, and his 
nature bore testimony to the fact tliat this name had 
been Avell chosen. 
We ran down the hillside and a few hundred feet be- 
ON THE SLIDE ROCK. 
Photo from life. 
low found a fine two-year-old buck, a mule deer, of 
course, and Hoodlum endeavoring to remove the buck's 
head for us. We took that task off his hands, and very 
soon had the deer in shape for carrying to camp. I 
took the hindquarters on my shoulders, Thomas the 
head and forequarters, and Harry had the pleasure of 
carrying three rifles. We had only to get doAvn into 
the bed of the stream, and after craAvling over and under 
fallen timber for about looyds. to climb out of the gulch 
on the other side, and Ave were in camp. 
Our camp was pitched in a grove of firs on the side 
of Little Goat Mountain, and AA^as pleasantly situated 
except that one had to go doAvn hill about looft. to 
Avater. About a half mile further up the gulch, between 
the two mountains on Avhich we expected to find goats, 
Avas a trapper's cabin, and there was water near it, but 
at this place there Avas no grass for our horses, so we had 
to make the best of a bad job and craAvl down the hill 
several times a day Avith the Avater buckets. The men 
had regular Avail tents, but the CaA^alryman, Harry and 
I slept in a lean-to about 15ft. in length, loft. in depth 
and about 8ft. in height in the front. It was made of 
very light duck and was very easj'^ to carry, and by 
keeping up a fire in front of it Ave found no trouble in 
being comfortable, even when the temperature w^as con- 
siderablj' below freezing. 
We had taken but two guides for the three of us be- 
cause Ave intended that one of the three should stay 
in camp each day, thinking that hunting tAvo days out 
of three Avould be enough in the long run. HoAvever, 
on Monday morning we decided that Ave should all go 
vni on this our first day. So H-arry started w^th Mac- 
donald, the Indian, and the Cavalryman and I took 
our Av-ay up Little Goat Mountain with Thomas. The 
morning was cold and misty, but we soon got Avarmed 
up. We followed the gulch on which we were camped 
to the trapper's cabin at the head of it, and then turned 
sharp to the left up the mountain. The first fifteen or 
sixteen hundred feet of the ascent was over three-quarters 
of a mile of a steep grassy slope, partly covered with 
small brush, and then we came to the foot of a cUff 
of possibly j,oooft.. almost perpendicttlar. Here Thomas 
said the goats were wont to disport themselves; but 
looking along the cliffs for a half mile we could see 
no signs f)f game. We decided by the advice of Thomas 
to follow around the 
foot of the cliff back 
toward camp, only a 
couple of thousand feet 
above camp, to the point 
of the mountain where 
Ave could climb the 
rocks. 
I remember very well 
that we did ch'mb the 
rocks, and that Avhilc 
we were a little over 
half way to the summit 
I slipped and fell on my 
knees to keep from 
sliding back. After get- 
ting a good brace for 
my feet I looked down, 
and it seemed to me 
that the bottom of that 
cliff Avas too far down 
to be of any possible in- 
terest to me, and that 
the most prudent thing 
for me to do was to 
keep looking upward 
and going that Avay. 
We finally reached the 
crest of the rocks, and 
no sooner had \ve got- 
ten a good footing than 
Thomas said: '"Look 
out, there is your goat!" 
And sure enough there 
w^as a goat about 200yds. 
off and busily engaged 
in trving to make that 
200yds. 400. I imagine 
he succeeded, for he was 
out of sight among the 
rocks before we could 
get a shot. We foIIoAved 
in his tracks, and found 
that he had crossed the 
top of the moimtain and 
gone down the cliff on 
the northerly side. On 
this side the rocks Avere 
not nearly as precipi- 
tous, but were cut into 
by several gullies run- 
ning clear to the top of 
the mountain. 
We passed the first 
raA'ine without seeing 
anything in it, and also 
the second; but after 
crossing the head of the 
third w-e heard a noise, 
and looking back saAV 
on the opposite side of 
the raA'ine and about 
Soyds. below us a good- 
sized nanny heading for 
loAver altitudes. The 
Cavalryman unlimbered 
his .30-40 Winchester 
and opened the action 
Avith tAvo rounds. How- 
ever, the Cavalryman 
had not gotten his 
breath yet after the 
climb and OA'ershot the 
goat. By a lucky shot 
I broke the animal's 
neck before any more 
military ammunition 
could be brought into 
play; and while, as 
I said before, this side 
of the moimtain was not 
perpendicular, yet from the Avay that goat rolled doAvn 
the side of the mountain for 200 or 300yds. I imagined 
the grade must be quite steep. 
While the Cavalryman Av^as congratulating me, and 
I was condoling with him, we heard a rattle of falling 
stones in the gully we had preA'iously inspected, and 
as quickly as possible started back in that direction. 
Before we reached the side of the ravine goats began 
to pour out of its head on to the top of the mountain. 
They must haA'c been there all the time, hidden in 
crevices in the rocks. At any rate the Cavalryman 
shot at the old billy AAdio led the procession, and 
the lead-pointed bullet striking the goat in the side of 
the face remoA'ed his loAver jaw almost entirely. The 
goat ran around behind a large rock and immediately 
came back again, and kept turning around as if in 
doubt where to go. During his gyrations he received 
another .30-40 in the hip, which passed though him to 
the shoulder, and also one .45-70, which passed through 
liim from side to side, but which Avas not needed. The 
billy finally fell off into the raAdne and rolled down about 
looft,, where he lodged against a rock. 
In the meantime I had killed a small goat, Avhich 
rolled to VAdthin 40ft. of the billy, and had knocked over 
a larger one, Avhich I could not trace. 
We noAv had to hunt for a way to reach the goats 
and a place in which to remove their skins and heads, 
and then to find a Avay to get around the side of the 
mountain back to camp. This last trouble was not 
the least, for this side of the mountain was composed 
almost entireh' of slide rock in assorted sizes, and we 
