424 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Beyond Mad River Mountain* 
Thinking that perhaps a large number of the readers 
of the Forest and Stream who have always lived in 
the old settled parts of country where large game such as 
deer and bear have long since become extinct through 
the onward march of civilization would like to hear 
something from a section of country where such game 
is still to be found in large nmnber, 1 hope the following 
may prove of some little interest to them. 
Having lived in Kentucky until three years ago, 1 had 
never had an opportunity of hunting anything but quail 
and cottontail rabbits, so you may imagine with what 
interest 1 listened to the tales of the old Forty-niners 
about the big game in the north Sierra Nevada Mountams. 
In July of last year I decided to organize a small party for 
an expedition in search of big game and adventure. The 
party consisted of Mr. Roy Sousley, a young Kentuckian; 
Mr. Jule Egger, of New York, and myself. The trip ex- 
tended over a period of nearly three months, 
Purchasing a full line of hunting and camping supplies 
in San Francisco, we embarked in a small sailing vessel 
for the north California coast. The trip was a pleasant 
one until we reached Cape Mendocino, about 200 miles 
above Frisco, where we encountered one of the most 
terrific storms of the 'year. Every one was ordered be- 
low, and the hatches were securely fastened down. 
By permission of the captain Roy and I remained on 
deck dressed In our alm.ost waterproof hunting suits, and 
if you want an experience that you will likely remember 
just remain on the deck of a small sailing vessel when 
the sea is breaking over her mountain high. 
We were soon drenched to the skin, and were well 
satisfied to go below. Our game little vessel, after bat- 
tling with the sea all night and the next day, landed us 
at Eureka, a little hamlet of a few hundred souls, en- 
tirely without railroad, telegraph or telephone connection 
with the outside world. 
After a good night's rest in a bed that was not standing 
on one end half the time and on the other end the other 
half, we went to a neighboring stable to procure our 
pack horses, for as we were going into a section of coun- 
try where there were no roads we could only use pack 
horses, wagons being out of the question. It was our 
intention to take four horses, one for each to ride, and 
one to carry most of our provisions; but when we in- 
formed the villager of the section we intended to ex- 
plore, we were advised to abandon the trip, for they said 
that the mountains in summer were as barren as a desert, 
our horses would starve to death and we would be com- 
pelled to return. 
At this we were indeed greatly disappointed and came 
near losing one of our party, who wished to return to 
Frisco; but we were determined to go on at any cost, and 
finally persuaded him to contnue with us. 
After a consultation we decided to take only one pack 
animal to carry our provisions, and to make the trip on 
foot, thinking it better to starve only one horse than four. 
Taking only such provisions as were absolutely neces- 
sary, such as bacon, lard, flour, rice, prunes and coffee, 
packing them on the horse, and strapping guns and am- 
munition on our backs, together with a few cooking 
utensils, we were ready to start. A crowd of about loo 
persons had gathered about us, and amid shouts of "I'll 
give them four days to get back," and "They'll never reach 
the top of Mad River Mountain," we turned our faces 
to the north and our backs on Eureka. 
We had traveled six or eight miles, when we came 
upon a country store called Freshwater, situated at 
the foot of a mountain. Indicating the direction we 
wished to go, we were informed it would be necessary 
for us to climb that mountain, the summit of which was 
2,700 feet above where we stood. We commenced the 
ascent by a narrow winditig road, which led us through 
a forest of gigantic redwoods or "big trees." They were 
indeed gigantic, but not so large as the big trees of 
Mariposa and Calaveras, in the region of Yosemite 
Valley. About half-way up the mountain we stopped for 
a light lunch, then proceeded to the summit, and to our 
great surprise found the top of the mountain covered 
with a most luxuriant growth of grass, reaching almost 
to a man's waist, and we began to think there was noth- 
ing in the tales that our horses wotild starve to death. 
The sight from the top was indeed grand. Stretchmg 
away from its base to the banks of Humboldt Bay lay 
the valley we had just crossed, and beyond rolled the 
mighty waters of the great sea. The sun was just sink- 
ing behind a hank of Avhite clouds, which added beauty 
to the scene. Being fresh from the city and unaccustomed 
to mountain climbing, we were tired out, and after a 
camp supper rolled up in our blankets, threw ourselves 
upon the ground, with nothing above us but the stars, and 
were soon fast asleep. Waking up about sunrise, we 
found our blankets drenched with dew. I mention this 
heavy dew for the reason, that, after this, night after 
night, week after week, we slept on the ground with no 
shelter, and not one drop of rain or dew moistened our 
shaggy faces. • ^xr- a 
After breakfast we were soon on the journey. Wind- 
ing our way down the side of the mountain, we had 
traveled only a few hundred yards, when every vestige 
of green vegetation disappeared. What a contrast be- 
tween this and the oasis we had just left. Anything that 
had probably grown there in the early spring had been 
dried to dust by the scorching rays of the sun. 
On and on we tramped, hour after hour, through this 
parched section of the country, until 3 o'clock in the after- 
noon, when we came upon a small spring oozing from 
the base of a cliff, and encamped for the night. An ac- 
cident occurred here which came nearly costing Jule a 
oart of one hand. He and Roy had gone to cut wood for 
a fire. Roy, handling the axe and directing Jule to hold 
the stick, slashed awav. driving the axe into the base of 
Jule's thumb, nearly severing that member. Fortunately 
i was well suppHed with a medical and surgical outfit, 
and soon had the wound sewed up and Jule made com- 
fo^abK^ tilne we had prepared and, disposed of our meal 
night had settled- around us. One of the boys, glancing 
upward, saw two shining balls of fire high up in a tree. 
We knew at once that they were the eyes of some animal, 
but could not make out what it was. The moon by this 
time had fisen well up. and moving around until the fiery 
orbs were directly between us and the silvery background 
I too,k a rifle, and with a bang and a thud our game was 
on the ground. Hurrying to the spot, we found a 
ferocious wildcat. You may know that we felt relieved 
that he was out of the way before we rolled in our 
blankets for the night. Still, if there was one, there 
might be more, and you may be sure that that night we 
.siept with one eye open, but were not disturbed. 
As this part of the country through which we were 
passing was so destitute of pasturage we decided to push 
forward as rapidly as pos.sible, with the hope of finding 
something upon which our horse could feed, so we were 
up and on the road before sunrise. 
After a short distance of travel we began a rapid 
descent, and soon found ourselves on the bank of a river 
which we took to be the Mad River, spoken of by the 
villagers, and indeed it deserved its name, for such a 
wild and terrific confusion I had never seen in the bed of 
a stream before. Rocks of almost every conceivable size 
lie embedded m her sandy bottom, having fallen from the 
towering cliffs above. Had some tremendous upheaval 
occurred here the confusion could not have been greater. 
The stream itself had almost dried up, but what a sight 
this must be in the early spring, when the mountains for 
miles around yield their snow to the liquefying in- 
fluence of old Sol and the waters rush through this nar- 
row channel in their mad race to the sea! 
To follow the course of this river would be an im- 
possibility, so nothing was left but to climb the mountain 
on the opposite side, and it took hours of the most 
laborious work we had ever undertaken to accomplish 
this. We were compelled to stop a number of times 
from sheer exhaustion. 
Reaching the summit, we stopped for a lunch; but 
as far as the eye could reach not a sprig of anything 
green could be seen for the horse, which was already 
showing signs of exhaustion froin the scanty amount 
of food he had had since we left the redwood mountain. 
Thinking of a bag that contained about 30 pounds of rice 
among our stock of provisions, we decided to feed him 
some of it, which he ate greedily. 
On and on we tramped, mile after mile, through this 
barren waste of mormtains, for three days, most of the 
time without water, and not a bird nor any other living 
thing did we see. During this time the horse was making 
inroads on our bag of rice at an alarming rate, and we 
knew it would be only a short time until it would be 
exhausted, and then he' would have to be turned loose to 
starve or his miserable existence ended with a bullet. 
Hoping to find better country, we decided to wait one 
more day before destroying our faithful friend, 
By way of avoiding the steepest mountain, we had 
worked our way to the lower land again, an'd traveling 
on came to a perpendicular cliiT which rose several 
hundred feet from the edge of a dried up stream, and 
seemed to bar all further progress in that direction. 
However, after a little investigation we discovered a 
ravine leading over the top of the cliff and on up the 
mountain. Through this we made our way. The ascent 
was the steepest we had yet encountered. The midday 
sun was beating down upon the rocks and parched earth 
until they emitted heat like a furnace. 
On and on we dragged our way to within about 200 
yards of the summit, when the horse began bleeding at 
the nose from the high altitude and exertion, and one 
of the party sank to the ground with a sunstroke. What 
a place for such an accident! Not a drop of water was 
near, for it must be at least eight miles back to the last 
spring. Quickly unpacking the horse we improvised a 
tent with the blankets to shelter the patient from the 
sun. Water must be had, and Roy volunteered to go 
back down the mountain for it, taking the thirsty horse 
with him. It was late in the night before he returned, 
but thanks to his efforts he brought a good supply of 
the refreshing liquid, and the patient rapidly grew better 
under its influence. One of the peculiarities of these 
mountains is that no matter how hot the days the nights 
are invariably cool, and this night was no exception, 
for before morning we had to wrap snugly in the blankets 
to keep from shivering with cold. The cool night air^ 
had its good effect on our patient, and at daybreak he 
was up with the rest of us. 
After disposing of breakfast we decided it would be 
■folly to venture further in these desert mountains, and 
that the safetst plan would be to hasten back as rapidly 
as possible to civilization. 
Examining the bag of rice, we found there was not 
enough left to keep the horse alive until we could reach 
pasturage, so we decided to shoot him rather than' turn 
him loose to die of starvation. But who could have 
the heart to shoot the faithful beast which had packed 
i.ur provisions for days and days? It would indeed 
seem like shooting one of ourselves. However, it must 
be done, so we casts lots, and it fell to me. 
Picking up a rifle and taking the poor brute by the 
halter, I started toward a dense clump of dried bushes 
some =;o yards away with the intention of making him 
fast, so that if the first shot did not Idll him he could 
not dash awav wounded, thus adding to his torture. I 
had reached the edge of the bushes, when I was startled 
bv a rushing, sweeping noise, and looked up to see a fine 
buck deer dash away toward the summit. Dropping 
the halter of the horse I fired two ineffective shots at the 
fleeing shadow. The boys, who had been watching from 
the distance, took in the situation at once, and a yell 
v.'ent up that fairlv deafening. 
We realized instantly that if deer could live here there 
must be better country near at hand. Hastily packing up 
our effects, we made for the summit in the direction the 
deer had gone, and less than 300 yards on the other side we 
met a sight that fairly transformed us into other beings. 
Stretching away down the mountain side into a vast val- 
ley lay one of the most beautiful sections of country I 
have ever seen; trees innumerable, large and small, of 
every variety known to that region, grew beautiful and 
green; a luxuriant growth of grass covered the ground 
waist deep; the chirping of birds was heard on all sides; 
squirrels with their bushy tails curled over their backs 
leaped from limb to limb; quail and grouse flew up in 
large droves here and there; deer, sometimes one, some- 
times three or four together, would start up at our 
intrusion and dash away. 
Could this great change be a reality, or was this 'tlie 
mirage of maddened t>rain, diseased from the intense aun 
of days before? No, it was a reality — a hunter's para- 
dise! 
Making our way to the valley, we came upon a creek 
varying in depth from r to (5 or 8 feet, and filled with 
fish. Here we encamped. 
Having been without fresh meat for days, we must 
have a deer, so we set out for a hunt. We had gone only 
a short distance, when we came upon several, but we ex- 
perienced all the nervousness of the new hunter for big 
game, and om- shots went wild. However, our nerves 
soon became steadier, and we bagged a fine buck and 
carried him to camp. That night, after a hearty meal of 
venison steak, we gathered around the camp-fire, lit our 
pipes and were thoroughly enjoying the situation. The 
night was still, not a murmur was heard but the wind 
sifting its way through the tops of the trees, and the 
fire had died down to a few- smoldering coals, when 
there came a splash! splash! splash! from the stream, not 
20 yards away. 
The night was dark but not dark enough to prevent 
our making out the form of a bear on its way across the 
stream. Old bruin had smelt the fresh blood from our 
newly slaughtered deer, and had come down to investi- 
gate. Going direct to the spot, he proceeded to make 
a hearty meal from the undesirable parts we had thrown 
away. VVe did not stir, and so intent was he upon his 
meal that he seemed unaware of our presence. Having 
satisfied his appetite, he made his way back across the 
stream and disappeared in the forest. 
It was late in the afternon of the following day when 
we returned to camp from another hunt, bringing in three, 
deer and eight grouse. Dressing the game and swinging 
it high in a tiee, out of the reach of any animals that 
might pay us a visit, we built up a log fire, ate supper 
and rolled in our blankets for the night. How long we 
had been asleep I am unable to say, but we were awakened 
by something that sounded like a human voice coming 
from away up the mountain. Listening, we soon realized 
that it was getting nearer and made answer. 
Presently into camp rushed a fellow with "Hello, thar, 
boys, by gad I'm glad to see yer! I ain't seen a man 
fer so long Ise most fergot how he looked. How in 
ther devil did yer fellows git in here?" We explained 
where we were from and our mission. Our new friend 
proved to be a miner, by name Paddy Miles. He was a 
man probaly fifty years of age, slightly above the medium 
height, but with a massive frame that would do credit to 
a giant, a mass of black hair, fully 20 inches in length, 
hanging down over his shoulders, and a beard reaching 
half-way to his waist This is his story: 
About four miles by a winding way up the mountain 
he had built a little cabin, where he came to live each 
summer. He was suft'ering with a severe toothache and 
could not sleep, so coming out of the cabin he dis- 
covered our camp-fire and came down "to see what the 
devil it meant; didn't think I'd see white men — thought 
I'd run on a band of them redskins from 'way up North." 
He explained that a small party of Indians had passed 
through that section three summers before. 
Having a pair of dental forceps in my surgical case, I 
extracted the offensive masticator, which put our new 
friend in great spirits. He said, "That's being lifted 
outer trouble to get rid of that acher. I know you fellers 
ain't miners, so I doji't min' tellin' yer a few things. I've 
got a mine up here in these hills, and I come here every 
summer, dig out a few hundred or so in gold and then 
go back to the burg and live like a king in the winter. 
Folks down thar at the burg would like mighty well to 
know whar Paddy goes, but I always give 'em the slip 
when the snow melts, and they don't see Paddy till the 
snow comes ag'in." 
The "burg" spoken of by Paddy was a little village that 
lay more than a hundred miles to the south. Paddy 
Avas a hunter as well as a miner. We explained about 
the visit of the bear the night before, and told him we 
were preparing to hunt him down the next day. 
"Well," he said, "thar's plenty bear in here, but yer 
needn't fix your caps fer that, 'cause yer could hunt for 
a whole week and wouldn't see a hair of 'em, he'd keep 
so far in front. It takes a dog to find them slippery 
cusses, an' I got two up at the cabin— best that ever 
sniffed a trail," 
With this he drew a cow's horn from his shirt bosom, 
sounded two long blasts, and down the mountain came 
two dogs, yelping at every bound. Paddy remained the 
rest of the" night with us, and promised us a bear hunt 
with his dogs the next day. 
We were up and off long before daybreak, and had 
traveled about a mile, when the dogs were heard to bark 
and Paddy exclaimed, "Thar! they've got a trail, an^ 
they'll have him up a stump afore yer kin wink yer eye.' 
Well, we were compelled by twigs and branches striking 
up in the fac; to "wink our eye" many times as we 
fushed forward in hot pursuit up and down the side of 
the mountain, climbing in and out of gulches and ravines 
and hugging the edges of almost perpendicular cliffs 
for two hours before they "had him up a stump." 
Finally, hearing an unusually loud barking, and hurry- 
ing to the spot- we found a tree about the size of a man's 
bodv projecting over a cliff, some 20 feet high, and up 
this "was old bruin, all defiance. Quite an argument arose 
as to who would do the shooting. We each wanted to. 
as this was our first bear. We were about to toss a 
coin to decide the matter, when the bear decided it for 
us. Starting back down the tree, with the white froth 
flowing from his mouth, it was evident he inteded mak- 
ing an attack Three shots rang out almost simulta- 
neously, and his fighting days were over. After this we had 
several bear hunts with Paddy and his dogs and killed 
two more. 
Returning after the hunt just described, we moved our 
camp up to Paddy's cabin and remained there about six 
weeks. 
How far this beautiful section of country extended I 
am not able to state, but we hunted over miles and miles 
of it, and were never at a loss for an abundance of game, 
although after the first week or two the novelty of shoot- 
ing deer wore off somewhat. We. killed only enough to 
cuonly the camp with meat. 
There is one incident of this trip that I hesitate to re- 
late, fearing my readers may think I am "'stretching the 
blanket" a bit, but as it actually occi'jrred and is neces' 
