for our party, 1 was awakened at ten or eleven 0 * clock by 
a confusion of sounds and the excited inquiries by Chittenden 
and others as to who could be yelling on the south side of 
the river * At the same moment my ear caught the hoarse yells 
of some one apparently in the greatest excitement# 1 was on 
®y feet in an instant and shouted in reply# It was fom 
Cooper, our chief packer* He was yelling, talking and swear- 
ing in the most desperate manner, and I could only make out 
that something very disastrous was happening and that our 
help was instantly needed# He seised our rifles and hurried 
out to meet him in the dark woods bordering the river, and 
soon learned that we had possibly escaped what might have been 
a serious disaster# Early in the might as fom happened to 
be lying awake in his- tent he noticed that there was some 
rather unusual disturbance among the herd and presently that 
the bell began to tinkle as if the bell-horse were trotting or 
running# fhe herd was evidently moving down the valley along 
' . •• - i * « ' • j ,a c * • ; • ' ; .. ;• r, * . . • '*■ 
the river bank* He ms up in an instant and after them# 
f t -lj. V V , ,,-v ' ' '• t .• r - r* • V r V - i 
Steadily they moved sway and he followed but found it very 
difficult to get closer to them* He suspected nothing wrong 
only that they had been frightened by a coyote or some other 
wild beast, in which case they would certainly soon stop# Al- 
ready he had chased them a mile or more over gorges &&d rocks, 
and through weeds and brush and it seemed they would never 
stop# the perspiration ws making him blind and his wind 
was nearly gone* Suddenly all sounds ceased, the bell was 
