steep for a long distance below and covered with loose stones 
and scattering trees. Down this slope the hear plunged and the 
big stone and many other loosened stones after him, rattle, bang, 
crash, until the cliffs re-echoed the uproar. I never saw a 
beast made such time and the stones were more rapid than he and 
made enormous leaps until they caught up with him and both, 
with many added stones, went out of sight together down into 
a rocky gorge nearly half a mile below me. It was a laughable 
termination of the incident, but a good riddance of an ugly 
customer . 
I soon reached the top of the cliff by a very ticklish 
trail, pulling myself up by little notches in the rocks, and 
the gooseberry bushes that gro w in the crevices. I had a broad 
view of the valley and the surrounding mountains, made a sketch 
and cut my initials and the date in the rock that forms the ex- 
treme point of a projecting cape of the plateau and then, on ac- 
count of a thinder storm which suddenly broke across the plateau 
I hurried down to my mule. In the rain I pulled my mule by 
main force down the steep mountain nearly all the way to camp. 
Taking a different course from the ascent I encountered 
a cliff midway in the slope and had a hard time, going back 
again and taking another spur and getting into camp late, wet 
and tired. The boys were quite excited that a bear should be 
so near and wanted to go on a hunt. 
