392 
FOREST AND STREAM 
SEPTEMBER, 1917 
Always Keenly Alert 
in for some pretty rough treatment, rest 
assured; so are the horses, both are 
smashed and staggered often and equally, 
as well as doused in deep creeks and back 
channels, or swept away in rapid rivers. 
And the men ? Are out of patience, sullen 
and bad tempered—not from the hard and 
unnecessary work—no! but because they 
can see twelve, or the extreme limit al¬ 
lowed, fifteen days, slipping away without 
a head of game being seen or a shot fired; 
for this the guides’ reputations must and 
will suffer, and all through 500 pounds of 
luxurious but useless dunnage that should 
never have been brought on a time limited 
hunting trip in the Rockies? But trans¬ 
porting it, as outlined above, is not the only 
trouble. 
To continually pack up and unpack, pitch 
and break up camp with this dunnage, takes 
hours instead of minutes—so many shifts 
being made that midday is the only time 
left to hunt, with the result expected—fail¬ 
ure: Time is the secret of successful big 
game hunting, and all that money can do 
or employ is useless without it. Neither 
pleasure or profit is derived from these out¬ 
ings, only disappointment and useless ex¬ 
pense all-round. And the cost for the 
above outfit of men and horses will have 
been nearly $1,000. 
In the foregoing the reader will have 
noted why the expedition failed—not from 
the luxurious impedimenta—but from the 
want of time. In other words, the larger 
the outfit of men, horses and awkward bag¬ 
gage, the more time is required to be suc¬ 
cessful. To have, for instance, secured the 
trophies desired by this expedition, from 
forty-five to fifty days—and not fifteen— 
was absolutely necessary. The same ex¬ 
pedition—without the aforesaid baggage— 
would only have required about thirty days 
of course, speaking broadly. But the 
man who is willing to leave all superfluous 
dunnage behind, strip down to his guide’s 
weight, live as he does in a common tent, 
with ordinary blankets and balsam boughs 
for a bed, and a cheerful campfire, wher¬ 
ever night finds them, using a base camp 
from which to make side trips to the vari¬ 
ous game ranges, will in less time and at 
one-fourth the outlay see and kill more va¬ 
rieties of big game than the biggest expe¬ 
ditions, outfitted regardless of cost, that 
ever visited the Rocky Mountains. 
T O work from a base camp cuts down 
the working expenses, as less men and 
horses are required for a side trip of, 
say, from three to seven days, as only suf¬ 
ficient camp equipment and supplies are re¬ 
quired for that length of time. The E. 
Kootenay alone of all other dirtricts I am 
acquainted with, lends itself to this particu¬ 
lar system, as it represents a cart-wheel, 
the base camp being the hub, while the ra¬ 
diating spokes are trails leading to the four 
points of the compass; the wheel having 
a circumference of seventy miles within 
which all nine varieties have their habitat. 
The tenth (Caribou) being some ten miles 
outside this circle to the Westward, re¬ 
quires a side trip of from twelve to four-, 
teen days. Here, then, sportsmen of all 
calibers may suit themselves as to expense, 
providing always that sufficient time is al¬ 
lowed in all cases. 
The Northern spoke of the wheel leads 
to the Moose range; the Southern to Big¬ 
horn (Ovis montana) ; the Western to 
Moose and Sheep; the Eastern to Wapiti 
and Sheep; while Goat, Bear, Cougar, Mule 
and White-tail Deer will be found more or 
less all over on the same ranges. 
The usual rates per day are as follows: 
Guides $5, Cooks $3.50, Horses $1.00 for 
first two weeks. Board $1.00. Tents and 
other camp stuff from 50c to $1.00, as wear 
and tear are enormous. Sportsmen, either 
alone or two together, have here a wide 
field as to expense to choose from, rang¬ 
ing (roughly) from $ro to $15 per day for 
one, and from $17.50 to $25, or more, per 
day for two. The month of September, 
generally speaking, is inclined to be damp, 
with snow in the higher ranges. About the 
20th, a slight flurry of snow may be ex¬ 
pected, which (unfortunately) disappears in 
the lower ranges within 48 hours. Other¬ 
wise the days are warm in the valleys and 
on side hills, and cool at nights. All game 
is at and around timber-line, including bull 
Moose. This rough hewn and ungainly 
looking beast likes to be alone apparently 
until his antlers are clear of velvet, as until 
they are he is peevish, irritable and fully on 
his guard, hiding away all day in the scrub 
and jack-pine thickets just under timber- 
line. By the middle of the month or so he 
is in fighting trim and drops down to accept 
a challenge—ploughing up deep furrows in 
his haste—or to hunt up his harem, for the 
mating season is at hand. 
October and first two weeks of November 
are ideal months in which to enjoy a hunt¬ 
ing trip from every point of view. Rainy 
weather has gone, to be replaced by clear, 
crisp, sunny days that resemble the Indian 
Summer of the East—for the first three 
weeks of October—at all events. A snow¬ 
storm may, or may not, sweep across moun¬ 
tain and valley towards the end of the 
month. If it does it will lie on the higher 
ranges and drive the game down to a slight¬ 
ly lower elevation—if we except the old 
Billys and Rams who are not to be intimi¬ 
dated by a handful of snow, so defy all 
comers—the former clinging all day to the 
face of his favorite cliff like a fly on a 
window-pane, while the gallant Bighorn 
still stays out in the open meadows and 
tarns, trusting to his marvellous keen sight 
to guard him from all danger, until the 
heavy snows of mid-winter force both 
down to seek food 'and shelter with the 
ewes and lambs in the thick timber. 
By the middle of November sufficient 
snow will have fallen in the valleys and 
on side hills to clearly show the spoor of 
all game, and to those who are not afraid of 
a little cold, is the most successful time to 
hunt, though a bit more expensive as grain 
must be carried along for the horses. 
Regarding personal outfit very little is 
wanted, though each sportsman will of 
course please himself. Personally I take 
the following: 2 suits of flannel under¬ 
clothing, with half a dozen pair of woolen 
socks; 2 suits of over-clothing of soft 
warm material, brown or khaki color pre¬ 
ferred; pair of heavy water-proof boots or 
shoes, nailed with lumbermen’s “calks” to 
prevent slipping on logs, side hills or loose 
rock and shale; pair of light rubber shoes 
which are splendid for climbing and catch¬ 
ing a grip above timber-line in drv weather, 
and stags for camp use. Also a riding 
rain coat to strap on saddle. For carrying 
while out hunting, a light pull-over rain 
coat, warm jacket or sweater to slip on if 
called on to sit or stand about after get¬ 
ting warmed up, powerful pair of glasses 
with wide field, camera, hunting knife and 
rifle, is sufficient. To take more than this 
is not only useless but seriously hampers 
your guide, who is already carrying his 
own or your spare rifle, lunch, packing 
ropes, etc. Remember the success or fail¬ 
ure of the trip expends on his experience 
of woodcraft and a knowledge of the hab¬ 
its of all game. Don’t hamper him. Heavy 
side arms with belt of ammunition is only 
an incumbrance to impede progress. If 
you can’t stop a charging grizzly with a 
