1050 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Dec. 31, 1910. 
to get through at any time, each limb and leaf 
was laden with moisture and waiting to give us 
a thorough and chilling shower bath. Through 
it we had to go, however, and scratched, 
whipped and buffeted as well as soaked and 
chilled, we finally crossed the creek at the 
foot of the valley and struck the Bridge River 
trail. 
From there we made fast work to Tyaughton 
Creek, about twenty miles, picking up on our 
way the packs we had cached at Gunn Creek. 
At Tyaughton we camped for the night, and 
after collecting the big tent and stove which we 
had left there with my mule deer head, we started 
on our fifty-mile ride to Lillooet soon after day¬ 
light. For twenty miles we followed the north 
side of Bridge River, then crossing, climbed Mis¬ 
sion Mountain, about 4,000 feet, and down on 
the other side to Mission, on Seton Lake. This 
is merely a little Indian village, located on one 
side of the most beautiful lake in America. 
From the top of Mission Mountain we could see 
Anderson Lake, and the little river connecting 
it with Seton Lake, with a background of snow- 
clad mountains which set off the emerald green 
lakes in the most exquisite'manner. Everything 
above timber line was thickly covered with snow, 
and we were glad to be below it. Along Seton 
Lake the trail is cut from the rock overhanging 
the water, and in many places, especially where 
it is trestled across the face of the cliff, it might 
be unpleasant for a nervous rider. Bill tells of 
one party of would-be hunters starting out by 
the trail who balked at these trestles and turned 
back, giving up their trip. 
Twenty miles of this brought us to the end 
of the lake and the Lillooet River, beside which 
a fine real road runs to Lillooet, four miles be¬ 
yond. The river was literally filled with salmon, 
in plain sight in the shallow water, and in the 
pools below the white water they were packed 
so closely that they looked like a solid mass. Un¬ 
fortunately the light was failing, so I could not 
get a photograph of this wonderful sight. Our 
horses showed their condition and spirit by mak¬ 
ing the four miles to town in twenty minutes, 
pack train and all, and brought us to our hunt’s 
end in a final grand burst of speed. 
As showing that there is still considerable 
game to be found in these mountains, we saw 
during our trip 13 mule deer, 27 mountain sheep, 
63 goats and 4 black bears; a grand total of 107 
head of big game. Of course the majority of 
these were seen through our glasses at long dis¬ 
tances. Of the smaller animals we saw probably 
50 hoary marmots, 10 yellow-haired porcupines, 
2 little chief hares and many squirrels and chip¬ 
munks. Of birds we found blue grouse, ruffed 
grouse, fool hens, ptarmigan, golden eagles, 
Clark’s crows, magpies, Canada jays, fishhawks, 
nighthawks, great-horned owls, small owls, king¬ 
fishers and many small birds. We also saw 
fresh signs of panthers, lynxes, grizzly bears, 
black bears and beaver, there being several large 
colonies of the latter along the Bridge River 
where they are increasing, thanks to the protec¬ 
tion extended to them. 
Knowing from my own experience how much 
we all like to criticise the other fellow’s outfit, 
and also with the hope that it may offer sugges¬ 
tions to brother sportsmen who are planning 
mountain hunts, I give below a list of my out¬ 
fit, which I found to include everything I 
needed, and very little that I did not need. I 
am including as the only change the footwear 
mentioned elsewhere. 
Wear, riding: One suit wool underwear, one 
pair heavy wool socks, fustian riding breeches, 
seven-inch heavy walking shoes, nailed; medium 
weight flannel shirt, wool vest, broad-brimmed 
hat, leather puttees, suspenders, silk neck hand¬ 
kerchief, buckskin gauntlets, belt and hunting 
knife. 
Carry, in pocket: Compass, waterproof match 
safe, tape line, emery stone, three extra car¬ 
tridges (as a reserve), pocket knife, rubber 
drinking cup, pipe and tobacco, watch, some 
loose matches, handkerchief. 
Carry, on saddle: Rifle in scabbard with sling, 
field glasses, seven diameters, prism; slicker, 
camera, .22 pistol in holster. 
Carry, in pack bag: Three pairs heavy wool 
socks, sweater, buckskin shirt, toilet roll and 
towel, bath towel, fishing wallet and reel, am¬ 
munition, three pairs tennis shoes, one pair shoe- 
pacs, one suit wool underwear, one handker¬ 
chief, one pair wool trousers, medicine kit, to¬ 
bacco in rubber sponge bag, extra pipe, electric 
torch, fly dope, sewing kit, small flask whiskey, 
rifle and pistol cleaners. 
Bed roll, consisting of two pairs heavy blan¬ 
kets, 6 feet by 16 feet canvas tarpaulin, 30 feet 
by 6 feet wool mattress, thin small pillow. (This 
was rolled up and fastened with two trunk 
straps, and my fishing rod and telescope sight 
rolled up inside of it.) 
The articles to be packed will all go into one 
ordinary alforja, and not fill it at that. The 
riding breeches were a great comfort when rid¬ 
ing, and I also wore them most of the time for 
climbing. They should, however, have been made 
of a light wool material. The leather puttees 
prevented many a bad jab and scrape from the 
thick brush, but most of all they prevented any 
chafing or bruising by the stirrup straps. I had 
learned long before by painful experience with 
a cow outfit in the Southwest how important to 
one’s comfort is the protection of the leg by 
high boots or otherwise. The use of a rubber 
lined sponge bag for carrying tobacco may be 
new to many, but it certainly fills the bill, keep¬ 
ing the tobacco in its original condition, and 
shrinking in bulk as the contents are used. A 
large sized sponge bag will hold nearly two 
pounds of -tobacco. 
A gun sling is an absolute necessity in climb¬ 
ing, and an improvised one is usually awkward 
and inconvenient. Therefore, take one along. 
On a hunt in the mountains one should take 
more ammunition than for the same length of 
time in the woods. There is more long range 
A T a time in midwinter when New Yorkers 
were shivering from the chilly blasts of 
Boreas, and the newspapers abounded 
with advertisements of the sunny South, the 
Appalachian Mountain Club of Boston made its 
usual February excursion to the White Moun¬ 
tains of New Hampshire that its members might 
enjoy a week of Jack Frost and his snow sports. 
shooting and an extra box may come in handy. 
Never again will I go into the mountains with¬ 
out an air bed. The scarcity of balsam or suit¬ 
able brush of any kind, and the roughness of the 
ground make a mattress of some kind a neces¬ 
sity, and one of thin wool which will roll up, 
such as is used by the cowboys in the South¬ 
west, is about the only alternative. This is 
clumsy to pack on horseback — the cowboy’s bed 
is carried in the bed wagon — and as it must be 
thin to roll up, it soon wads into lumps, sepa¬ 
rated by air spaces, and this is not conducive to 
restful sleep. I usually spread two or three 
saddle blankets under mine. The air bed is soft 
and comfortable when inflated, and when de¬ 
flated folds up flat like a blanket, much better 
to pack than a roll. An air pillow should also 
be included. A tarpaulin is a necessity, unless 
a canvas covered sleeping bag is used. The tele¬ 
scope sight I never used; that is, being rather 
awkward to carry, I frequently left it in camp, 
and the only time when fair opportunities for 
trying it occurred were on such occasions. I 
think it worth while, if one has one, to take it 
along, but would not suggest getting one espe¬ 
cially for such a trip. 
My arms were a .33 caliber take-down rifle, 
short-barreled and half magazine, and a .22 cali¬ 
ber target pistol. This rifle I have found most 
satisfactory for moose, caribou, deer and goats, 
and its short barrel makes it the handiest of guns 
in the brush, in a canoe or climbing. Moreover, 
the absolute reliability of its action is a feature 
not to be underrated. The .22 pistol I never car¬ 
ried when climbing, but always had within reach 
about camp or when on the trail, and would not 
want to be without one, as it is the handiest thing 
for birds one can carry. A revolver of the 
same caliber and equal accuracy would be even 
better. 
I hated to leave the outfit; every one of them, 
Bill, Bonaparte, Senator, Dick, Dago, and all 
the others had proved such good companions and 
reliable friends that only the remembrance that 
some day I was going back for a spring hunt 
after grizzlies cheered me up. Fortunately I had 
pleasant companions for the long stage ride, and 
it was a jolly day that we put in on the road to 
Lytton and civilization. But when my train 
pulled in that night, and I climbed aboard my 
Pullman, with a fine send-off from my good 
friends, the old prospector, the mounted police¬ 
man and the stage driver, I hated to realize that 
such trips must have an ending, and that my 
mountain hunt must live only in my memory, my 
photographs and my trophies, until fortune shall 
favor me with another such outing. 
Though only the snowshoe section of the club 
took part in the excursion, the party numbered 
134, consisting of men, women and children of 
all ages from fifteen to seventy. They came 
from nearly all of the New England States, and 
even from New York and New Jersey, including 
several members of athletic clubs. 
Despite the size and varied character of the 
A New England Winter Outing 
By PALMER H. LANGDON 
