Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-12-03
A ProspectOr's Adventure.

A Pr0spectOr's Adventure.
Not long, since, l met Mr.. C.,
who has for six years been locating
mines in Color ado and other parts OF
the far West. In the course of our con.
versation, we CHANGED to speak of snow
storms. You may talk of yo,r snow
storms" said he, but they have storms
up among the Hills that beat all others
that ever saw.
81 used to think we had some pretty
hard storms to face in New Hampshire,
when I had to 60 Eaile to school,
winters, but those were nothing COM
pared with q snow storm / lay out in
one night in Colorado, four years ago.
And, by the way,I picked up an odd
comrade in that storm, too.
"I1l tell you about it," he said, in
answer to my inquiry about the odd
comrade. "A fellow named Hatfield
was ut that time prospecting with me
near the head waters of the Blue Fork.
Provisions were scarce with us; and
one noon took my rifle and our mule,
and started off up the Fork to see what
i could shoot. 1t was cold, hazy day,
and Hatfield was about as good as laid
mp in camp.
81 went five or six miles up the riv-
er-keeping in the belt of scattered
cottonwoods which mark the winding
channel Of the Fork through the bot
tom-expecting to start an antelope, if
not deer. But nothing seemed to be
stirring; though l. passed scores of
holes in the ice on the Fork where
game had come down to drink.
AT length hitched the mule in the
timber. and then, turning off from the
river, went back across the bottom and
climbed up some naesas (low crags) to q
little plateau of three or four hundred
acres, which sloped gradually back to
the foot of the main ridge OF the
sierra.
Scarcely had I reached the edge of
this little prairie when I saw O herd of
fourteen or fifteen black tailed deer.
They were not more than hundred
and fifty yards awsy, and by good luck
there was thick low pine. with droop.
ing branches, which feathered to the
ground between me and the herd,
I had their wind. and crawling
cautiously along, managed to get to this
pine and under its branches without
disturbing them. The distance to the
deer was now not more than sixty or
seventy yards. Resting my rife on q
branch close mp to the stem of the pine.
I covered the plumpest-looking one of
the herd, and fired.
AT the report. they all bounded of,
with sharp bleats, and their black tails
In the air-all save the one I had shot
at; his was shut, close down; and I
knew BY the zig.zag way he ran that
had wounded him severely.
So, without stirring out from be-
meath the boughs, I reloaded: and a
queer thing happened. The deer
neither saw me nor noticed the smoke
from the rifle; but the echo of the re-
port coming back from the mountain.
side beyond them caused them to turn.
and after running few rods, to circle
round the pine.
Before they had gone back to their
former position, the one I had shot
Tell. The others approached and smelt
OF their fallen comrade, and then stood
stamping and bleating anxiously.
fired again, and a second one
dropped without moving step.
Away went the others as before.
Again the echo turned them back to nv
side OF the little plateau, and actual.
~, without stirring from my lurking
place, had the good fortune to bring
down third from the band.
"The others then tore away like the
wind, and were soon lost to my sight
in defile of the mountains.
Emapoinv frNp, 49, 5000
the bodies OF the three deer up to the
pine, and without attempting to skin
them, did the best 1 couli to get them
ready to take home to camp. As was
not by any means expert as q hunter.
the dressing, in my clumsy way, of my
game. occupied an hour or more.
BY the time it was completed, the
abort December afternoon was nearly
spent; and as numbers of the white or
clouded-timber-wolves were ALWAYS
skulking around. I dared not leave the
deer lying on the ground even long
enough to 20 for my mule. So drag
ged one after another of the three car
casses into the branches of the pine,
This did with come difficulty, and
made them fast by the hind-legs four
teen or fifteen feet from the ground.
then set off at O run down the
aaesas and out across the bottom to-
wards where the belt of tall white
barked cottonwoo marked the course
of the Fork.
:" Meantime, as night drew on, the
cold gray haze in the sky had deep. ned
into black threatening clouds, which.
as l hurried along, seemed to descend,
settling lower and lower upon the earth,
shutting out the mountains on either |
hand. A hollow murmur swept through
the bottom, thoagh as yet felt not |
breath Of wind; and the great cotton
woods doomed like a line of silent ghosts
in the dull gloom.