Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-05
THE SIERRA MADRES.
Deer Hunting In Their
Businesses.
AN EXCELLENT DAYS SPohi.
What a Correspondent OF an Ex-
change Says of the
Mountains.
AN EXCELLENT DAYS SPOKT.

Mountains.
PASADENA. October 29.-Of all the
mountains it has been my good fortune
to enter, the Sierra Madres are the most
deceutive and l might add attractive.
From Pasadena that lies opposite the
finest part of the range, they present a
noble and impressive trout. You are
attracted to them Immediately, SO alb.
ruptly do they rise from the plain, and
so symmetrical are their slopes. The
peaks seem connected with the valley by
rsdges of gradual ascent, inviting the
sportsman and member of the Alpine
Club to further deeds of valor; but how
delusive are these slopes. only he who
has entered their precincts can tell; the
slope that mile or SO away looks SO
gradual and easy to climb, is found to
be a veritable precipice, cut and worn
into innumerable cafons that appear
suddenly and at odd places to daunt the
climber. From the valley the range ap-
pears single wall, rising in peaks from
5000 to IL 900 feet in height; but once
ascend this and It'll found to be but the
advance. guard of innumerable others,
which, lying T .rallel, stretch away in
labyrinth of cafions for forty miles or
more, forming one of the most lmpene-
trable mountain mazes and inaccessible
regions to cross in the country. Months
have been required to form a simple
trail six or seven miles into the noun
tains, and the rains of single season
often destroy the work of weeks. On
the southern slopes, the mountains are
not heavily timbered, but wherever the
northern exposure is seen, there large
pines and lefty trees appear, but else
where the manzanita, mountain ma
hogony.
greasewood cover the slopes, forming a
tangle almost impenetrable. The canons
ara like green rivers. reaching far down
from the greater heights, and are the
by.ways and lanes over which the
black tailed deer, the grizzly and other
large game pass in their nocturnal trips
to the lowlands in search of the soft sue.
culent grasses and other provender. In
former days the deer were extremely
common, and at night came up from the
arroyo and entered the ranches, but now
they are confined to the deep receses of
the range and its spurs. One of the lat
ter is the ranch of one of the most ia.
nous hunters ia Southern California
Jean Giddines, a nephew of Joshua Gid
dings, the old abolitionist and so long a
prominent figure in Congress. The
house stands we'll up in the mountains,
overlooking the valley and the Pacific,
and is the site of an old camp, every
rain washing away many pestles and
mortars of stone. We were to follow
the Giddings hounds in the morning,
and an hour before daylight found us
mutfied in topcoats, our feet under the
dogs that were piled into the great Wa.
gon, and whrllng away up the great
natural avenue OF La Canada, in the di.
rection of the Hills, branch of the
main range running at right angles to it.
We followed the Canada Valley several
miles, then turned into the Verdugo,
and with the horses at a mad gallop,
rushed across the country OF the jack
rabbit through high grasses, frightening
the plumed quail from their roosts, COM
ing out upon side canon and near its
head. Dogs, men and rifles were tum.
bled out and the hunt commenced,
Our genial guide and master of the
hounds dealt out the peaks of the range
with lavish hand, and soon the wouldbe
deer. stalkers were ploughing through
the greasewood making for the upper
range. l was provided with Mr.. Gid.
ding's horse, from whose back he has
shot many deer. and, if the patient ami
NAL cannot climb the side of house it
is because the experiment has not been
tried. l am fully convinced that he can.
My station was 1000 feet up on the
range on the side of the canon, and up
the green gulch we began to climb.
The sun was Just coming over the noun.
tains from Arizona, and as rose higher
and higher. following the little trail that
was not more than deer path. new
beauties appeared at every step. The sun
was marshaling on wondrous changes;
the dark shadows of night were giving
way to strange roseate tints that grew in
intensity. until finally the noun.
tain sides seemed to fairly glow
with a living lurid light, to be lost
in t. he burst of golden sunshine. The
leaves and the grasses all bore crystal
drops of dew; the notes of the quail were
heard; the music of the chaparral, and
on the moist ground here and there
could be seen the sharp, finely outlined
print of the deers hoof, telling of its re-
cent passage up the eaiion. There are
several ways of riding horse up the side
of a mountain covered with brush.
Whom the angle is sharp one is to throw
ones arms around the horses neck and
Law out lengthwise; another is to let the
horse 90 ahead and cling to his tail.
Roth Of these methods have their ad.
vantapes. and | can recommend them,
having tried them both in the Sierra
Madres, and with the horse stood the
test. In the present instance, having
rife across the saddle and the water can
teens hanging from the pummel on either
side, merely put my trust in Provi-
dence and clung to rope about the
noble animals neck, and with head on
horses neck we both butted through
the scrub. l came out, as some one OBJ
served later on, "full OF ticks and enthu-
siasm." The trail (so called by cour'
tesy) over which the horse
took me would have astonished Eastern
riders. 1t was SO steep that several
times the horse stood almost straight up
right, and narrowly escaped falling over
backward, so that l was constantly
watching, SO as to slip off on the weather
side in case of such an occurrence.
Such travelling requires frequent stops,