Los Cerrillos rustler. (Cerrillos, N.M.) 188?-1891, 1888-12-07

"NNLNNHH AMAAA AMHA MAaNE NNN N|HA ny
self about a. big a. any boy.
A sheep would nov and then get
astray, In spite Of the shepherds; when
Il was pretty sur 10 be- killed within
a few hours BY some marauding beast
or beasts from the mountains. To r.
pay my uncle's kindness, by helping 10
rid tho range Of these pests. was
another motive for extending my cx-
cursions.
One morning I actually startled some
wild creature from it prey. ina clump
Of cottOn-woods. on the banks Of the
stream. hardly had a glimpse Of IL.
NJ Il darted behind a ledge and disap-
peared. Il must have been much
larger than a coyote. and / concluded
that II was a wolf. never having seen
a wolf III my life.
The s%kittishness Of my pony pre-
vented me from dashing on and get
Ing a better view Of the fugitive. /
was excited, aud mas be little scared.
! paused 10 withdraw the small shot
from one barrel Of my fowling-piecc.
and ram down an ounce ball instead.
Tho other barrel already had "A charge
Of buck. / remember how my hands
shook as ! performed that simple
operation.
Then | urged my pony into the
clump OF trees out OF which the beast
had leaped; and saw one Of my uncle's
fine merinos partially devoured. The
shyness OF the horse | supposed 10 be
accustomed by the smell OF blood.
There may have been something in
that; but he was also repealed from the
spot by a wilder instinct, which had
been transmitted 10 him by his Mexi-
can progenitors, and which / had a
more awkward experience OF before
long. | did not get near enough TO
examine the animals tracks about the
carcass, or | might not have started
of quite so eagerly as | did in pursuit
OF such game.
The hills toward which IL had fed
rose in broken and scantily wooded
masses about a mile beyond. Still
farther. above the slopes and crags OF
those spurs, rose other slopes and
crags, with vaporous chasms and YER
durous crests, peak beyond peak, TO
the snowy scalps of the Sierras; which
in the distance, to my boyish eyes, re-
scmbled delicately-tinted mountains Of
ice-cream.
! galloped off, keeping within sight
Of the stream and following it up
into the gorge, through which Il is
sued from the foothills. / was soon
in the cool shadows OF the cliffs, with
the torrent plunging over its rocky
bed beside me. twenty feet below.
Cotton-woods, willows, birches, and
other forest trees grew wherever they
could get a foothold among the rocks;
and the lOveliest wild flowers imagina-
BILE smiled up at me from the natural
pathway, at the base OF the cliffs,
along which | rode.
The gorge was full of powders and
broken blocks, among which ! looked
cautiously for game rs ! proceeded. A
few Rocky Mountain jays screamed in
the t~ree-tops. A red-shafted wood
pecker-the same birds as your East
ern golden-shafted species, except that
IL has red markings where the other
has yellow-litted before me; and n
j%ack-rabbit invited my shot from the
opposite bank OF the stream. But
reserved my lead for larger game.
The gorge, which was perhaps a
hundred yards wide ut the entrance,
broadened farther on into n glen OF
wonderful wildness and beauty, and
then narrowed again TO n canyon cut
through the very heart Of the hills.
/ had been in the glen before with my
uncle; but now for the first time |
pushed farther on up into the canyon.
Twas CHANGING down ut the tumbling
torrent, or up ut the broken pine
crowned slopes-all the time keeping
n sharp lookout for game-and my
sure-footed pony was picking his way
ut will over the stones and among the
blocks and powders that strewed the
bank Of the stream. when suddenly he
pricked up his ears, gave a frightened
snuff, and stopped.
l let go the reins, and poised my
gun, trembling at the sudden prospect
of game, the scent OF which had nc
doubt alarmed Roland.
Still / could see nothing; and his
mysterious conduct filled me with a
vague terror. He was snorting and
backing; and | was about resuming
the reins, to head him away from the
danger, down the gorge; when all al
once, stealthy, silent, crouching, O
wild animal appeared on a ledge of the
cliff. less than twenty feet before me.
| knew the creature ut n glance. II
was nm American lion. or rather lion.