The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-06-09


east and journeyed to western Colorado
for the avowed purpose of bagging the
king Of the American forest.
Leaving the railway at a point nearest
the dense timber Of Middle park, we took
the trail with our pack mules, and made
straight into the almost unexplored land.
Mountain peaks lowered on every side,
their SUBMITS crowned with everlasting
snow, while every gulch and canyon was
filled with the roar Of icy waters. Ev-
cry thicket seemed to hold a black
tailed deer, and occasional small bands of
elk were jumped; but game was too plen-
tiful to call for our powder 80 early In the
game, and as we had every one of us killed
deer and outgrown what is known in the
west as the "buCk fever" we were not
overexcited by what we then considered
small game.
We each wanted a bear and meant to
have him If he could be found. That he
was found the sequel will show. There
was no trail, and our guid being an old
mountaineer took as straig1 a line as our
horses and pack mules cou4I follow. We
wound in and out of ravines, canyons and
gulches, over hills and across levels, where
the grass made carpet of velvet, and
again where the fallen timber was 50 high
and thick that q half mile an hour was
good time. The horses plunged, reared
and jumped over q network Of fallen trees
as thick as jackstraws and from two to
six feet high. Clothes were torn, heads,
legs and arms bruised, and we as we'll as
the horses were we'll nigh gone with ex-
haustion by the time camp was made at
about 4 o'clock. Our first day was hard
one, but we had made twenty miles and
were near the headquarters Of our game.
Our camp was made on the edge of a
beautiful little park, about ten acres in ex-
tent, perfectly free from timber and COW
cred with as fine lawn as any city park
could boast. Through the middle q tiny
stream wound it's serpentine course and
was literally alive with trout. Cutting a
willow, I rigged up q line, and with a
brown hackle fly soon had as many as we
could dispose Of for supper and breakfast.
They were all Of about the same size
about half a pound-and most delicious.
Besides trout we had venison steak--one of
the party having killed a yearling buck
after we got into camp. We were at an
altitude of about 1900 feet, and the night
was cool enough to form thin ice, even
though the month was August.
We were up bright and early the follow
ing morning and our appetites did ample
Justice to the tempting breakfast that our
cook-who was negro we had brought
with us from the east-had ready for us.
All was excitement, for this was to be our
last days march. We were to camp and
establish permanent quarters that night.
We had covered the roughest part Of our
journey the first day out, and this altitude
WAS practically smooth by comparison.
The mountain scenery was grand and beg
gars description.
We followed our guide along the side Of
p mountain overlooking a broad valley
more than 1000 feet below, while the other
side was walled in by another range sim
liar to the one we were on. The timber
line is at about II 900 feet, and once we
crossed it and found ourselves on a snow
bank of probably 100 acres area, just soft
enough to prevent our horses from slip
ping. A slip would have sent the unfor-
tunate tumbling down a thousand feet to
the valley below. OFF the snow and down
into the timber again we went Oh, the
utter loneliness of that mountain forestl
Not sound save the sobbing of the wind
in the trees not a sign Of life except the
occasional crash Of brush as deer would
bound out from our path and away like
the wind.
We came upon another natural park,
and made our camp permanently at its
edge, but just far enough in the timber to
be away from the wind. This did not af-
feet us a great deal, however, since the
dense growth OF pines broke its force. AL