The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-01-17

the foot Of Tongue River Canyon, the scene,
not far from this date, Of desperate oatle
with the Sioux Indians. There the river
emprges from tie lofty and pTeclpltous
wallis of tie mountains TO continue It's soil
tary flow to the tuTbd Yellowstone.
They al once set about getting ready tor
the winters business. The dwelling which
they constructed vas partly 0ug0ul ana
partly cabin-that Is portion OF the 'front.'
was logs Il was against the side u per
peudiCular bluff on the north sac OF ihe
creek and close 10 the river. ne Nalley
here was all on the northwest or ltIt shore
OF the river, but Ike all these streams II
alternatrd with every crook IN the channel
Along all the streams OF THIS region the
beaver and otter abound Besides these,
smaller species of the weasel family are
numerous and the beautiful silver fox IS
not infreQuently caught, OF larger game
while tie bison have measuIa4.y uisap,
peaIed, the antelope, b.ack-tallel deer ana
the elk. or moose, feed in the foothills OF
the mountains. OF dangerous game, such
bears, grizzly and cinnamon, ana "CI'es'
there IS no scarcity. i ne mountains tLeiu-
Sc YES hereabOut were named because JAeY
were the favOrIte habitat or numbers OF
mountain lions. or panthers, ~hlc9 latter
name they received from BridEeT, the fam
Gus scout and such as he-meu from tile
mountains OF Irg luldi where similar beasts
bore that name.
During the months Of Nov embeT and De-
CemDer they had remarkable success ID
trapping otter and beaver. They were con-
graduating themselves upon a season mat
should SuTpdss anything IN tueT IaLheT
experience But on Christmas eve cold
wave set In with terrible severity. That
night the surface OF the river trcZe as SOLID
as granite and as smooth as glass. luls
weather lasted for several days, 50 that the
brothers were fearful 20 venture 70 any
great distance from the dJgOut C0nse-
Qucutly only the traps il The immediate
vicinity were visited
While they were thus confined within
doors they whied away the time making
"a pair Of skates apiece from the ant
lers Of the eiks they had killed. They made
them very strong, albeit not SC aCtisJlcaly,
perhaps, as the products of the Elst They
were 1TsT-claSs skates, however, and an
sweTed TO their complete satisfaction. They
tried them thoroughly on the Ice In front Of
the dug0ut. chasing each other and racing
On tie long reach Of smooth Ice below the
canyon.
The first morning that promised a fair day
Louis. the elder brother, concluded to visit
the traps set along through the canyon. Ac-
COrdlug.y, strapplng on his skates, he
started az the river, armed only with his re-
vOlver "PlI be back by the middle Of the
afternoon" he remarked 10 Rudolf, and
y0u have 4 warm dinner ready If You will"
AL right" replied Rudolf, the dinner
shall be ready"
Louis pursued his way up the river, not
inteI ding 70 make any stop until he reached
the last trap, his intention beng 10 exam
inc as be returned. Il was a glorious trip.
Past headIaud and cape be gMed. often
under tile shadows Of CTeVICe- anchored
cedaTs and pines. Occasionally he stopped
under a lrOwninR shelf OF granite 10 count
the mud-J nests Of the summer maTtins,
which were numerous In all such places
He kept an eve open for large ana danger
GUS game, but he saw none save once
huge grizzly sitting mOtOnless Oh the edge
OF a preCl Dlce, evidently observing his pro-
fcieDcy as a skater. Louis, for sports sake,
emDtied a chamber OF his revolver IN the
direction Of shaggy bruln. At one point In
the canyon the cliff, nearly met overhead,
making a partial twilight. Only at one
point was the ice rough that was a short
rapid, but even here 10 was smooth lnshOTe
The bTaCing cold added strength and vigOr
10 his limbs. and he was frequently sur
pTised at the ease with which he shot ever
the transparent surface.
1t was fully seven miles to the last
trap, IN which he found a maTten. Thence
he proceeded leiSurely on his return. he
had excellent luck, although from several OF
the traps he found that tie game had been
torn out and eaten. He laid this TO the
account Of the wolverine, an animal Of
tAeYish pTOpenSjties, having some days be-
fore shot one Ia the very act Of r0b5ing 4
trap. Game. however, was becoming scarce
for the larger animals, and they had already
the dug0ut, attracted by The smell Of the
fayed CaTcasses Of the game.
While thus leiSurely skating he was
startled by a shTill cry I'D the river. 1t
sounded piercingly down the trough Of the
canyon. He listened lntently. The scream
was answered from a neighbOrng gorge
Bah" said Louis to himself, 1T is only a
cOWaTdly mountain lion" Nevertheless he
inyOluntaTily Quickened his pace He had
just emerged from the examination Of trap
IN a side canyon, when he gave a glance up
tue river and beheld what sent the blood
tugling to the ends Of his fingers. Not
more than 200 yards away were three enor-
nous mountain lions, with hair all On end,
their long, black-tipped tails apparently
twice their natural size, and which they
were brandishing from side to side. They
were evidently enTaged, though at what
Louis could not conceive. He felt appre-
hensive however, and Increased bis speed.
The lions uttered a tremendous cateTwaul
and tr0tted a good gait after him. " The
brutes !" calculated Louis. Turning, he
skated few yards toward them 10 steady
bis aim and fired his revolver at the nearest
The distance was too great The bullets
either fell short or went 70 one side, all eX-
cept the last one, which struck the i'm
meuse cat squarely in the side. tearing his
skin, but nos Gripping him in The least. The
beasts had checked themselves when Louis
turned, and seemed beWiidered by the re-
ports Of the revolver. The wounded lion,
however. snapped at his side once or
twice, then seeming TO divine whence came
the wound, gave fearful yell, and, fol-
lowed By the others, made al 1Uil speed
after Louis, who was now striking ont for
home with all his might He bent over his
skates and dI1 his uttermOst But on a
straight reach the beasts gained on him, al
though they could not turn in the sharp
bends OF the river like the skates. Never
theless they gained time. and Louis was
constrained 10 drop a marten on the ice,
hoping thereby to gain time. It did indeed
assist, as the brutes did their best to STOP.
he ~ mentum had carried them so far be-
yuud the game that instead Of going back
they Continued the pursuit The result Sc
Tjousy alarmed the youag ma1, who now
dropped all his game. but the lions were
determined not 10 be baked ef their
prey He revolver in Ia holster
H-LrAr.t