Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1894-09-14
CAMPING IN BIG HORN MouxrA1xs.
Some Incidents Of the Journey Out by
u Jolly Set of Sport seekers.-A
Beautiful Country.-Hunting
and Fishing Good.
and Fishing Good.

OOAy ~ va okOAO GCONOEoN-<A
Beautiful Country.-Hunting
and Fishing Good.
ON BIG Horn MOUNTAINS, WYo.,)
Middle Fork of Goose Creek,
September 5, 1894.
The hunting and fishing party camp
ed here is composed of L. w. Emery, F.
H. Folsom, Chas. G. Wilson, of Lincoln,
Neb., H. H. Alden and Robert Davidson,
of Sheridan, Wyo., Jonas Lawrence, of
Moortield, Neb., DIR. s. L. Brown, of
David City, Neb., Philip Green, A. d.
Welton and r. A. Miller, of Greenwood,
Neb., Geo. w. Townsend, of Big Horn,
Wyo., and Col. A. j. Kellar, of Hot
Springs, So. Oak.
We left Sheridan Monday at IL a. M,
Sept. 3, and camped at night OH South
Fork of Little Goose, and three miles
south of the village of Big Horn, which
commands the beautiful valley of South
Fork and under the shadows of Big
Horn mountains. Here is the Presby-
terrain college. This valley, from the
mountains to Sheridan, is about Is
miles long and from 1 to 3 miles wide.
The waters of South Fork of Little
Goose creek III used successfully for
irrigation, and within 4 miles of Sheri-
dan the state of Wyoming has an en-
perimental farm where the art of tirri-
CATION is taught. Splendid ranches,
and crops of wheat, oats, alfalfa, timo-
thy and herds grass and barley, such as
are not to be made without irrigation,
are in this valley. Sixty bushels of
oats, 30 of wheat, and 8 tons of alfalfa
hay to the acre are the crops of this
year. Most of this valley is owned by
E%nglishmen, who know a good thing
from the gold regions of Africa to the
Attic sea, and usually get it.
We camped Monday on the ranch of
Mr.. Moncrief, who was east, possibly in
England, but the manager of his ranch,
Mr.. Thomas, was kind to us and offered
the fishing ground to us. 1t was late,
too late to fish, but Col. Kellar cast a
coachman into the water and brought
out a spotted trout of eight inches.
On Tuesday we started for the noun
tains. We had two wagons and eight
riding horses, and for 4 miles we had Il
continuous assent before reaching what
is called the "grade' on the road up the
mountains. The grade is one foot in
every ten. The mountain road proper
is in splendid condition. Public opin-
ion requires this and is quite credible
to the intelligence of the people. The
top of the first range of mountains
overlooks the beautiful valley of Big
Goose, and with our field glass we look
ed onto the residence of Mr.. Beck, 15
miles away, and whose ranch is dotted
with fields of green and herds of cattle.
Tuesday night We camped on little
Tybee, in which no trout bit, but we
had a visitor who had a few days before
killed "a bear in sight of the camp. Two
parties left the camp for grouse shoot
ing and returned in a few hours, one
with three, and another and his dog
brought in six brace. The grouse are
now feeding on berries-choke cherries
and the Oregon grape and saurvis ber-
ries, of which there are abundance.
The flesh of the bird is fine for the Ia
BILE, being free of the sage and weeds
taste. The young of this year, now
almost full grown, is for the table not
much better than the older ones. They
are not wild up here and are not on the
wing; they can fly as we'll as the prairie
chicken when driven to do SO, but their
manner of life up here does not require
much flying. The mountain grouse
feeds in the gulches and on the sides of
the mountains, and roosts under the
rocks on the elevated points.
On Wednesday noon we reached the
permanent camp, which is not inaccess-
able to wagons going one way. The
decent from the crest of the mountain
down to the banks of this beautiful
stream, the Middle Fork of Little Goose
creek, is easy for a mile, but the ascent
will be hard work, and if it should snow
we shall have to walk and abandon a
good deal of the camp outfit. The
trout fishing has been overdone here,
so we are obliged to walk or ride two
miles from camp. These mountain
trout will not bite at ~so-called flies.
have tempted them with cowderys, gray
hackle, coachman, Seth Green and
Waltons. They turn teeir noses to all;
but in small grass-hoppers, which -four
ish here in focks, is dainty morsel for
the trout.
The Elk party left here at 2::3O p. m.
for Cloud Peak, the highest one in the
highest of the ranges of the Big Horn
i AEz..-x-