The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-05

and are slender, sharP. and black as polished
ebony. NatIralists tel us that thGI r are n not |, E ns
they look like goats, and we mountaineers Will
continue to call them 50; Their silybbooSinS
on a narrow shelf a mile or so up in the air, or
~clinginR TO a rocky wall where no beast of prey
the biz horn or the prairie antelope, learn that q
rifle bullet bridges chasms and climbs through
space. This ~billyRoat whom tho man with the
glass was watching had seen Mac and jim SOW
up was not deep enough 70 conceal them.
lie surely felt that he ought to got out
of dfh Ioo; s Ss ,S why no did d sH p'c RnG thSSt t pnri
ticular shelf and group OF pines formed too
Somiortsble q place 70 l9Sys' and iE while -, eS
barked out it's m and all was ovor. No,
not quite. for with his last breath and strength
would roll and bounce down into the bottom Of
the valley q mangled and shapeless mass. But
hoe re SS q f tSS o stT%'f he " d Gisd. ' RRcn "H Mac sS' and nd
Joe came carefully ovor to MIN from the eouiee'
and at iast they reached him, and g%raspinE him
BY tho hind legs drew him back TO the level Of
It was nearly 6 o'clock when Mao and Joe re-
turned to camp. Mac was tired, but happy, and
Joe was. too. They brought in the skin and head
an old billy, especially In winter-well, 1t isn't
George and Jack came in completely worn out
and thoroughly disguised. They had sighted
started after an old billy which was feeding
about on q ledge almosta at the top of tho noun
tain sst a, The he. other thSr ones TaDt wGr% bI nearer ST ana INC e %sS tho no
largest Tho climbing was very steep and dan
gerous. and in many places they had to dig
holes in the hard snow TO obtain iootholds,
where u single nisstep would have been certain
death on the rocks far below. The goat had often
obliged to stop at such times until no should dis
! appear again at the back part of the ledge. 1t
was thus very late when they at last got TO tho
| foot of the ledge, and. era wing ND on III, GeOrRo
found himself within twenty feet of the animal.
pine phs EGai s took Sds a l careful dG aim at %h fhe S a sPPsIiG nnSS
when he pulled the trigger the hammer. clicked
on the firing pin, and that was all. Then the
goat got up and started to lope off, and the hun
ter successfully tried every cartridge in the
magazine. but none of them would explode.
and found that the point Of tho firing pin was
broken off. 1t was n new rife fresh from the
factory, and was supposed to be perfect How
exasperating this was can be Imagined by any
hunter. Think of travelling $500 miles to Kill
after a hard and dangerous climb. binding your
gun Will not shootl Words cannot do such q
situation justice.
After dinner that evening it was decided to
move camp to the other side of the range. We
would return to Bear Creek, then take the train
Lake, whore sheep were plenty and goats were
also 10 be found. A firing pin for Georges gun
the hunt go on. We had planned to go to Two
Medicine anyhow. for sheep. after first hunting
sosts . at %TF present emit o al t6o 1t rsi MSS hard nt o work tr, to
but we did It, Jack and Joe carrying, about $50
pounds each. the writer, 100. and Mao and
rive until 2 o'clock in the morning, and an hour
and a half later we loft it at Elk side track,
until daylight by our baggage piled up on the
right of way. We then went over to the house
engaged him to take us to the lake with bis
team and sleigh. TWAS not more than six miles
there miie : I but the n snow was very deep for . the last
finally had camp up and In shape, in a lovely
sheltered nook among the pines and quaking
aspens just above the head of the lake. Tho
snow was even deeper hero than 1t had been on
the other sido of the range, and fifty feet from
The wind always blows much harder on the
east slope of the Rockies than it docs on the
west, and for the first Ave days we were obliged
to remain about camp, as no one could stand tho
drifting, shows and icy blasts up on tho bare
mountains, where tho hardy. biEhorn make
the lake. and by cutting holes through the ice
near the inlet we caught all we could use. One
between the two fakes. They are we'll worth
visiting. for there Is nothing like them in the
short distance fSunscs s so sSf th Ss upper rpe Tf lake t the Stream
disappears among the rocks; a couple of miles
still further down q high rocky wall crosses the
valley, and about forty feet from tho bottom of
this wall the stream bursts out of u Jagged oval
hole and falls into a deep. wide pool at it's
The dark yawning tunnel from which the foam
ing water PUSHES. and the tall, dark pines
and for6idding spectacle. and yet there is a fas-
c~ination about tho spot long TO be remembered.
Housh's Mountain G"i So ms name d tho season %sat b e
after IA friend who had killed a big ram there.
George and Jack went to the upper lake. hoping
manned in camp to cook the inevitable bean and
catch some, trout for dinner: 1t was quite dark
The goat hunters had seen two goats on top of a
high wall. but could not approach them on ac-
Joe had seen forty:two sheep. but all except two
were ewes and Kids. They would not shoot at
these; tho modern sportsman will kill nothing
which will lessen the game supply. A few
males more or less makes no difference in tho
annual crop Of young. The two rams, they had
the hunters whom they Just showed their heads
for a minute while crossing an exposed place.
OF all American game. the biGhorn arc I'M
doubtedly the wariest and hardest to approach.
tainIs. and during the daytime choose tho most
open and exposed places on which to rest. A
lone sheep will then liq down fol, only a few
open and is continually getting up to obtain a
better view of his surroundings. When there
watch while tho others rest They are expert
climbers and good Jumpers, very quick and
will go in places whore the sheep cannot. Slow
and uncouth appearing as he Is, no is much
ing to the wall Of some dizzy height
where ono would think nothing but a bird
could venture; At such times the hunter will
that he has surely driven tho game to a place
where 1t cannot possibly escape him. But there
Is always a way, and no goat has yet been cor
ralled on q mountain wall. Another popularity
of the goat Is that when wounded no will not
hesitate to lump of a cliff in order to escape his
pursuers. The writer has seen them deliberate
y cast themselves off precipices something more
than q thousand feet in height and strike the
bottom q mangled and shapeless mass.
Tho next hunting dRy-the wind again kept us
In camp for a time-all hands went up the valley
past Hough,s mountain. to another one opposite
the Rising Wolf, keeping well in the timber and
out Of sight of any game which might be along
tho sides of the hills. Nine large rams were
finally sighted, feeding along the she'll rock
quite low down, but there seemed to be no pos
hible way OF approaching them undiscovered.
The whole day was spent in watching them. in
the hope that they would move on to some other
place whero we could get within range of them.
Where they were the wind had swept the noun
tain sides bare of snow. and they seemed to have
made up their minds TO stay right there on
the grass thus exposed. About 4 o'clock
we were obliged to leave them in order
to reach camp before dark. That evening George
declared that he would leave the band of rams
to Mac and hunt goats only; so for the next
three days Mac and Joe went every morning
after tho rams, and each night came back to
camp worn out. They saw the game each day.
and once Mac crept within 800 yards of them.
but the wind was blowing so hard he decided
not to risk a shot at that distance. On the fourth
day; however, tho rams were found higher up