Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-26

had surrounded the ledge we again caught
sight OF our sheep making its way across the
bottom of great snow basin some four hun
dred feet deep and mile wide.
This basin was surrounded by perpendicu-
lar walls of rock, against which the snow
rested, extending almost to the top of the
walls and lying at an exceedingly steep angle.
Without considering how he was to get back
again, Frank, the instant he reached the rim
of the basin, sat down, and in the swapping
of a finger and thumb almost, found himself
at the bottom-at least it seemed to me to
consume about that space of time, when
followed his example and slid down after
him. In the bottom of the basin the snow
lay in great pillows, like frozen ocean, and
over these we ran as best we could, toiling
up one side of the hummocks and sliding
down the other, until we arrived at the foot
or, rather the sheep that we wished were
ours-walking the rim of the basin close
against the rocky wall directly above us.
Our elevation was probably twelve thou
sand feet above sea level, and no one knows,
unless he has tried it, how exhausting it is
an altitude. Frank and / were so perfectly
breathlcss by the time we had arrived at the
foot of the slope that we were compelled to
go down our hands and knees for minute
or two to recover; seeing which, the sheep,
either from curiosity or because he was some
ed down at us.
Frank was the first to revive Rising to
his knees, he took aim at the sheep and fired
Down it came, rolling over and over, straight
for us. 1t was in vain we tried to get out
of the way--everybody knows how difficult
it is to start IN hurry on the ice-and be-
fore we had moved an inch, bang! came the
sheep against u.s. knocking our feet from un-
der us and carrying us, all three, jumbled up
together, far out into the bottom of the ba-
-A.I-.
path, and the snow itself being perfectly
smooth no harm resulted from our involun-
tary slide.
"Hurrah!" cried my gasping leader, as he
sat on the snow pulling down his trouser-
legs and ,dlsentangling his head from the
skirts of his coat. "Hurrah for us! We've
though, isn't it? 1t has the body and halr
of deer, and the head and legs of sheep.
Come on; let us take its hide off, Ted"
The process was slow, for we were not
very skillful, but by keeping at it we at
length skinned our sheep, and having cut Oft
were ready to return to camp. 1t was then
as much as we thought we could carry, we
about an hour after midday
We had been so busily employed that we
had not observed the great fall in the tenn
peraSure that had taken place, but having lei
sure now to look about us we saw that the
sun was obscured, and that over the shoul-
ders of the "Old Woman" heavy cloud was
creeping down. The sight alarmed me.
Frank" said, "do you notice how cold
it has grown? And look at that great cloud
up there, how fast it is rolling down. I'm
afraid it is going to snow Hurry up We
must get out of this place as fast as we can"
"You are right" replied Frank. "It won't
do to be caught in a anow,storm up in this
barren region, where there isn't bit Of fire-
wood as big as your finger. Come on. You
carry my rifle and IN take the meat" X
So saying, he shouldered the mutton and
away we hurried across the bottom of the