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+    The Project Gutenberg's eBook of Jack in the Rockies, by George Bird Grinnell
+   </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jack in the Rockies, by George Bird Grinnell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Jack in the Rockies
+       A Boy's Adventures with a Pack Train
+
+Author: George Bird Grinnell
+
+Illustrator: Edwin Willard Deming
+
+Release Date: January 15, 2014 [EBook #44671]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JACK IN THE ROCKIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Mary Akers and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="transnote">
+<p>Transcriber's note:<br />
+Minor spelling inconsistencies, mainly hyphenated words, have been
+harmonized. Obvious typos have been corrected.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">1</a></span></p>
+
+<p id="half-title">JACK IN THE ROCKIES</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">2</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="bbox">
+<p class="center"><i>By the same Author</i></p>
+
+<hr class="c30" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Jack the Young Cowboy</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Jack the Young Trapper</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Jack the Young Canoeman</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Jack the Young Explorer</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Jack in the Rockies</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Jack Among the Indians</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Jack the Young Ranchman</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk Tales</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Blackfoot Lodge Tales</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">The Story of the Indian</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">The Indians of To-day</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">The Punishment of the Stingy</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">American Duck Shooting</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">American Game Bird Shooting</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Trails of the Pathfinders</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">3</a></span></p>
+
+<div><a name="throwing_his_gun_to_his_shoulder_he_fired_at_the_animal" id="throwing_his_gun_to_his_shoulder_he_fired_at_the_animal"></a></div>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img class="mw" src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">
+<p>"THROWING HIS GUN TO HIS SHOULDER HE FIRED AT THE ANIMAL." <cite>Page <a href="#Page_221">221</a></cite></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">4</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>JACK<br />
+IN THE ROCKIES</h1>
+
+<p class="large center">OR<br />
+A BOY'S ADVENTURES WITH A PACK TRAIN</p>
+
+<p class="p4 large center">BY<br />
+GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Author of</i> "<i>Jack the Young Ranchman</i>," "<i>Jack Among the Indians</i>,"<br />
+"<i>Pawnee Hero Stories</i>," "<i>Blackfoot Lodge Tales</i>,"<br />
+"<i>The Story of the Indian</i>," "<i>The Indian<br />
+of To-Day</i>," <i>Etc.</i></p>
+
+<p class="p4 center"><i>Illustrated by</i></p>
+
+<p class="large center">EDWIN WILLARD DEMING</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img class="mw" src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="75" height="73" alt="logo" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="small">NEW YORK</span><br />
+<span class="large">FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY</span><br />
+<span class="small">PUBLISHERS</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">5</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="p6 center">Copyright, 1904,<br />
+<span class="smcap">By Frederick A. Stokes Company</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4 center"><i>All rights reserved</i><br />
+<span class="small"><i>Thirteenth Printing</i></span></p>
+
+<p class="center p4"><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></p>
+
+<hr class="c25" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="4" summary="contents">
+<tr>
+  <td class="x-small">CHAPTER</td>
+  <td>&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdr x-small">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">I</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">The Indians of Fort Berthold</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">II</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">The Battle of the Musselshell</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">III</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">The Start for the Blackfoot Camp</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">IV</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Old Friends and New</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">V</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Buffalo Hunting With the Blackfeet</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">VI</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Amid Wonders of the Yellowstone Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">VII</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Geysers and Hot Springs</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">VIII</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Across the Continental Divide</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">IX</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">An Elk Hunt Under the Tetons</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">X</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Trailing Black-tails</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XI</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Tracks in the Snow</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XII</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">What will Become of the Elk?</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XIII</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">A Pack Horse in Danger</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XIV</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">A Bighorn</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XV</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">A Charging Grizzly</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XVI</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Something About Bears</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XVII</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">The Story of a Man Killer</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XIII</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Jack's First Moose</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XIX</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Watching a Bear Bait</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XX</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">A Puzzling Trail</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXI</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Hugh goes "On Discovery"</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXII</td>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Stealing from Horse Thieves</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_257">257</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXIII</td>
+  <td>"<span class="smcap">Died with His Boots On</span>"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_266">266</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<hr class="c25" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table">
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><a href="#throwing_his_gun_to_his_shoulder_he_fired_at_the_animal">"<span class="smcap">Throwing His Gun to His Shoulder</span><br />
+  <span class="smcap i2h">He Fired at the Animal</span>"</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr2"><i>Frontispiece</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><a href="#he_reached_far_forward_and_grasped_the_long_hair_on_the_buffalos_hump">"<span class="smcap">He Reached far Forward, and Grasped the</span><br />
+  <span class="smcap i2h">Long Hair on the Buffalo's Hump</span>"</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">82</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><a href="#almost_below_them_feeding_were_two_good_sized_rams">"<span class="smcap">Almost Below Them, Feeding, Were Two</span><br />
+  <span class="smcap i2h">Good Sized Rams</span>"</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">183</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><a href="#hands_up_hugh_called">"<span class="smcap">'Hands Up'! Hugh Called</span>"</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">268</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="c25" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>FOREWORD</h2>
+
+<p>At the time Jack Danvers journeyed through the
+Yellowstone National Park, that wonderful country
+was little known. Since then it has become famous,
+and people from all parts of the globe go to visit it.
+There is no more delightful summer excursion possible
+than a trip to the National Park where&mdash;if one
+can take a pack train and journey away from the
+beaten roads and trails&mdash;it is still possible to see elk
+and deer and many other wild animals, almost in their
+old time abundance.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1903 President Roosevelt did just
+this, and on his return wrote a most interesting article
+about what he saw, telling of the abundance of the
+elk, the familiarity of the deer, the shyness of the
+antelope and the tameness of the mountain sheep.</p>
+
+<p>American boys and girls are happy in having in
+their own country so lovely and so marvelous a
+region.</p>
+
+<hr class="c25" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="title1">Jack in the Rockies</p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER I<br />
+THE INDIANS OF FORT BERTHOLD</h2>
+
+<p>With noisy puffings the steamboat was slowly
+pushing her way up the river. On either side the flat
+bottom, in some places overgrown with high willow
+brush, in others, bearing a growth of tall and sturdy
+cottonwoods, ran back a long way to the yellow
+bluffs beyond. The bluffs were rounded and several
+hundred feet in height, rising imperceptibly until
+they seemed to meet the blue of the sky, so that the
+boat appeared to be moving at the bottom of a wide
+trough. Hour after hour she pushed on, meeting
+nothing, seeing nothing alive, except now and then a
+pair of great gray geese, followed by their yellow
+goslings; or sometimes on the shore a half-concealed
+red object, which moved quickly out of sight, and
+which observers knew to be a deer.</p>
+
+<p>On the boat were two of our old friends. From
+the far East had come Jack Danvers, traveling day
+after day until he had reached Bismarck, Dakota,
+where he found awaiting him Hugh Johnson, as
+grave, as white-haired, and as cheery as ever. At
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span>
+Bismarck they had taken the up-river steamer,
+"Josephine," and the boat had sailed early on the
+morning of July 5th.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh and Jack were on their way back up to the
+Piegan country. They had separated at Bismarck
+the previous autumn, and while Hugh kept on down
+the river, to take a west-bound train, which should
+carry him back to Mr. Sturgis' ranch in Wyoming,
+Jack had gone East, to spend the winter in New York.
+He had had a year of hard work at school, for his experience
+of the previous winter had taught him that
+it paid well to work in school, and to make the most of
+his opportunities there. This made his parents more
+willing to have him go away to this healthful life,
+and he found that if he did his best he enjoyed all
+the better the wild, free life of the prairie and the
+mountains, which he now hoped would be his during
+a part, at least, of every year.</p>
+
+<p>His summer with the Piegans had taught him
+many things known to few boys in the East, and
+given him many pleasures to which they are strangers;
+and the more he saw of this prairie life the more he
+enjoyed it, and the more he hoped to have more and
+more of it. Sometimes, when he awoke early in the
+morning, or at night, after he had gone to bed, as he
+lay between sleeping and waking, he used to go over
+in his mind the scenes that he had visited, and the
+stirring adventures in which he had taken part, and
+these memories, with the hope of others like them,
+gave him a pleasure that he would not have parted
+with for anything.</p>
+
+<p>Often when he was in New York, walking through
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span>
+narrow city streets, looking up at high buildings,
+hearing the roar and rattle of the passing traffic, and
+watching the people hurry to and fro, each one
+absorbed in his own business, it was hard to realize
+that away off somewhere, only a few days' journey
+distant, there was a land where there was no limit to
+the view, where each human being seemed absolutely
+free, and where it was possible to travel for days and
+days without seeing a single person. Always interwoven
+with his dreams and his imaginings about this
+distant country was the memory of the friend Hugh,
+to whom he was so deeply attached. It hardly seemed
+to him possible to go anywhere in the West, except in
+company with Hugh, and until he had joined him, it
+never seemed as if his journey had begun, or was
+really going to be made.</p>
+
+<p>All through the day the boat went on, turning and
+twisting, and at different times facing all points of
+the compass. Sometimes the sun would be shining
+on the port side of the boat, a little later on the starboard
+side, then it would be ahead, and again behind.
+Hugh and Jack spent their time chatting on the
+upper deck of the boat, Hugh smoking vigorously, to
+keep off the mosquitoes, while Jack, the edges of his
+handkerchief under his hat and tucked inside his coat
+collar, to leeward of Hugh, took advantage of the
+constant stream of smoke that poured from his pipe.
+They had much to tell each other of the winter that
+had passed, and much to say of the trip on which
+they were now starting. Fort Benton was their
+destination, and until they reached there, and saw
+their friend Joe, the Blackfoot Indian who was to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span>
+meet them with the horses, they were uncertain what
+they should do.</p>
+
+<p>There were not a few passengers on the boat.
+Some of them were carefully dressed persons, wearing
+long frock coats, white shirts, and a modest
+amount of jewelry, residents of the thriving towns of
+Helena or Virginia City, Montana; others were army
+officers, on their way to posts in the Northwest, or
+now starting out on some exploring expedition;
+while others still were persons of whose occupation
+and destination it was hard to judge from their
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Among them was a middle-aged man who Jack
+thought, from his conversation, had long been a resident
+of the plains, and who told Jack something
+about a trade that he had long practised&mdash;that of
+wolfing.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, young fellow," he said, "it is only a few
+years ago since there was good money in wolfin', but
+I had to quit it down in the southern country for
+wolves got too scarce when the buffalo got killed off.
+Wherever there was buffalo there was plenty of
+wolves, for the wolves made their livin' off the herds,
+just like the Indians; and when I say wolves I mean
+big wolves, coyotes, foxes, and swifts.</p>
+
+<p>"In the autumn, as soon as the fur began to get
+good, I used to start out and find a herd of buffalo,
+and after shootin' two or three of them, I'd skin
+them down, and rip them up, and put from one to
+three bottles of strychnine in each carcass. After
+the blood that lay in the ribs had been poisoned
+good, I'd smear that over the meat on the outside.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span>
+Generally I'd try to kill my buffalo close to where I
+was goin' to camp, and after I had put out my baits I
+went to camp and slept until near day. Then, before
+I could see, I'd get up, cook my breakfast, hitch up,
+if I had a team, and go round to all my baits.
+Likely, around each one I'd find my half dozen to
+fifteen wolves, and sometimes it would take me two
+or three days to skin them. Likely enough, if the
+weather turned right cold, I got a good many more
+wolves than I could skin, and had to stack them up,
+and wait till I got time. It was mighty hard work
+now, and don't you forget it. Then, too, there was
+always a chance that Indians might come along and
+make trouble for me. You take a man out on the
+prairie, ten years ago, and even the friendly Indians
+were likely to scare him a whole lot, or take his hides,
+even if they didn't take away his gun and his horses.
+As for the hostiles, if they got too close to a man it
+was all up with him. But I never had no trouble
+with them, except once, and then I was camped in
+the dug-out, with plenty of provisions, and there
+was only three of the Indians. I saw them comin',
+and suspected who they were, and managed to get
+my horses into the dug-out with me and stood 'em
+off. They scared me bad though.</p>
+
+<p>"I should think so," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>The man stopped talking to fill his pipe and after
+he had lighted it puffed thoughtfully. Then he continued:
+"There's another way I've wolfed it, and
+that is by draggin' a bait over quite a scope of
+country, and droppin' pieces of poisoned meat along
+the trail. I used to do that when I couldn't find
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span>
+animals to kill for bait. This worked pretty well for
+awhile but it's no good any more down in that
+country."</p>
+
+<p>"I've seen coyotes killed by putting poisoned tallow
+in auger holes, bored in chunks of wood," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said the man, "that's good sometimes, and
+they stay there lickin' and lickin' up the bait until
+they die right there. You don't have to look over
+much country to find your wolves."</p>
+
+<p>"What kind of meat did you use when you were
+dragging the bait?" asked Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Most any kind would do," replied the wolfer;
+"sometimes it would be a piece of buffalo meat,
+sometimes a shoulder of a deer, but the best bait of
+all is a beaver carcass; there's lots of grease and lots
+of smell to that, and the wolves and coyotes are sure
+to follow it. This draggin' a trail is good too, because
+the wolves, when they go along and snap up
+the poisoned bait, don't go off, but keep right on followin'
+the trail, and you find them there, maybe quite
+a long way from where they pick the bait.</p>
+
+<p>"Where are you goin', young fellow; you and that
+old man I see you talking with?"</p>
+
+<p>"We're going up to Benton," said Jack, "and I
+don't know where we're going from there. I expect
+we'll meet a friend there, with our horses, and then
+we're going to make a trip, off maybe on the prairies,
+and maybe into the mountains; we can't tell yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Sho," said the man, "you're sure goin' to have a
+good time. I've got to get a job when I get to Benton;
+somethin' that'll keep me until it comes time for
+fur to get good."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span>
+The next morning when Jack and Hugh left their
+stateroom a heavy fog hung low over the river and
+the boat was not moving, but was tied up to the bank,
+for it was so thick that there was danger of running
+aground on the frequent sand-bars, and as the river
+was now falling, the captain was unwilling to take the
+chance of such delay. On the lower deck was a dug-out
+canoe, the property of a temporary passenger,
+who was going only to Fort Berthold, and, after breakfast,
+Jack suggested to Hugh that they should borrow
+this canoe and go off a little way up the river, taking
+their guns, and seeing whether they could kill anything.
+Hugh said this could not be done, explaining
+that it would be easy enough to get lost, which would
+be bad for them, and very irritating to the captain,
+who might feel it necessary to wait for them; and
+besides this, the fog might lift at any moment, when
+the boat would move onward much faster than they
+could paddle. As it happened, the fog lifted almost
+immediately, and the boat set forward; and a little
+before noon the village of the Rees, Gros Ventres
+and Mandans, high up on the bluff above the river,
+was seen; and soon after the boat tied up, and all
+hands went ashore.</p>
+
+<p>The bluff rose steeply from the river, and up and
+down its face were steep trails, worn by the feet of
+women passing up and down as they carried water
+and the driftwood which they gathered, up to the
+village. On the top of the bluff stood the bee-hive
+shaped gray houses, which Hugh told Jack were
+much like those occupied by the Pawnees.</p>
+
+<p>They began to climb the bluff toward the village,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span>
+and Jack asked Hugh about the Indians who lived
+here.</p>
+
+<p>"In old times," said Hugh, "these Indians were
+scattered out up and down the river. The Gros Ventres
+lived furthest up, between here and Buford, and
+the Rees and Mandans lived further down the stream.
+A long time ago,&mdash;back maybe more than a hundred
+years,&mdash;the Rees and the Mandans all lived together,
+away down below here; but then they had
+some sort of a quarrel among themselves, and the
+Mandans moved on up the stream, and for a long
+time camped near the mouth of the Knife River.
+For a while after that there was some fighting between
+the Rees and Mandans, but after a time they
+made peace, and gradually the tribes came together
+again; and now for a long time they've all lived together
+in this village of Berthold. In old times each
+of these villages was a big one, but since the white
+men came among them, and brought smallpox, and
+liquor, and all the other things that the white men
+bring, they are dying off fast, and I don't believe that
+now there is more than eight or nine hundred of
+these Indians all together. You know these Rees
+here are kind of kin to the Pawnees; they speak near
+the same language, so that I can talk with 'em, and
+they call the Pawnees their relations. I think they
+used to be a part of the Skidi band. Nobody knows
+just when they separated from the Pawnees, but it
+must have been a good while ago."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh paused, and Jack asked: "Does any one
+know how they came to separate, Hugh? Is there
+any tradition about it?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span>
+"Yes," said Hugh, "there is. The old story is
+that all the Pawnees were out hunting, and the Sioux
+got around some of 'em, and cut 'em off from the rest
+and kept fighting 'em, and driving 'em, and fighting
+and driving, until they got 'em away up on the Missouri
+River, so far from their friends that they had to
+winter there. Then, along back, maybe about 1830,
+soon after the beginning of the fur trade on the
+upper river, the Rees fought the white folks, and were
+generally hostile. After that they went back and
+joined the Pawnees, but they couldn't get along well
+with the Pawnees, and quarreled with them, and
+finally the Pawnees drove 'em off. So they came on
+back up the river. It was after that that they joined
+the Mandans, and they've lived together ever since."</p>
+
+<p>By this time they had reached the top of the bluff,
+and were now close to the houses, on whose curious
+domed roofs many people were sitting,&mdash;women busy
+with their work, young men wrapped in their robes,
+and looking off into the distance, and little girls playing
+with their dolls or their puppies. The ground in
+the village all about the houses was worn bare by the
+passage of many feet; Indians were going to and fro,
+women carrying water and wood, men naked, or
+wrapped in their summer sheets, little boys chasing
+each other, or, with their ropes trying to snare the
+dogs, which were usually too cunning for them.</p>
+
+<p>Jack was greatly interested in the houses, and
+wished to look into one, and to this Hugh said there
+would be no objection. The entrance of each house
+was by a long passage-way, closed above, and at the
+sides, and passing through this, they found themselves
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span>
+at the door. Jack expected to go into a room
+that was dark; but this was not so. Above the
+center of the large room was a wide open space,
+which answered both for chimney and for window.
+About the fireplace, which was under the smoke hole,
+at the corners of a square, stood four stout posts,
+reaching up to and supporting the rafters of the
+roof. The floor of the house was swept clean, and all
+around the walls were raised platforms, serving for
+beds, and separated by screens of straight willow
+sticks strung on sinew, from the adjacent bed on
+either side. In front of some of the beds similar
+screens hung down like curtains so that the bed could
+be cut off from the observation of those in the house.
+Over the fireplace hung a pot, and two pleasant-faced
+women were sitting near it, sewing moccasins. They
+looked up pleasantly, as the strangers stood in the
+doorway, and Hugh spoke a few words to them, to
+which they made some answer. Then the strangers
+withdrew.</p>
+
+<p>Keeping on through the village, they walked out
+on the higher prairie, toward the tribal burying-ground,
+but not such a burying-ground as Jack was
+accustomed to see. Here were placed the dead,
+wrapped up in bundles, on platforms raised on four
+poles, eight or ten feet above the ground. Evidently
+no attention was paid to them after burial, for many
+of the poles which supported the platforms had rotted
+and fallen down, and, in the older part of the
+graveyard the ground was strewn with pieces of old
+robes and clothing, and with white bones.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh told Jack that farther away, and down on
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span>
+lower ground, where the soil was moist, the Rees,
+Mandans, and Gros Ventres had farms, where they
+raised corn, beans, pumpkins, and squashes, and that
+in old times they used to raise tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>It was now time to return to the boat, for the wait
+was to be only a short one, and on their way back he
+told of something that had happened not many years
+before in the Mandan village.</p>
+
+<p>"The people were hungry," said Hugh, "and there
+was no food in camp. They sent young men off in
+all directions to look for buffalo, but none could be
+found. As the people grew hungrier and hungrier
+the White Cow Society made up their minds that
+they would give a dance, and try to bring the buffalo.
+They did this, and danced for a long time; but no
+buffalo were found, and there were no signs that any
+were coming. Still the people of the White Cow
+Society danced, and still the other people watched
+them, and prayed that they might bring the buffalo.
+One day, after they'd danced for ten days, suddenly
+a big noise was heard in the village, and when the
+people rushed out of the lodges to see what was happening,
+there, among the lodges, was a big buffalo
+bull, charging about right close to the lodge in which
+the White Cow Society were dancing. All the dogs
+in the village seemed to be about him, barking at his
+head, and biting at his heels, and he was trying only
+to get away, and paying no attention to the Indians
+that were all about him.</p>
+
+<p>"Then everybody was glad, for all could see that
+the Master of Life had sent this bull, to answer their
+prayers; and all believed that he had come ahead of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span>
+the main herd, which would soon follow him. Before
+he had got out of the village, the bull was shot. The
+White Cow Society came out of their lodge, and
+danced around the village, and while they were doin'
+this, one of the scouts came in, and reported that a
+big band of cows was not far off. Then everybody
+was glad, and all wondered at the strong medicine of
+the White Cow Society. The next day the men went
+out and made a surround, and killed plenty of cows,
+and brought in the meat, and there came a terrible
+storm, and when the storm cleared off the whole
+prairie, beyond the ridge near Knife River, was black
+with buffalo. Now there was plenty in the camp, and
+every one was happy. The men went out and
+brought in fat meat, and it was dried, and no more
+that winter was there any suffering for food."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a good story, Hugh," said Jack, "but do
+you suppose the dancing of the White Cow Society
+really brought the buffalo?"</p>
+
+<p>"I couldn't tell you, son. The Indians believed it
+did, but I don't suppose any white folks would. But
+I've seen so many queer things follow these medicine
+performances that I don't know what to think about
+them, myself."</p>
+
+<p>By this time they had reached the shore, and looking
+around, as they passed over the gang-plank to
+the deck, they saw the captain and purser coming
+down the trail just behind them. The deck hands
+were already beginning to cast off the fasts, and a
+moment later the whistle sounded, the boat's nose
+turned out into the river, and the steady thump,
+thump of the paddle-wheel began again. On the bank
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span>
+stood the three or four white men belonging to the
+agency, and up and down the bottom, and clustered
+in little groups on the bluffs, were Indians, dressed
+in buckskin, or in bright-colored cloth, who stood
+motionless, watching the steamer as she slowly moved
+away.</p>
+
+<p>"That's a mighty interesting place, Hugh; and I
+want to get you to tell me all about it. Who are the
+Gros Ventres, and who are the Mandans? You've
+told me about the Rees, but I want to know about
+the others."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, son," said Hugh, "I don't know as I can
+tell you very much about them, but I'll try. The
+Gros Ventres are close relations to the Crows; in fact,
+many people call them the River Crows, to distinguish
+them from the real Crows, that live up close to
+the mountains, on the head of the Yellowstone.
+Those fellows are called the Mountain Crows, and
+there's a good many more of them than there are of
+these. These people, I suppose, got their name, Gros
+Ventres, from the French, and I never heard why it
+was given to 'em. I never could see that they were
+any fatter, or had any bigger bellies, than other
+Indians, and I never found out any reason for the
+name. They don't call themselves by any such name
+as that; their name for themselves is <em>Hi d&#259;t sa</em>, and
+that's said to mean, willows. Anyhow, they used to
+be called Willow Indians; so I have been told.</p>
+
+<p>"In old times, they say that there were three tribes
+of them, but the other tribes have been lost, or forgotten,
+and now they're all together&mdash;all one bunch
+of Indians. There's one thing you want to remember,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span>
+that there are two different outfits of Indians, both
+called Gros Ventres; one of them, these people here,
+whom we know as the Gros Ventres of the Village, or
+Gros Ventres of the Missouri; the others are the
+Gros Ventres of the Prairie, whose country is east of
+the Blackfoot country, and who used to be friendly
+with the Blackfeet, and then fought them for a long
+time, and now are friendly again. Those Gros
+Ventres of the Prairie are no kin at all to these people,
+but are a part of the Arapahoes, from whom,
+according to the old story, they split off a long, long
+time ago. They talk the Arapahoe language, and
+call the Arapahoes their own people, and still visit
+them back and forth. Nowadays they have an
+agency along with the Assinaboines, further west, at
+Fort Belknap, over on Milk River. Ninety-nine men
+out of every hundred get these Arapahoes and these
+River Crows mixed up, just for the reason that the
+French called them both Gros Ventres. Don't you
+ever do that, because when a man makes that mistake
+it shows that he don't know nothing about
+Indians. Try to remember that, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I will, Hugh. I don't want to make
+any mistakes, especially now since I have been out
+and seen something of real Indians. People back
+East, and especially all the fellows at school, think
+that I know everything about Indians now. They're
+all the time asking me questions about them, who
+they are, and where they live, and I should hate to
+make any mistakes in my answers. Now tell me,
+who are the Mandans?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know as much about the Mandans as I do
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span>
+about the Gros Ventres of the Village," said Hugh,
+"and yet I've heard a lot about them. They're a kind
+of queer people; lots of 'em used to have yellow hair
+and gray eyes, and lots of 'em now have gray-haired
+children, same as you have seen among the Blackfeet.
+I got hold of a book once with lots of pictures of
+Indians in it; mighty good pictures, too, they were.
+'T was written by a man named Catlin, who came up
+the river, painting pictures of Indians, a long time
+ago; maybe fifty years. He said he thought the
+Mandans were Welshmen, and told some story about
+some foreign prince that brought a colony of Welshmen
+over here, and Catlin thought that maybe the
+Mandans were descended from that colony. Anyhow
+they've lived by themselves, so the story goes, for
+a great many years; but I've heard the old men say
+that long, long ago the tribe came from away back
+East somewhere. They followed down a big river
+that ran from east to west, likely it may have been
+the Ohio River, until they came to the Mississippi,
+and then they struck off northwest, and camped on
+the Missouri, and they have been traveling up the
+Missouri, a little way at a time, for an almighty sight
+o' years.</p>
+
+<p>"This book of Catlin's that I tell you about has
+got a whole lot o' stuff about the Mandans, and it is
+mighty good readin'. You had better get hold of it
+sometime when you get back East; it'll tell you more
+about 'em than I can. The Mandans have always
+been farmers, and raised good crops of corn, and that
+and their buffalo give them a pretty good living.
+But now the buffalo are getting scarce, and when
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span>
+they give out the Mandans will have to live on
+straight corn, I am afraid. There's one thing about
+the Mandans that's worth rememberin', they make the
+best pots of any people that I know of on the plains.
+I expect that in old times maybe the Pawnees made
+just as good pots, but since the white folks began to
+bring brass and copper kettles into the country the
+Pawnees have forgotten how to make pots; but the
+Mandans still keep it up, and make some pots, big
+and little&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Hugh!" called Jack at this moment, "Look
+at the buffalo!" and he pointed toward the high
+bluffs on the south side of the river, and there were
+three dark spots, running as hard as they could up the
+hill.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure enough," said Hugh, "there's the first
+buffalo we've seen. Don't they look like three rats
+scuttling off over the hills, as fast as they can go.
+Before long, now, we ought to see plenty of 'em
+along the river; though we ain't likely to see many
+buffalo before we get above Buford."</p>
+
+<p>The boat pushed slowly up the river's muddy current,
+and Hugh and Jack continued to talk about the
+Indian village on the hill.</p>
+
+<p>"A mighty queer thing happened once at that
+village, son," said Hugh. "You've heard, maybe, that
+in some tribes of Indians they have sort of prophets,
+or men that foretell things that are going to happen.
+I have seen a little of that sort of thing myself, that I
+never could explain. Besides that, they've got some
+way of learning news that we don't understand anything
+about. Of course it may not be as quick as
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span>
+railroads and telegraphs, but its quick. Let me tell
+you something that happened there at Berthold, some
+years ago, and the man that it happened to lives
+in the upper country now, and you may likely run
+across him some time when you are up there. He is
+a Dutchman, and his name is Joe Butch.</p>
+
+<p>"Along in 1868, Joe was working at Berthold, for a
+trader there, and the trader got into some sort of a
+quarrel about a horse with old White Cow, chief of
+the Mandans, and I guess old White Cow was pretty
+sassy, and maybe he threatened to do something, and
+Joe killed him. Well, as soon as he had killed the
+old man, Joe he knew that that wasn't no place for
+him, because the Mandans would be pretty sure to kill
+him; so he hops onto his horse, and rides as hard as
+he could for Buford, that's eighty miles up the river,
+next place we stop at. When he got to Buford he
+found there a big camp of Assinaboines, and they
+were having a big dance, because the chief of the
+Mandans, their enemies, had just been killed. Now,
+how do you suppose those Assinaboines knew that
+White Cow had been killed? Joe didn't waste no
+time getting onto his horse, and he rode as hard as
+he could to Buford; and its a sure thing that nobody
+got there before him with the news. I never understood
+how they found that out, and I never expect
+to."</p>
+
+<p>"That seems a wonderful thing, Hugh," said Jack.
+"I don't see how they could have found it out if
+nobody told them, and if there were no telegraphs."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's sure there were no telegraphs," said
+Hugh, "and I don't see how anybody could have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span>
+told them. Joe killed the man, and started on his
+ride right off, and had a good horse. That's one of
+the things that always beat me."</p>
+
+<p>The hours passed swiftly by for Jack and Hugh, as
+they watched the river banks on either side. The
+boat had met a flood of water just above Berthold,
+which, if it made progress against the strong current
+more slow, nevertheless saved time by deepening the
+water, so that they did not run aground on sand-bars.
+Several times during the morning, antelope were seen
+feeding in the bottom, lifting their heads to gaze at
+the boat, as it puffed and snorted along, but not
+being enough alarmed to take to flight. After supper
+that night, as they sat on the deck about sundown,
+Hugh, watching the banks, pointed out no less than
+three distant spots on the wide bottom, which he
+told Jack were bears digging roots. They were a
+long way off, yet with his glasses Jack was able to
+make out their forms, and to recognize them as bears.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER II<br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE MUSSELSHELL</h2>
+
+<p>Early next morning the boat stopped at Fort
+Buford, above the mouth of the Yellowstone River.</p>
+
+<p>The wait was to be only a short one, and no one
+left the boat. Jack was interested in looking from
+the upper deck at the post, where there were a
+number of soldiers, and it looked like a busy place.
+Away to the left was seen the broad current of the
+Yellowstone coming down between timbered banks.
+As the two friends sat on the upper deck and looked
+off toward the shore, Hugh, in response to some
+question by Jack, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, in old fur-trading days this used to be a
+mighty interesting place. Just above here was one of
+the great trading posts of old times, and pretty much
+all the tribes of the northern prairie used to come
+here to get their ammunition, and whatever other
+stuff they could buy. Old man Culbertson was here
+for a long time, and lots of people from back east and
+from foreign parts used to come up the river as far as
+this. Sometimes they used to have great fights out
+here on this flat, when two hostile tribes would come
+in to trade and would get here at the same time.
+I've heard great stories about the way the Indians
+used to fight here among themselves almost under
+the walls of the post; and, then, again, sometimes the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span>
+Indians used to crawl up as near to the fort as they
+could, and try to run off the horse herd, which would
+be feeding right out in front of the post. Sometimes
+they'd get 'em; sometimes they wouldn't, but would
+get one of the herders. On the whole, however, the
+place wasn't often attacked, because the Indians
+couldn't afford to quarrel with the people who furnished
+them with their goods. When 'twas Fort
+Union, 'twas a mighty lively place."</p>
+
+<p>"Why Hugh," said Jack, "do you mean to tell me
+that this is old Fort Union?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sure," said Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Why," said Jack, "I've read lots about Fort
+Union. Don't you know that in 1843 Audubon, the
+naturalist, and a party of his friends, came up here to
+find out a lot about the Western birds and animals?
+I've read a lot of Audubon, and he speaks constantly
+of Fort Union, and about the things he used to see
+here, and the buffalo hunting, and about Mr. Culbertson.
+Dear me! dear me! when I was reading about
+it I never thought that I would see Fort Union."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "this is the place; and if this
+man Audubon was out here in 1843, that, I think, was
+just the year before they had the big smallpox here.
+Men that were here at the time tell me that there
+were two or three big camps of Indians here, and that
+they got the smallpox in the fall, just before the
+ground froze, and the Indians died off like wolves
+about a poisoned carcass; and the ground was hard,
+and they could not dig graves for them, and they just
+stacked up the bodies outside of the fort, in rows, like
+so much cord-wood, and had to wait till the ground
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span>
+melted in the spring before they could bury 'em.
+There must have been a pile of Indians died."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what did they do for smallpox, Hugh?
+How did they cure themselves?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, they didn't know anything about curing
+themselves, son. When a man got smallpox, or got
+sick, he just went into a sweat-lodge, and took a
+sweat, and came out and plunged into the river to
+cool off, and the ice was running, and some of 'em
+never came up again, and some of those that did
+come up were so weak from the shock that they could
+not get to the shore, and just drowned. If we get to
+the Blackfoot camp this summer, you ask old man
+Chouquette about it. He was here then; he'll tell
+you about it, just the same as he told me."</p>
+
+<p>While Hugh had been talking, the boat had cast
+off and had once more started up the river.</p>
+
+<p>It was afternoon, and Hugh was dozing in his chair,
+tilted up against the cabin, while Jack as usual was
+watching the river banks, when suddenly from behind
+a little hill that formed the end of a hog back, which
+extended well out into the bottom, he saw a herd of
+seventy or eighty buffalo, come running as hard as
+they could across the bottom, and plunge into the
+river just above the boat. The great animals ran as
+if frightened, and seemed to regard nothing but the
+danger behind them. As the boat went along, and
+the buffalo swam to cross the stream, they came
+nearer and nearer together, and at last it was evident
+that the buffalo would pass very close to the boat.
+They swam rapidly, and with them were many little
+calves, swimming on the down stream side of their
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span>
+mothers, and going swiftly and easily. Jack shouted
+to Hugh, who, with him, watched the buffalo, and in
+a very few minutes the boat was actually in the midst
+of the herd. The animals did not attempt to turn
+about, but swam steadily after their leaders, and
+some of them actually swam against the boat, and,
+only then seeming to understand their danger, turned
+about and, grunting, snorting, and bellowing, climbed
+up on each other in tremendous fright. As they
+came to the boat Jack at first had started to get his
+rifle, but Hugh called him back, and they both descended
+to the lower deck, where, with the other passengers,
+and the deck hands, they were actually within
+arms length of the buffalos. The mate, forming a
+noose with a rope, threw it over the head of a two-year-old,
+and half a dozen of the roustabouts, pulling
+on the rope, lifted the animal's head up on the deck,
+when the mate killed it, and it was presently hauled
+aboard and butchered. As they returned to the
+upper deck, having watched the buffalo, after the
+boat had passed, swim to the other bank and climb
+out of the water, and then stop and look at the boat,
+Jack said to Hugh, "Well, I saw a lot of buffalo last
+year, but it sort of excites one to see them again as
+close as those were."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "that's so; but there was no
+use in your getting your gun, as you started to. I
+don't want you to act like all the rest of these pilgrims
+that come up the river, and to be shooting at
+everything you see that's alive. There'd have been
+no more fun in shooting one of those buffalo in the
+water there, than there'd be in shooting a cow on the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span>
+range. Of course, if a man's hungry, it's well enough
+for him to butcher; but if he just wants meat, and
+there's somebody else to do the butchering, he might
+just as well let him do it. I always used to like to
+hunt, and I do still, but it's no fun for me to kill a calf
+in a pen, or to chop off a chicken's head.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so, Hugh," said Jack; "it would have been
+no more to shoot one of those buffalos in the water
+than it was for the mate to kill that two-year-old."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Hugh; "it would have been just
+the same thing, and you don't envy him the work he
+did, I expect."</p>
+
+<p>"No indeed," said Jack, "not much."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, if you want to fire a few shots," said Hugh,
+"if you want a little practice with your gun, get it
+out the next time we get close to the bank, and shoot
+at a knot in some cottonwood tree. I can watch with
+the glasses and see where you hit, and you can get
+some practice with your rifle, but won't show up a
+tenderfoot."</p>
+
+<p>The sun was low that evening when they reached
+Wolf Point, the agency for the Assinaboine Indians,
+and it seemed as if all the Indians there must have
+clustered about the landing-place to welcome the
+boat; men, clad in fringed buckskin shirts and leggings,
+and with eagle feathers in their hair; bright-shawled
+women, carrying babies on their backs; small
+boys, naked, save for a pair of leggings and a breech-clout;
+and little girls, some wearing handsome buckskin
+dresses, trimmed with elk-teeth, and clinging to
+their mothers' skirts, made up the assemblage. Most
+interesting to Jack were the many travois, each one
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span>
+drawn by a dog. Some of these were very wolf-like
+in appearance; others might have been big watch
+dogs taken from the front door yard of some eastern
+farm house. All seemed well-trained and patient;
+and when, a little later, some of them started
+off for the agency buildings, dragging loads that had
+been piled on the travois, they bent sturdily to their
+work, and dug their feet into the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"There's something, son," said Hugh, "that we are
+not going to see much longer. The dog travois has
+seen its best days, and before long dogs won't be
+used any more for that work. Why, I hear that even
+up in the North, dogs are not used in winter for
+hauling half as much as they used to be; and down
+here, the first thing you know, all these Indians will
+be having wagons, and driving them 'round over the
+prairie. Why, do you know, it ain't so very long ago
+since these Assinaboines had hardly any horses.
+They didn't want 'em; they said horses were only a
+nuisance and a bother to 'em, and their dogs were
+better. Horses had to be looked after; driven in and
+caught up whenever they were to be used, and then
+they had to be watched to keep people from stealing
+them; but dogs, instead of running away when you
+wanted to catch them, would come running toward
+you; they never ran off nor were stolen. Nowadays,
+though, the Assinaboines have got quite a good
+many horses, and I expect to live long enough to
+see the time when dog travois will be a regular curiosity."</p>
+
+<p>"Who are the Assinaboines, Hugh," said Jack.
+"What tribe are they related to?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span>
+"They're Sioux," said Hugh, "and talk the Sioux
+language. Of course it's a little different from that
+talked by the Ogallalas and the down river Sioux;
+but still they can all understand each other, and they
+call themselves Lacotah, which of course you know is
+the name that all the Sioux have for themselves."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet," he continued, "they have been at war
+with the Sioux and with the Sioux' friends for a good
+many years. I reckon there ain't any one that rightly
+knows when the Assinaboines split off from the main
+stock; it must have been a long time ago. But you
+talk with the Assinaboines, and they'll tell you&mdash;just
+as most of the other Sioux'll tell you&mdash;about a
+time long ago, in the lives of their fore-fathers, when
+their people lived at the edge of the salt water. I
+expect maybe that means that they migrated a long
+way, either from the East or from the West, very far
+back."</p>
+
+<p>"My!" said Jack, "if we could only know about
+all these things that happened, and what the history
+of each tribe was, wouldn't it be interesting?"</p>
+
+<p>"It sure would," said Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh," continued Jack, "what does Assinaboine
+mean? Has it any real meaning, like some of
+these other names of Indian tribes that you tell me
+about?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "it has a meaning, and I reckon
+it's a Cree word. <em>Ass&#301;ne</em> means stone in Cree, <em>poit</em>
+means cooked, or cooking, and the Assinaboines are
+called stone-cookers, or stone-roasters, I suppose because
+they used to do their cooking with hot stones.
+But of course that don't mean much, because pretty
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span>
+nearly all the Indians that I know of used to boil
+their meat with hot rocks, except those that made
+pots and kettles for themselves out of clay. Nobody
+knows, I reckon, when the Pawnees and Mandans
+first learned how to make pots. I expect that was a
+long time ago, too. But most of these Indians used
+to boil meat in a kettle made of hide, or the paunch
+of a buffalo, filled with water. Then they'd heat
+stones in the fire, and put them in the water, taking
+them out as they got cool and putting in others, until
+the water boiled and the food was cooked."</p>
+
+<p>"But," said Jack, "I should think when they
+cooked the hide or paunch it would break, and let the
+water spill out."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh. "It would of course, if you kept
+cooking long enough; but one of these kettles would
+only last to cook a single meal; you couldn't use it a
+second time, but it was all right for one cooking. I
+have seen a hide kettle used, and eaten from it."</p>
+
+<p>Jack sat thinking, for awhile, and then he turned to
+Hugh and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you, Hugh, if all you know about Indians,
+and about this Western country were put in a book, it
+would make an awful big one, wouldn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't know, son," said Hugh, "maybe it
+might; but a man has got to learn the life he's lived;
+if he doesn't, he won't amount to nothing. I expect
+if all that you know about the East was put in a
+book it would make quite a sizable one."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," said Jack, "that's nothing. The things I
+know don't amount to anything, and everybody else
+knows them a good deal better than I do."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span>
+"Well, I tell you," said Hugh, "the things that are
+new and strange to you seem kind o' wonderful, but
+they don't seem wonderful to me; but I remember
+one time you were telling me something about catching
+fish down at the place called Great South Bay,
+and talking about seeing the vessels sailing on the
+ocean, and to me that seemed mighty wonderful."</p>
+
+<p>By this time the boat had left the landing-place,
+and the light was growing dim. They turned and
+looked back, and there across the wide bottom was
+moving toward the Post, a long string of people, men
+and women and children and dog travois, so that it
+looked almost like a moving camp. Hugh and Jack
+sat for a while longer on the deck talking, and then,
+as the mosquitoes got bad, they turned in.</p>
+
+<p>The next afternoon the boat reached Fort Peck,
+then one of the most important Indian agencies on
+the Missouri River. It stood on a narrow bench, a
+few log buildings surrounded by a stockade, and back
+of it the bluffs rose sharply, and were dotted with the
+scaffolds of the dead. It seemed to Jack that there
+must be hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of
+these graves in sight. From the poles of some of
+them long streamers were blown out in the wind,
+which Hugh told him were offerings tied to the poles
+of the scaffolds by mourning relatives. But few living
+Indians were seen here, and there were only three
+or four white men seen about the trading post. They
+did not leave the boat, which soon pushed on again.</p>
+
+<p>"The Indians about here have been awful mean,"
+said Hugh; "Lots of things were brought in here
+that the Sioux took from the Custer battlefield.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span>
+Somebody told me that Custer's gold watch was
+brought in here by an Indian, who wanted to know
+how much it was worth: but so many questions were
+asked him about it that he just put the watch in his
+sack and lit out, and has not been seen here since."</p>
+
+<p>As the boat passed the mouth of the Musselshell
+early next morning Hugh pointed shoreward, and
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you see that place over there where that
+creek comes in, son?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course I see it, Hugh," said Jack, "and
+the timber that runs along it. What creek is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"You ought to know," said Hugh, with a laugh;
+"you got scared in it a whole lot last summer."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Hugh, is that the Musselshell?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what it is," said Hugh; "and seeing the
+mouth of the river, and them sticks there on the flat,
+reminds me of the big fight that took place there
+some years back. I wonder if you ever heard about
+it. I meant to tell you last summer, but somehow it
+slipped my mind. It was there that Liver-Eating
+Johnson got his name. They used to say that he cut
+out the liver of an Indian that got killed in that fight
+and ate it. Of course he never did, but they tell the
+story about him, and I rather think he was kind o'
+proud about it after a little while, and liked the name.</p>
+
+<p>"I think it was in 1869 that the fight took place,
+along in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>"You know the steamboats always have trouble in
+coming up to Benton in the low water; and along
+about 1866, after the mines got paying, and when the
+fur trade was good, some men at Helena formed a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span>
+company to make a road and start a freight line down
+to some point on the river that the boats could
+always get to. These men didn't know much about
+the river, and they chose the mouth of the Musselshell
+for the point where their road, which began at
+Helena, should end.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I suppose if they'd raked the whole river
+with a fine-tooth comb they couldn't have found a
+poorer place for a town, nor a poorer country to
+travel through, than this one they pitched on. The
+place chosen for the town was that little neck of land
+between the Musselshell and the Missouri. The soil
+is a bad-land clay, which in summer is an alkali
+desert, and in spring is a regular bog, in which a
+saddle-blanket would mire down. Then, all along
+the Musselshell was a favorite camping and hunting
+ground for the Indians, and in those days Indians
+were bad. Well, they made up their company, and
+started their town. There weren't many settlers, but
+a few people, mostly hunters and wood-choppers,
+stopped there; and of course, wherever there were a
+few people gathered together, there was sure to be a
+store and a few saloons.</p>
+
+<p>"I think it was along in 1868 that a man came
+down there with a fine train of mules. Likely he
+expected to get some freighting to do when the boats
+came up the river. The stock was turned out, and
+some men were on guard, when a party of Sioux
+charged in among them, killed two of the men, and
+ran off every hoof of stock. The thing was done in a
+minute; and before the men could get out of their
+houses and tents the stock was gone, and the Indians
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span>
+along with it: all except one young fellow, who, just
+to show what he could do, charged back and rode
+through the crowd, making fun of them as he went
+along. So far as anybody knew, not one Indian got
+hit.</p>
+
+<p>"It was not very long after that that the Sioux
+came down and charged into the Crow camp, and ran
+off eight hundred head of horses. Of course that
+made a big excitement. The Crows jumped on their
+horses an pursued and they had quite a fight, and
+some of the Indians got killed.</p>
+
+<p>"During the Spring of 1869, the Indians used to
+attack the town every few days; a Crow squaw that
+was living there got shot through the body, and a
+white woman was wounded, knocked down, and
+scalped, but I reckon she's living yet. Anybody that
+went out any distance from the town was sure to be
+shot at and chased. It was a time for a man to
+travel 'round with his gun loaded, and in his hand all
+the time. The Indians didn't do much of anything,
+but they kept the people scared up everlastingly. It
+got to be so, finally, that the Indians would charge
+down near the town, and then swing off and run
+away, and pretty much all the men would run out
+and run after them, shooting as long as the Indians
+were in sight.</p>
+
+<p>"One morning there were a couple of Crow women
+out a little way from town, gathering sage brush for
+wood, and the Indians opened fire on them. The
+white men all rushed out and after the Indians, who
+numbered sixteen. They ran on foot over toward the
+Musselshell, and then up the bottom, not going very
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span>
+fast, and the white men were gaining on them, and
+thinking that now they would force them to a regular
+fight; when suddenly, from a ravine on the Musselshell,
+a shot was fired, which killed a man named
+Leader.</p>
+
+<p>"That stopped the whites right off, and they
+turned to run; and if the Indians had charged 'em
+then, I expect they'd have got every last one of 'em.
+But Henry McDonald saw what would happen if they
+ran, and, bringing down his rifle, swore he'd shoot the
+first man who went faster than a walk.</p>
+
+<p>"They could see now that there was quite a body
+of Indians in the ravine on the bank of the Musselshell,
+but they couldn't tell how many. There was
+some little shooting between the two parties. Most
+of the whites moved back to the settlement; but
+there were half a dozen men who did not retreat; but
+getting under cover, within thirty or forty yards of
+the Indians, held them there. They kept shooting,
+back and forth, and presently a man named Greenwood
+got shot through the lungs, and had to be
+carried back. The other men stood their ground,
+and the Indians, knowing that they had to do with
+good shots, did not dare to show their heads.</p>
+
+<p>"After two or three hours of this sort of thing, it
+began to rain, a mighty lucky thing for the white
+men. They were all armed with Henry rifles, or
+needle-guns, while the Indians, for the most part, had
+bows and arrows, with some flintlock guns. They
+had stripped themselves for war, and had no clothing
+with which they could cover their gun-locks and bow-strings
+to keep them from getting wet. After a little
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span>
+of this, the white men began to see that the Indians
+were practically disarmed, and began to think about
+charging them; but when they raised up to look, they
+saw that there was a big party of men there, and that
+the only way to get them, except in a hand to hand
+fight, was for some of the party to cross the Musselshell,
+and get to a point where they could shoot into
+the ravine, thus driving the Indians out and placing
+them between two fires. Three men started to do this.</p>
+
+<p>"When the Indians saw what the white men were
+trying to do, they ran down to the mouth of the
+ravine and tried to shoot at them; but their strings
+were wet, and the arrows had no force and hardly
+reached the men, and very few of their guns would
+go off. The three men got across the river, and went
+down to a point opposite the ravine, and began to
+shoot at the Indians; but by this time all the men in
+the settlement had collected together, about eight
+hundred yards behind the Indians, and seeing these
+three men on the other side of the stream took them
+for Indians and began to shoot at them; so that the
+three white men who had crossed had to get away
+and re-cross the Musselshell. By this time half a
+dozen other men got around on the lower side of the
+Indians, and then again three men crossed the river
+and commenced to shoot up the ravine. This was
+too much for the Indians: they jumped out of their
+hole and started to get away, and everybody was
+shooting at them as hard as they could. The fire
+from the body of men near the town still continued,
+and obliged the men who were doing the real fighting
+to keep more or less under cover. The Indians broke
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span>
+for the Musselshell, crossing it where they could, and
+most of them got away; but thirteen were killed, and
+it was said that a good many more died on the way
+to camp, and only one of the ninety and more who
+were in the fight escaped without a wound. The next
+day after that, the white men found the place where
+the Indians had stripped for the fight and left their
+things, and there over a hundred robes and two war
+bonnets and a whole lot of other stuff were found.
+Most of it was sold, and the money given to Greenwood,
+who was wounded. Jim Wells and Henry
+McDonald, I heard, each got a war bonnet.</p>
+
+<p>"The freight road was given up, and pretty much
+everybody left the place,&mdash;except some traders who
+stopped there a little longer. Then Carroll was
+started, up near the Little Rockies, and in a very
+much better place, and that was the end of Musselshell
+City. It was at this same place that Johnson
+claimed to have made for himself a razor strap from a
+strip of skin that he cut from an Indian's back: but
+Johnson was always a good man to tell stories, and
+you never could be quite sure when he was telling the
+truth and when he was joking.</p>
+
+<p>"A few years ago there used to be lots of talk
+about that fight, and the people called it one of the
+biggest lickings that the Indians ever got in this part
+of the country."</p>
+
+<p>Pushing along up the river, the boat passed beyond
+the Musselshell, and then up by Carroll, and the
+Little Rocky Mountain, and the Bearspaw,&mdash;and at
+last one day, about noon, Fort Benton came in sight.</p>
+
+<p>For the last two hundred miles they had seen
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span>
+a good deal of game. Buffalo were almost always in
+sight on the bluffs, or in the bottom; elk, frightened
+by the approach of the steamer, tore through the
+willow points; deer, both black-tail and white-tail,
+were often seen, and on several occasions mountain
+sheep were viewed&mdash;once in the bottom and at other
+times on the high bad-land bluffs. One of the herds
+was a large one, which Hugh said must contain
+seventy-five or a hundred animals.</p>
+
+<p>As Benton was approached, Jack began to feel
+more and more excited. Here he hoped to meet Joe,
+who had been warned some months before by Mr.
+Sturgis that Hugh and Jack would be at Benton early
+in July: and Joe would have with him the horses, a
+lodge, and all their camp equipage; so that, if nothing
+interfered to prevent, the next morning they could
+start out on their trip.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER III<br />
+FOR THE BLACKFOOT CAMP</h2>
+
+<p>As the boat slowly drew near the wharf, Hugh and
+Jack, from the upper deck, recognized first the old
+adobe fort and then, one after another, the different
+buildings of the town. The arrival of the steamer was
+always a great event in Benton, and pretty much all the
+inhabitants of the town were seen making their way
+toward the water's edge. The throng was made up of
+whites and Indians, with an occasional Chinaman: for
+already Chinamen had begun to come into the country.
+At first the two watchers from the steamboat
+could recognize no faces, but, as the boat drew nearer
+and nearer, Hugh suddenly let his hand fall on Jack's
+shoulder and said, "There's Baptiste, and I believe
+that's Joe standing near him."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, where are they, Hugh? I can't see either of
+them:" and then a moment later, after Hugh had
+told him where the two stood, he saw them; and
+springing up on the rail, and holding to a stanchion,
+he waved his hat, and shouted out to Joe, who had
+already recognized him and made joyous gestures in
+response.</p>
+
+<p>A little later, the four were cordially shaking hands
+on the shore: and presently, when the crowd of
+passengers had left the boat, the two old men and the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span>
+boys went on board again and, mounting to the upper
+deck, talked together. Jack's first question to Joe
+was as to the whereabouts of the camp.</p>
+
+<p>"Down east of the Judith Mountains somewhere,
+I expect," said Joe in reply. "They went down
+there to kill buffalo; there's lots of buffalo over on
+the Judith, or between the Judith and the Musselshell.
+I guess they'll be there all summer, and before
+I left the camp I heard that they would make the
+medicine lodge somewhere out in that country."</p>
+
+<p>"What about the hostiles, Joe?" said Jack.
+"Have they seen any Sioux lately?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Joe, "but I've heard that there are a
+few passing back and forth, between the lower country
+and Sitting Bull's camp, over across the line."</p>
+
+<p>"Like enough," said Hugh, "like enough. We've
+got to look out for those fellows; but they won't do
+nothing more than try to steal our horses."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh had been talking quietly with Baptiste La
+Jeunesse, who told him what had been happening in
+Benton during the winter. This was not much: there
+was talk that a railroad was going to be built into the
+country, one that might even pass through Fort
+Benton itself, and this would make the town big and
+important, so people said&mdash;and Fort Benton would
+once more become what it had been in the early days
+of the fur trade, a populous and thriving place.</p>
+
+<p>"And how have you been getting on yourself,
+Bat?" said Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I've done well. I always have everything
+that I want, since you people came in here last summer
+and gave me the gold. Every month I go to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span>
+bank, and they give me the pay for the money that
+you lent them for me, and so I live well. It doesn't
+make any difference to me whether I've work to do or
+not, yet always it is pleasant to be doing something,
+and so I keep on working. Also, there are some
+people in the town who are poor, just as I used to be;
+and now that I have money I can help them to live,
+just as your boy has helped me."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Bat, it makes me feel good that you are
+doing well, and I think that you will continue to do
+well from this on."</p>
+
+<p>"And what are you going to do this season,
+Hugh?" said Baptiste. "Where are you going, and
+what are you going to do&mdash;hunting or trapping, or
+what?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Bat," said Hugh, "I am traveling 'round
+again with this boy of mine. His uncle and his
+father and mother want him to spend the summers
+out here, and get strong and hearty, and they've told
+me to travel with him, and teach him about the way
+of living out here; the same lesson that you and I
+learned when we were young; only he will learn it in
+a better and easier way than we did. He's a good
+boy: I like him better all the time. I should feel bad
+if anything happened to him."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Hugh, I think he's a good boy," said Baptiste.
+"Both of those boys are good. I like the
+Indian well. He came in here many days ago, and
+came to me; and since he got here, he and I have
+lived together. I like him."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh now turned to the two boys, who were busily
+talking, and said; "Now, boys, if we're going to get
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span>
+off to-night we've got to make a start right soon. I
+expect Joe has got all our stuff ready, except the
+grub, and if you and he will hurry up and get the
+horses together and get them saddled, I'll go and buy
+the grub, and put it in the wagon, and come down
+here and get our guns and beds, and we'll pack up
+and move out of town four or five miles and camp."</p>
+
+<p>Both the boys jumped to their feet, and Jack
+said; "Hurray! that's what I want to do; I want to
+get out on the prairie once more, and I don't want to
+see a town again until I have to."</p>
+
+<p>Jack and Joe started at once, and ran races with
+each other up the street, to see which should get
+first to the stable. Joe beat the white boy, who
+found that his winter's confinement, and his lack of
+exercise in the big city had made him short of wind;
+so that at last he got out of breath, and stopped running.
+When they reached the stable, Joe took his rope
+and went out into the corral, and caught a handsome
+little buckskin pony, and, saddling it, rode out to
+get the animals which were pasturing on the bluffs
+above the town. He was gone some little time, and
+then, Jack, who was watching for him, saw the familiar
+sight of loose horses running along the bluff, and
+then turning and rushing down its steep sides, followed
+by a cloud of dust; and then Joe, with whoops
+and yells, and quick turnings and twistings of his
+horse, drove them up to the bars, through which they
+crowded, and then stood quiet in the corral.</p>
+
+<p>Jack thought that he would try his old scheme of
+calling Pawnee, and whistled sharply. The good horse
+threw up his head, and looked about, and then seeming
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span>
+to recognize Jack, walked over to him, and arched
+his neck over his shoulder in the old-fashioned way.
+Jack was very much touched, and put his arms around
+the horse's head, and leaned his head against his
+neck, thrilled with affection for the animal that he
+had ridden so many miles. Presently they got out
+the ropes, and tied up the horses, and one by one
+they were saddled. They were all fat and in good
+condition, and some of them objected quite strongly
+to being saddled. The dun bucked when the flank
+cinch tightened on him, just as he had bucked the
+first time Jack ever saw him packed, and so did the
+star-faced bay. The others grunted and squealed and
+kicked a little, but on the whole took the saddling
+very well.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after they had finished saddling up they
+heard a cheery call from the front of the stable, and,
+rushing out, Jack saw the wagon, piled up with food
+and beds, and Hugh and Baptiste, sitting in it. It
+took some little time to make up the packs, but by
+late afternoon this was done, the horses packed, and
+after shaking hands with Baptiste, the little train,
+with Hugh in the lead, Jack driving three pack
+horses, and Joe bringing up the rear, driving two
+more, filed out of the town and climbed the hills
+toward the upper prairie.</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon they traveled until the sun went
+down, and then coming on a little coulee, through
+which water trickled, they camped. They were careful
+to picket all their horses; and after this was done,
+while Joe and Jack brought armfuls of willow brush
+from up and down the creek, Hugh cooked supper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span>
+The next day they kept on. Now they were well
+away from the settlements, and game began to be
+seen. Only antelope, it is true, but of them there
+were plenty. Jack had a fair shot at a buck, at
+about a hundred and twenty-five yards, but failed
+to kill him&mdash;to his great mortification.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha!" said Hugh, "you've got to learn how to
+shoot again; you shot too high, and missed him slick
+and clean. I remember the first shot you fired last
+year, when you first came out; you shot high then,
+just as you did now. When we get to camp to-night,
+you and Joe had better go out and shoot three or
+four times at a mark. You have got to learn your
+gun over again, and Joe of course has got to learn his
+for the first time." Jack had brought out from New
+York a gun for Joe, carefully selected from the stock
+of one of the largest rifle manufacturers in the world,
+and as yet Joe had not fired a shot out of it; but he
+seemed never to tire of looking at it, and putting it up
+to his shoulder, and sighting at various objects. That
+night they camped on a great swiftly rushing stream,
+near some high hills, or low mountains; and while he
+was cooking supper Hugh sent them off to try their
+guns. With the axe they shaved off the outer bark
+from a thick cottonwood tree, and making a black
+mark on the brown surface, each fired five shots at it.
+Jack's first two shots were high, but the next three
+were clustered within the size of a silver dollar, all
+about the mark. Joe did not shoot quite so steadily,
+two of his shots being above, and two below, and one
+a little off to one side. When they returned to camp
+and Hugh asked them about their shooting, they told
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span>
+him, and he advised them to fire a few more shots
+after supper, and, if necessary, a few in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>"There's nothing, I hate worse than to hear a gun
+fired about camp," he said, "but guns are no use to
+people unless they understand them, and you boys
+must get used to your guns. It won't take you more
+than a very few shots to do this, and you certainly
+must do it."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning they started on again. No signs
+had yet been seen of the Indians, but this day they
+saw a few buffalo, old bulls, mostly off to the north
+of them. In the afternoon they passed by the Moccasin
+Mountains, and camped on a little stream flowing
+into the Judith River. After they had unpacked
+their animals and made camp, Hugh said to Jack,
+"Son, have you ever been here before? Do you see
+anything that you recognize?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no Hugh," said Jack, "I don't think I do;"
+and standing up he took a long look about him, up
+and down the valley, and at the hills on either side.
+Suddenly his face brightened, and he said, "Why yes
+I do, too. I know where we are. This is just where
+we came through last year, the second day after I got
+caught in the quicksands in the Musselshell."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Hugh, "this is just where we
+came. I wondered if you'd recognize it. You ought
+to do so, and I'm glad you do.</p>
+
+<p>"Right over a few miles east of us is what we used
+to call old Camp Lewis. There used to be a trading
+store there, and a camp of soldiers, and a few men
+got killed there, mostly soldiers. I remember coming
+through here not many years ago, the afternoon after
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span>
+some soldiers got killed on the bank of the creek,
+right close to the camp. There was a camp of Crows
+there then&mdash;about three hundred lodges. The Sioux
+came down, and ran off some government horses, and
+killed three recruits that were fishing here in the
+creek, and the Crows took after 'em, and had quite a
+fight, and Long Horse, the Crow chief got killed.
+They got seven of the Sioux, I think. They had
+quite a time here in the camp then. I remember
+Yellowstone Kelly was here, and three or four other
+men; I think the Sioux set them all afoot."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning while Hugh was getting breakfast
+he said to Jack: "Son, why don't you kill some
+meat? You are going through a country where game
+is fairly plenty; anyway, antelope are, and there's a
+few buffalo; and besides that, here are some mountains
+right close to you, where there's surely lots of
+sheep. You boys had better make up your minds to
+do something to-day; if you don't I'll have to start
+out and hunt, to kill meat for the camp."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh," said Jack, "I certainly would rather
+hunt than drive pack horses; and if you want me to
+I'll go off to-day and follow along a little closer to
+the hills, and see if I can't kill something."</p>
+
+<p>"Do so," said Hugh, "and then if you kill anything
+you can easily overtake us. We will be traveling
+slow, and your horse is good and fat and can
+catch us wherever we are. All the same, keep your
+eye open for Indians, and don't let any strangers
+come up too close to you. I'd rather have you two
+boys go off together, but I've got to keep Joe with me,
+to drive these pack horses. You'd better throw the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span>
+saddle on your horse and start right off, and maybe
+you'll catch us before we've gone very far."</p>
+
+<p>No sooner said than done. Jack saddled up, and
+having asked Hugh the direction in which the party
+would move, rode away to the left, toward the low
+foot-hills of the mountains. He had gone only a
+mile or two when, passing over the shoulder of the
+foot-hills, he found himself coming down into a narrow
+valley, in which pretty little meadows were interspersed
+with clumps of cottonwoods and willows.
+Three or four antelope were feeding in the valley not
+far off, but there was no cover under which they could
+be approached, so he rode straight along. As he
+drew near, the antelope ceased feeding and raised
+their heads, and then, before he was within easy rifle
+shot, trotted off to the other side of the valley, and
+stood on the hillside watching him. After looking
+back for a few moments, they started, in single file,
+and slowly walked up the hill. They were by no
+means frightened, and it seemed likely that by taking
+a little time, after they had passed on out of sight, he
+might get a shot at them; but the brush above him
+on the stream seemed likely to hold a deer, and he
+turned his horse that way and rode quietly forward
+up the stream, among the groups of bushes. He had
+not gone very far when from a clump of willows at
+his right a big doe sprang into view, and moved
+slowly off by those high, long bounds which make the
+white-tail, in motion, one of the most graceful of animals.
+Jack's impulse was to jump off his horse and
+shoot at her, but he saw that, if he did this, he would
+be so low down that she could hardly be seen over the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span>
+tops of the willows. He checked Pawnee, cocked his
+gun, and rising a little in his stirrups, and gripping
+the horse with his thighs, aimed carefully at the back
+of the doe's head, just as she was rising in one of
+her leaps, and pulled the trigger.</p>
+
+<p>Almost at the report, her long tail fell flat to her
+body, and she began to run much faster. He knew
+he had hit her, and before she had gone fifty yards,
+and while she was crossing an open bit of meadow,
+she fell. Jack rode up to her, and on turning her
+over found that he had made a good shot. A ball
+had entered her back, just to the right of the spine,
+and had pierced both lungs and heart.</p>
+
+<p>Turning her over, to get her ready to put on the
+horse, he was glad to see that she was a barren doe,
+one that had not produced a fawn that spring, and so
+would be fat and good eating. She was pretty big,
+however, and Jack was a little uncertain just how he
+was going to get her on his horse. Of course by cutting
+her up it could easily have been done, for then
+the quarters would not be too heavy for him to
+handle. At first he thought that he would take in
+the whole animal, but considering the time that this
+might take, and the fact that he had to ride a long
+way before overtaking his companions, he determined
+to do things in the easier way. He skinned the deer,
+therefore, cut off the shoulders and hams, and tied
+them on his horse, and then taking out sirloins and
+tenderloins, and some of the fat, wrapped this up in
+the skin, and put that on behind the saddle. Now he
+had a fairly compact load, which could be easily
+carried, and would not be a great additional weight
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span>
+for his horse; while on the ground were left all the
+bones of the deer, except those of the legs. This
+method of butchering he had learned from the
+Indians the summer before.</p>
+
+<p>All this had taken some little time, and when Jack
+looked at the sun he saw that the morning was half
+gone. Hugh had told him that they would follow the
+trail around the point of the mountains, and would
+then strike the Carroll Road, and bend back toward
+the river again. This meant that if he could cross
+the point of the mountains he would save several
+miles travel, and this he determined to do.</p>
+
+<p>Before starting, he tightened up his cinches carefully,
+for he knew that the pieces of meat tied on his
+saddle would give it more or less side motion, and he
+did not want it to chafe Pawnee's back. Then he
+climbed into the saddle and started. By this time
+the sun was pouring down hot upon him, and there
+was no breeze. From the high ridges that he crossed
+from time to time he had a wide view of the prairie,
+and of the distant mountains, the Little Belts and
+Snowies, which rose from the plain a long way to the
+south. Here and there on the prairie were black dots,
+which he knew were buffalo, and other white ones,
+much nearer, which were antelope. Occasionally, as
+he rode along, a great sage grouse would rise from the
+ground near his horse's feet, or a jack-rabbit would
+start up, and after running fifteen or twenty yards,
+would stop, sit up, raise its enormous ears, look at
+him for a moment, and then settle back on all fours,
+and flatten itself on the ground, so that if he took
+his eye off it for a moment he could not find it again.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span>
+It seemed to him then, as it had so often seemed
+before, a wonderful thing to see how absolutely this
+wild creature, like so many others, could disappear
+from sight even while one was looking at it.</p>
+
+<p>As he rode over a high ridge, he saw on the hillside
+before him, two white-rumped animals, that for a
+moment he thought were antelope; but a second
+glance showed him that they were not, and, to his
+very great astonishment, he recognized them as
+mountain sheep&mdash;a ewe and her young one&mdash;which
+had been feeding on the prairie, just where he would
+have expected an antelope to be. He threw himself
+off his horse and, cocking his gun, jerked it to his
+shoulder and then paused, and lowering it again,
+stepped back and put his foot in the stirrup. As he
+mounted, the ewe, which had been looking at him,
+started to run, passing hardly more than fifty yards
+in front of him, closely followed by the lamb. A
+little further on, she stopped again and gazed, and
+Jack sat there and returned her look. The sight of
+the sheep had been almost too much for him, and he
+had come near shooting her,&mdash;but before he pressed
+the trigger he realized that if he shot her he should
+have to shoot the lamb, and he could not conveniently
+carry either, and the old ewe would be thin in flesh
+and hardly worth taking with him. The temptation
+had been strong, but as he sat there and looked at the
+graceful animal, which stood and stamped, while the
+lamb, close beside her, imitated her motions, he
+realized that it was a good thing to let them go.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to him a mysterious thing, though, that
+these sheep should be down here on the prairie, and a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span>
+long way from the rocky peaks, where he supposed
+they always lived. He made up his mind that he
+would ask Hugh about this when he got into camp
+and get him to explain it.</p>
+
+<p>At last he had crossed the point of the mountains
+and began to descend. Stretching out toward the
+northeast he could see a dim thin line, which, although
+it was interrupted at times&mdash;and sometimes
+for long distances&mdash;he thought must be the Carroll
+Road. Then off a long way to the east was a line of
+dark&mdash;the timber along a stream's course&mdash;which he
+supposed was where they would camp to-night.</p>
+
+<p>He had almost reached the level prairie, when suddenly
+he became aware of two horsemen galloping
+toward him from behind. He watched them as they
+drew nearer, and at last could make out that they
+were Indians; and by this is meant that he saw that
+they had no hats on. More than that, he could see,
+he thought, that one of them had red leggings.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER IV<br />
+OLD FRIENDS AND NEW</h2>
+
+<p>Of course there were no known hostiles in the
+country, but at the same time he recalled Hugh's
+advice, not to let any Indians come too close to him.
+These men were galloping along and would soon
+overtake him; and if, by any chance they should
+happen to be Sioux, from Sitting Bull's camp, or
+worthless Indians of any tribe that he did not know,
+they might take his horse and gun, even if they did
+nothing worse. He decided then that he would find
+out who they were, and drawing up his horse on a
+little rise of ground, he dismounted and stood behind
+it, facing them with his rifle barrel resting in the
+saddle. The Indians were now only three or four
+hundred yards off, but when Jack did this they at
+once halted, and turning toward each other, seemed
+to consult. Then, one of them, raising his hands
+high in the air, held his gun above his head, and after
+handing it over to his companion, struck his horse
+with his quirt and galloped toward Jack, while the
+other man remained where he was.</p>
+
+<p>The swift little pony was soon within easy rifle
+shot, and as its rider drew nearer and nearer, Jack
+seemed to recognize something familiar in the look of
+the man, yet he could hardly tell what it was; but when
+he was within speaking distance the man called out;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span>
+"Why, don't you know me, Master Jack? I'm Hezekiah;"
+and instantly Jack recognized his negro friend
+of the Blackfoot camp. He called back to him;
+"Hello, Hezekiah! come on; I didn't know who you
+were." And Hezekiah, turning about, waved to his
+companion, who started toward them.</p>
+
+<p>Jack and Hezekiah shook hands, and Hezekiah said;
+"You done mighty well to stop us, Master Jack; you're
+making a good prairie man all right, and I'm glad to
+see it. Plenty Indians traveling through this country,
+back and forth, that would be willing to kill you
+for your horse and gun; and it ain't far off to the line,
+and they'd skip across and go to Sitting Bull's camp,
+and nobody'd ever know who done it. It's just like
+what all the Piegans said last year, after the Medicine
+Lodge, that you was sure goin' to make a good
+warrior."</p>
+
+<p>"Well Hezekiah," said Jack, "I don't know as I'd
+have stopped you if Hugh hadn't spoken to me
+about that only this morning. He said that there
+were Sioux traveling back and forth, and that I had
+better not let any Indians come up close to me until
+I knew who they were. That's the reason I stopped
+you." At this moment the other Indian rode up,
+and handing his gun to Hezekiah, shook hands cordially
+with Jack. It was Bull Calf, one of his companions
+on the trip to the Grassy Lakes, where Jack
+had shot the Assinaboine who was trying to steal
+horses from the camp; a young man of good family
+whom he knew very well, and with whom he had
+been on several hunting excursions.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's the camp Hezekiah?" asked Jack. "Hugh
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span>
+and Joe have gone on ahead with the pack train, and
+I stopped behind to kill a deer. We're looking for
+your camp, and going to stay a little while with you,
+and then we're going off south into the mountains."</p>
+
+<p>"The camp isn't far off Master Jack," said Hezekiah.
+"I expect it's right over there on Muddy
+Creek; somewhere in that timber. Some days ago
+they left Carroll, and are moving south now after
+buffalo; but Bull Calf, here, and me, we came 'round
+by the mountains here, to see if we couldn't kill some
+sheep. I want to get a couple of shirts made, and
+my woman says she'd rather make 'em of sheep than
+of antelope.</p>
+
+<p>"I expect we'll strike the camp this afternoon
+somewhere and maybe we'd better be starting right
+along now." They mounted, and rode on over the prairie.
+Jack had many questions to ask about what had
+happened in the Piegan camp during the winter, for
+though Joe had told him much, there were still plenty
+of matters to be discussed. Hezekiah and Bull Calf
+wanted to ride fast, but Jack did not feel like doing
+so with his load, so he put the two shoulders of the
+deer on Bull Calf's horse, and tied down what he
+carried so that it would not shake, and they went on
+at a good pace. An hour or two of brisk riding
+brought them close to the stream; but before they
+reached it they saw the trail where the camp had
+passed. There were tracks of a great band of horses,
+and many scratches left by travois poles; and in the
+trail there were a number of fresher horse tracks,
+which showed where Hugh and Joe and the pack
+animals had passed along after the camp.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span>
+Jack had a feeling as if he were almost home. It
+seemed funny to him to think how eager he was to
+meet all the brown-skinned friends that he had left so
+many months before, and how much pleasure he felt
+in having come across these two on the prairie. Two
+hours before sundown they began to see horses
+dotted over the hills ahead of them; and a little later
+they rode out into a broad open space in the river
+bottom, where stood a circle of white lodges, which
+they knew was the Piegan camp.</p>
+
+<p>"Where do you suppose Hugh will camp, Hezekiah?"
+said Jack, as he ran his eye over the lodges,
+each one of which looked like every other lodge. It
+was evident that he could tell nothing by looking at the
+lodges, and he must look for the horses; and just as
+Hezekiah replied, he thought he saw old Baldy tied
+in front of a lodge on the opposite side of the circle.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I reckon he'll camp with Joe's people,
+Master Jack," said Hezekiah. "That's the Fat
+Roasters, you know, and they're over there across the
+circle. I reckon that's the old man now, drivin'
+pins for the lodge."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's it, Hezekiah," said Jack: "I see him
+now. I'll ride over there and get rid of my meat, and
+sometime to-night or to-morrow I hope to come to
+your lodge."</p>
+
+<p>"Please do, Master Jack, and we'll be mighty glad
+to see you. I want to have you see the childern, too;
+they've grown a heap since you was here last."</p>
+
+<p>As Jack stopped in front of the lodge, Hugh looked
+up from his task and said, "Well, you've got here all
+right, son. Killed somethin' too, I reckon."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span>
+"Yes," said Jack, "I killed a barren doe, and I
+reckon we've got meat enough to keep us going for a
+few days. I gave the shoulders to Bull Calf and
+Hezekiah, whom I met out here on the prairie, but
+I've got the hams here. Shall I turn Pawnee loose,
+or shall I tie him up here by old Baldy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Better tie him up here," said Hugh. "I want to
+make arrangements with some young fellow to herd
+our horses; Joe's gone off now to try to do that.
+We've got the lodge up, and now pretty quick we'll
+have a fire and cook supper."</p>
+
+<p>The news of the arrival of the strangers had already
+spread through the camp, and that night Hugh and
+Jack and Joe were invited to feasts at several lodges.
+They saw many of their friends: old John Monroe,
+Little Plume, Last Bull, and of course Fox Eye, and
+many others. Old Iron Shirt came around to their
+lodge, and shook hands cordially with Jack, from
+whom he accepted a plug of tobacco and a red silk
+handkerchief. It was late before the festivities were
+over, and when they turned into their blankets they
+were soon asleep.</p>
+
+<p>While they were at breakfast next morning, Jack
+told Hugh about the sheep that he had seen on the
+prairie the day before, and how he had been about to
+kill the old ewe, and then had thought it better not
+to do so.</p>
+
+<p>"You did just right, son," said Hugh; "I've said
+to you a good many times never to kill anything that
+you don't want, and can't use, and I believe that's the
+way to do. You were right not to kill the old ewe
+also because she wouldn't have been good for anything;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span>
+she'd have been poor from suckling her lamb,
+and you'd have just killed her without getting any
+good out of it. Besides that, the lamb would have
+starved to death if you hadn't killed it, and if you
+had killed it it would'nt have been no good. No, you
+did right; you used good sense, and I like men, or
+boys either, to use sense."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh, I'm glad I didn't shoot. Of course,
+maybe I wouldn't have killed the ewe anyhow, but
+I'd have tried. But what I wanted to ask you about
+was what those sheep were doing down there on the
+prairie. I supposed that sheep only lived on high
+mountains, or else in the very roughest kind of bad-lands.
+They're called Rocky Mountain sheep; that
+ought to mean that they live in the Rocky Mountains."</p>
+
+<p>"Well now, son, you're like a good many people
+that think that sheep ain't found anywhere except in
+the mountains, but that's a big mistake. In old times
+sheep were found on the prairie just about as much as
+they were found in the mountains. I expect they
+were always in the mountains, and in old times they
+were always on the prairie too. It has got so now
+that they're pretty scarce on the prairie, because so
+many people traveling around all the time shoot at
+them; but in old times it was no uncommon sight to
+see sheep feeding right in among the buffalo, and we
+often used to see them all mixed up with the antelope,
+on the flat prairie. Of course, sheep always like
+to be somewhere within reach of the buttes or mountains,
+or rough bad-lands, that they can run to if they
+get scared, but as for them not being on the prairie,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span>
+the way some people think, that's all a mistake. Up
+here in Montana, and in Dakota and Nebraska and
+Wyoming, I have seen them on the prairie, a long
+way from any hills. Why, I've even seen them out
+in the sand-hills, up not very far from the head of the
+Dismal River, and south of the Loup, but I suppose
+they came from up the Platte, where there are bad-lands
+and buttes, like Scott's Bluffs and Chimney Rock.
+But if ever people tell you that sheep are found only
+among the rocks, don't you believe them. I know
+you won't after to-day, because you saw them on the
+prairie yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Hugh, that's so; but just as you say, they
+started to run back to the rocks when they were
+scared."</p>
+
+<p>"Why son, there's no better sheep country in
+America to-day, I believe, than within a day's ride of
+here. You take the Missouri River bad-lands, and the
+Little Rockies, the Judith Mountains, the Little Belts,
+the Moccasins, and the Bear's Paw; they're all good
+sheep countries, and always have been ever since I've
+been in the country; and I reckon if you ask any of
+the old Indians they'll tell you just the same thing.
+Why, years and years ago, before the Indians got bad,
+there was no place where there were more mountain
+sheep than right along the Yellowstone, where the
+bluffs don't run more than a couple of hundred feet
+high, and there's a flat bottom below them, and just
+rolling prairie above."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I didn't know this at all, Hugh," said Jack,
+"and yesterday when I saw those animals on that
+little ridge, I could not believe that they were sheep.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span>
+I thought I must be mistaken, that they must be queer
+colored antelope, but then of course I saw the sheep
+horns and I knew that I wasn't mistaken."</p>
+
+<p>"There's lots to learn about sheep yet, son; and
+you and I are not the only people that don't know
+much about them. The fact is, I don't believe anybody
+knows much about them.</p>
+
+<p>"I expect there's more than one kind of sheep in
+the country, too. I have heard about a white sheep
+that they find away up north; and then a great many
+years ago, once when I went up north to Peace River,
+I killed a sheep that was pretty nearly black, and had
+black horns. I never saw but one little bunch of
+them, and killed one out of it, a yearling ewe; she was
+not like any other animal I ever saw before."</p>
+
+<p>Not long after breakfast Hugh and Jack started
+out to make a round of the camp, and to call upon
+their friends. As they were passing a nice new lodge,
+a tall, slender, straight young man came out from it,
+and after hesitating a moment as he looked at them,
+walked up to Hugh, and extending his hand, said,
+"How d'ye do, Mr. Johnson. I guess you don't know
+me, but I've heard of you pretty near all my life. I'm
+Billy Jackson, a son of old Thomas Jackson, whom
+you may have known a long way back, and the
+nephew of John Monroe."</p>
+
+<p>"Why yes, sure," said Hugh, "I've heard of you,
+and I used to know your mother right well. I'm glad
+to see you. Ain't you the young man that was with
+General Custer in the Black Hills, and afterwards
+scouted for Miles, down on the Yellowstone? or was
+it your brother? I think you're the man."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span>
+"Yes, I'm the man" said Jackson. "Bob scouted for
+Miles, too, and we both did a good deal of riding
+down there during the last of the wars, and now I've
+come up here to live in the Piegan camp."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad to see you," said Hugh. "Let me make
+you acquainted with Jack Danvers; he and I've traveled
+together now for two or three years, and we
+spent last summer here in Piegan camp."</p>
+
+<p>Jack and Billy Jackson shook hands together, and
+they parted; but Hugh asked Jackson to come round
+and eat with them that night, which the young man
+said he would do. He was a handsome fellow, lean
+and active; and after they had left him Hugh said to
+Jack, "Take notice of that young man, and if you've
+occasion to go on the prairie with him, do as he says.
+I've heard of him; he's a good man, brave, and knows
+the prairie well, and, at the same time, he has good
+sense, and isn't likely to get himself or his friends
+into any trouble."</p>
+
+<p>At Little Plume's lodge they were made very welcome.
+His wife had apparently thought that they
+would come around that day, and as soon as they sat
+down in the lodge, food was set before them: boiled
+buffalo heart and back fat, and berry pemmican, with
+stewed service-berries, made a tempting feast, and
+Jack ate heartily of it.</p>
+
+<p>Little Plume told them that the next day the camp
+would move south, and they hoped that before
+they got to the Musselshell, or if not, soon after crossing
+it, they would find buffalo. Hereabouts near the
+Missouri, there were but few, chiefly bulls. Further
+south, between the Musselshell and the Yellowstone,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span>
+scouts had reported great numbers of buffalo. That
+evening, Last Bull, Iron Shirt, and Fox Eye, Jackson
+and Little Plume, all came to the lodge, and they had
+a feast; and after all had eaten, there was much general
+conversation, but no formal speeches. Much of the
+conversation was in the Piegan tongue, which Jack as
+yet could hardly understand, but Jackson talked much
+to him in English, and told some entertaining stories.
+Among them was one of an adventure that he had
+had a year or two before, only a short distance from
+where they were now, and which had in it something
+of humor, and a little of danger. Jackson said:</p>
+
+<p>"In the fall of 1879, Paul Sandusky, Jo Hamilton
+and I built our winter quarters on Flat Willow Creek,
+about twenty miles east of the Snowy Mountains.
+The country was then still infested with roving war
+parties from the different tribes, some coming from
+Sitting Bull's camp on the Big Bend of Milk River.</p>
+
+<p>"As we intended to do some trading with the
+friendly tribes, especially the Crows and Blackfeet,
+we built commodious quarters, consisting of two
+buildings facing each other and about forty feet
+apart, and containing altogether five rooms. Joining
+on to the 'Fort'&mdash;as we called it&mdash;we constructed a
+high stockade corral for the horses.</p>
+
+<p>"Game of all kinds was very plenty, and bands of
+elk and antelope could be seen almost daily within a
+mile or so of our place. Glad to have company, we
+gave free quarters to all hunters and trappers who
+cared to stop with us, and by March 1 we numbered
+eleven men, including our cook, 'Nigger Andy.'</p>
+
+<p>"A few hundred yards below our fort a little creek,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span>
+which we named Beaver Castor, joined the Flat Willow.
+For some miles above its mouth it flowed
+through a deep cut in the prairie, bordered with sage
+brush and willows. At its junction with the Flat
+Willow, in the V formed by the two creeks, was quite
+a high butte. It sloped up very gently from the Flat
+Willow side, but was almost a cut bank on the
+Beaver Castor side.</p>
+
+<p>"This butte was our watch tower. From its summit
+we could see miles and miles of the surrounding
+country.</p>
+
+<p>"One morning in March most of the men went out
+antelope hunting, leaving four of us in camp&mdash;Jo
+Healy, laid up with rheumatism; Harry Morgan, the
+herder; the cook and myself. About ten o'clock this
+morning I concluded to take a hunt, and before catching
+up a horse I climbed the butte to see if I could spy
+a band of elk or antelope near by. As soon as I
+reached the summit I saw some moving forms on the
+prairie not far off, near Beaver Castor, and adjusting
+my glass, I found that they were a large war party
+of Indians afoot. They also saw me, for I saw several
+of them stop and level their telescope at me. I
+took pains to let them know I was not an Indian, for
+I strutted about with long strides and faced them
+with arms akimbo. Finally, as they came close, I
+backed down from the summit, very slowly, and
+placing a buffalo chip on top of a bush, so as to make
+them think I was still watching them, I dashed for
+the fort.</p>
+
+<p>"I found that the horse-herder had caught up an
+animal and gone out hunting; so grabbing a lariat I
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span>
+ran out to drive in the band, which was grazing
+nearly a mile from the house. I went down as fast
+as I could run, but found that I couldn't get within
+roping distance of a single animal. They had been in
+the corral all night as usual, and in spite of my efforts
+they kept straggling and feeding along, and every
+minute I expected the war party to swoop down on
+me. However, I finally got them home and into the
+corral, and, my clothing wet with perspiration, I sat
+down to get my wind.</p>
+
+<p>"In the meantime Andy had not been idle. He
+had placed all our spare arms and ammunition by the
+loopholes, had dragged Healy, bed and all, to a place
+of vantage, where he could shoot without hurting his
+rheumatic legs, and had then gone on preparing our
+dinner. So we waited and watched, expecting every
+minute to be attacked. But no Indians came. We
+had our dinner, and as the afternoon passed the boys
+kept straggling in by ones and twos, until by five all
+were home. None of them had seen any Indians.</p>
+
+<p>"Finally I proposed that two or three of us get our
+horses and make a reconnoissance.</p>
+
+<p>"'We don't want no horses,' said Sagebrush Charlie,
+'just you and me go up on the butte and take a look
+from there.'</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't like the proposition, for I surmised that
+the war party were concealed in the brush on Beaver
+Castor, probably near the butte. But on the other
+hand I didn't care to be bluffed, so I went with him.</p>
+
+<p>"As we neared the top of the butte we proceeded
+very cautiously, moving only a step at a time. Only
+a few yards more and we would have reached the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span>
+summit, when we saw that an Indian on the opposite
+side of the butte was looking at us. We could see
+nothing of him but his head, and of course he could
+see only our heads. Thus we stood facing each other
+for what to me seemed a long time. 'Shall we
+shoot?' asked Sagebrush. 'No,' I replied. 'If we
+advance to shoot he will have the best of it, and if he
+advances we will have the edge on him.' So we continued
+to stare at him. After a while I saw that the
+Indian was beginning to back down out of sight, so I
+did the same. I made only a step and he had disappeared,
+but I kept backing away, watching the top of
+the butte, with rifle cocked ready to shoot in an instant.
+When half way down I turned to run and saw
+Sagebrush just disappearing around the corner of the
+fort. Until then I had supposed that he was at my
+side. So calling him some names I fairly flew down
+the hill, expecting every minute to have a shower of
+bullets about my ears. But I too reached the fort
+without any sign from the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>"When I got inside I found the boys joking Sagebrush
+about leaving me, and seeing that he was
+ashamed of himself I said nothing to him, although I
+was quite angry.</p>
+
+<p>"As soon as it was dark we put on a double guard,
+and kept ourselves in readiness for an attack. Late
+in the evening we concluded that the Indians would
+make a daylight raid on us, so we arranged about
+guard duty and slept by turns. However, we heard
+nothing of our dusky friends, and at six o'clock the
+cook called breakfast as usual. The horses had now
+been in the corral nearly twenty-four hours and were
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span>
+very hungry, so four of us saddled up and went out
+to make a big circle and find out if our friends had
+left us. We went down Flat Willow a mile or more,
+then swung up onto the prairie, crossed Beaver Castor
+and headed home, but could see no Indian signs.
+Finally we went up on top of the butte, where Sagebrush
+and I had seen the Indian the night before.
+There in the loose shale we found his tracks, and saw
+that after backing down a little ways he had, like us,
+turned and run by mighty leaps to the bottom. There
+we found a great number of tracks and a lot of moccasins,
+some meat, etc., and following the trail we
+found that the Indians had crossed Beaver Castor and
+gone up on the prairie, where in the thick dry grass
+we lost all traces of them, and concluding that
+they had left we went home and turned the horses
+out to feed, with a herder and one other man to herd
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"After dinner, perhaps two or three o'clock, we saw
+a person on foot come down to the creek from the
+prairie, about half a mile below the house. I went
+down to see who it was, and found to my surprise that
+it was a lone Indian woman, and as soon as I came up
+to her she began to talk to me in a language which I
+at once knew to be Nez Perc�s, but which I could not
+understand. I replied to her in Sioux, and found
+that she understood and could speak a little of that
+tongue, and by piecing it out with signs we got along
+very well. I told her to go up to the fort with me
+and get something to eat, and afterward she could tell
+us her story. When we reached the place the boys all
+crowded around and stared at her, and asked all sorts
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span>
+of questions, but I told them to wait, and we would
+hear what she had to say.</p>
+
+<p>"The woman didn't seem to be at all embarrassed.
+She sat at the table and calmly and slowly ate the
+food the cook set before her, not heeding the ten or
+eleven pairs of eyes that were intently watching her.
+After she had finished eating I asked her to tell us
+where she had come from, where she was going and
+all about herself, and I interpreted her tale, sentence
+by sentence, to the boys. She said: 'I came from
+Sitting Bull's camp on Milk River, where some of my
+people, Nez Perc�s, are living with the Sioux. Two
+years ago, my son went with some Sioux and Nez
+Perc�s to war against the Crows. They had a big
+fight on the Yellowstone, and it was supposed that
+my son was killed. But not long ago I heard that the
+Crows had captured my boy, and that he is still living
+and in the Crow camp. Having no relatives and no
+husband, I made up my mind to go and live with my
+son, and started out; this is the twenty-third day since
+I left Milk River. I have been starved most of the
+time and am very tired.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Hush!' said one of the boys, 'That's too durned
+thin. I move that we hang her right now.'</p>
+
+<p>"At this, every one began to talk at once. Some
+said she was a spy, others that she was all right.</p>
+
+<p>"Finally I said to her, 'The boys, some of them,
+think you are not telling the truth. Yesterday a big
+war party was here, and they think you belong to that
+outfit.'</p>
+
+<p>"'How they lie,' she interposed. 'I haven't seen
+an Indian since I left Milk River.'</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span>
+"'That may be,' I replied, 'you cannot blame the
+boys for being a little suspicious. However, they will
+not harm you. You are as safe here as you would be
+among your own people. Just as soon as this snow
+goes, one of our men will start for the Yellowstone
+with a four-horse team after some provisions, and you
+can go with him. From there it is only a short distance
+to the Crow camp. In the meantime you can
+stay with us here and rest up. Throw off your robe
+and make yourself at home.'</p>
+
+<p>"'I like what you say,' she replied, 'but I am afraid
+of all these men. Let me stay close by you.'</p>
+
+<p>"Wherever I went that afternoon she followed me,
+and when it came time to turn in I made her a bed of
+buffalo robes behind the counter. Some of the boys
+spread down in the room and others in the cook
+house.</p>
+
+<p>"'I don't like this,' the woman said to me. 'I am
+afraid to sleep there; let me make my bed down beside
+yours.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Don't fear,' I replied, 'no harm will come to you.
+No one in this place cares for you or wishes to harm
+you.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Well, then,' she said, 'if that is so I will step out
+a minute and then go to bed.'</p>
+
+<p>"Now the door to this room was fastened from the
+inside, when we wished it, by two wooden bars; outside
+we closed it merely by a rawhide thong and pin.
+Some of us were always at home, and when we all left
+this room we fastened the door with the thong to
+keep the dogs and the cold air out. As the woman
+started to go out I went up to the counter and took
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span>
+my six-shooter, intending to follow her out, but
+quicker than a flash she darted through the door, and
+closed and fastened it with the thong and pin. Of
+course all the boys in the room made a rush, and two
+of us getting our fingers between the door and the
+jamb gave a strong jerk, snapped the fastening and
+we all ran out. The woman had disappeared in the
+darkness, but we could still hear her footsteps as she
+ran toward the brush. Suddenly she gave a peculiar
+kind of a whistle and from all around in the brush she
+was answered by the hooting of owls. We all rushed
+back into the fort, put out the lights and made ready
+for an attack.</p>
+
+<p>"After an hour or so the boys began to talk. 'I
+knowed,' said one, 'that she was a spy.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Didn't I say to hang her,' exclaimed another.
+'You fellers that thought she was all right are sure
+soft.'</p>
+
+<p>"We all sat up until long after daylight, and not
+until eight or nine o'clock did any one turn in. But
+we were not attacked, nor did we see the woman
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"Several weeks afterward, when Hamilton went to
+the Yellowstone after supplies, he learned that this
+woman had stopped at the 'Circle N' ranch and that
+they had lost one hundred and forty horses."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER V<br />
+BUFFALO HUNTING WITH THE BLACKFEET</h2>
+
+<p>Early next morning the camp was in motion, and
+they travelled south all day, making a long march.
+Hugh left the pack horses in charge of Fox Eye's
+people, who drove them along with their own, while
+he and Jack and Joe joined the flankers, who marched
+off to one side, and who killed a few antelope, a few
+bulls, and hunted out the stream bottoms that they
+passed. Each day these hunters killed just about
+fresh meat enough to support the camp, which as yet
+had plenty of dried meat, so that there was no suffering.
+That night Hugh told Jack that the next day
+they would strike the Musselshell, and very likely
+buffalo, but if not, they would cross the river and
+move on down toward the Yellowstone, where, on the
+Dry Fork, or Porcupine, they would be sure to get
+what they wanted.</p>
+
+<p>"We can't stop very long with these people, son,"
+he said; "not if we're going into the mountains, and
+going to work our way down through them back to
+the ranch. Of course we've got lots of time, but
+then we don't want to stay up here too long, and be
+rushed at the last, so that we'll have to hurry along
+and make our horses poor, and keep ourselves tired all
+the time. We can stop here for a while and kill buffalo,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span>
+and then we'll leave the people, and strike west
+into the mountains."</p>
+
+<p>The next night they camped on the Musselshell,
+and word was brought that about twenty or twenty-five
+miles to the south buffalo were plenty. Orders
+were given that from now on no one should kill
+buffalo, and camp was moved a day's march still further
+south, to the neighborhood of the herd. The next day
+a bunch of buffalo was located in a place suitable for a
+surround. That night the old crier, as usual, rode
+around through the camp, telling all the people to get
+in their horses, to tie up their running horses close,
+ordering the women to sharpen their knives, and the
+men to whet their arrow-points, because the next day
+they were going to chase buffalo. The following
+morning, very early, Jack heard him shouting through
+the camp, calling to the people to "Get up! get up!"
+It was still black night; the stars shone brilliantly in
+the sky, the light of the fire showed through the
+lodge-skins, and sparks were rising with the smoke,
+when Jack went out to saddle up Pawnee. Hugh
+had had offers of buffalo runners from several of his
+friends. Last Bull had asked him to ride the spotted
+horse that he had several times used the year before,
+while Jackson had pressed upon him a beautiful buckskin
+that he declared was the best buffalo horse in
+the camp. The excitement which always precedes a
+buffalo chase pervaded the camp, and every one
+seemed to be hurrying in the performance of whatever
+task was at hand. It was still long before daylight
+when Jack and Hugh, following the men who
+were starting out, found at a little distance from the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span>
+camp the group of hunters who were being held there
+by the soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>The sky was just becoming gray in the east when
+the soldiers started off, and the hunters followed; and
+just after the sun had risen, the halt was made behind
+a hill which hid the herd from them. After a little
+pause, and a few low-voiced directions, horses were
+changed, the line spread out, and at first going slowly,
+rode up to the crest of the hill, pushed over it, and
+hurried down toward the unfrightened buffalo. These
+were slow to see their enemies, and the horsemen
+were close to them before the herd got started. Jack
+held back Pawnee until the word came for the charge,
+and even after that he still restrained him, not wishing
+him to run too hard at first, for the horse was fat,
+and might lose his wind if pushed at the start.</p>
+
+<p>He gave no thought to the whereabouts of his
+friends; Joe and Hugh would no doubt take care of
+themselves. Just before he overtook the last of the
+bulls, however, he was aware of a man riding close to
+him, and turning saw Billy Jackson, riding the little
+buckskin, without a saddle, and carrying in his hands
+a bow and some arrows, while he had a quiver on his
+back.</p>
+
+<p>Jack laughed at him, and signed to him that he was
+armed with good weapons, and Jackson nodded. A
+moment later they were mixed up with the dust of
+the flying herd, and surrounded by buffalo, and Jack
+bent his energies to killing a couple of cows. The
+bulls were soon passed, and Pawnee, running free and
+easily, forged up to the cows. Two fat ones were
+running just ahead of him, lumbering heavily, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span>
+with their tongues out, yet getting over the ground
+with surprising speed. He drew up alongside of one,
+and shot it, and it turned a somersault; then touching
+Pawnee with his heel, he was soon riding close to
+another, which also he killed by a single shot. Then
+turning, he rode back to the last cow, and looked at
+her. She was quite dead.</p>
+
+<p>The task of butchering seemed rather a heavy one,
+but he went to the cow first shot, and, with some trouble
+split her down the belly, and then re-mounting,
+went back to the other cow, which he treated in the
+same way. Then he sat down on the ground in the
+shade of his horse, and waited.</p>
+
+<p>An hour later the women and girls and children
+were seen coming over the hills with their travois, and
+scattering out to look at the dead buffalo, over many
+of which men who had returned were now working.
+When Fox Eye's family came along, Jack spoke to
+the wife, and made her understand that these two
+were his buffalo, and with two of the other women
+she set about skinning and cutting them up.</p>
+
+<p>That night in the lodge, as they were getting ready
+for bed, Hugh said to Jack, "Son, have you ever been
+through this country before? Do you see anything
+that you recognize?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why yes, Hugh, of course, we came through it
+last year when we were coming north, but I haven't
+seen anything to-day that I knew."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I'm not very much surprised
+at that, but right along here somewhere is where we
+passed last year, the second or third day after we
+crossed the Yellowstone River, coming north. Now,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span>
+I ain't never forgot that sheep's head that we left up
+in the tree down there. As I told you then, it's a
+better head than most, and likely a better one than
+you'll ever kill again, and I was thinking that it
+wouldn't be a bad idea for you and me to ride down
+there and get it. We can go in a day, and come back
+in another, and we can easily enough carry the head
+with us, and take it back to the ranch. What do you
+say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sure Hugh;" said Jack, "I'd like to do
+that mighty well. I've always felt sorry that we lost
+that sheep head, and felt that I wanted it to take
+back east. I never thought of our getting it this
+year; in fact I never expected to see it again. I'd
+like very much to get it, if you feel like it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, say we do it. We can start to-morrow or
+next day; the Indians'll be here now two or three
+days at least, killing and drying meat, and we can
+easily enough go there, and come back and catch
+them before they leave these parts. You and I can
+go alone, or we can take Joe; or if you like, we can
+ask anybody else that we want to go down there with
+us. It'll be a nice little trip."</p>
+
+<p>So it was arranged that within a day or two they
+should start for the Yellowstone River, to get the
+sheep's head.</p>
+
+<p>It was the second day after that they finally got
+away. Joe wanted to go with them, and when they
+told Jackson what they intended doing, he said that
+he too would like to go. This made a party of four
+capable men, to whom no danger could come. They
+took a couple of pack horses, to carry their bedding
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span>
+and provisions, but no shelter, for the weather was
+bright and dry, and there seemed no prospect of rain.
+On their way to the Yellowstone they rode constantly
+through buffalo and antelope, tame and unsuspicious,
+and just moving aside from the track of the
+travellers as they passed along. That night they
+camped on the little stream just where Jack had
+killed the sheep, and reaching camp before sundown,
+Hugh and Jack rode up the stream to the tree where
+the sheep's head had been placed, took it down and
+brought it to camp. The ashes of the fire of the year
+before, and the bones of the sheep from which they
+had cut the meat called up old memories. Even the
+places where the lines had been tied for drying the
+meat were remembered.</p>
+
+<p>Jack was glad enough to get this head again. As
+Hugh had said, it was a very fine one. The great
+horns swung around in more than a complete curve,
+and although near the base they were more or less
+bruised and battered by the battles the old ram had
+fought, the tips of the horns were very nearly perfect.
+The skin of the head and neck had been picked by the
+birds and bleached by the weather, and Hugh said;
+"I'm not sure that it will do to use in covering the
+skull, son; but even if it is too hard and sunburned to
+make anything out of, I'd take it along. If we get
+another good ram on the trip you can take his scalp;
+but if we don't, maybe the man that puts up your
+head can make something out of this."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning before starting back, they rode
+down to the Yellowstone River, and looked up and
+down the valley. There were some buffalo here too,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span>
+and a few elk; but there was nothing to keep them,
+and they turned about and returned to the Piegan
+camp, which they reached that night.</p>
+
+<p>For some days longer the camp remained here, killing
+buffalo and drying the meat. Then they moved
+east, one day's journey, to another little stream, and
+again hunted from here. By this time many buffalo
+had been killed, and many robes made. The parfleches
+were full of dried meat and back fat; and now
+presently the chiefs began to consult as to whether
+they should not go north again to the neighborhood
+of the mountains, for the women wished to gather
+roots and berries for the winter.</p>
+
+<p>One evening when Jack came in from the hunt he
+saw a great crowd of people, men, women and children,
+gathered just outside of the circle. They
+seemed to be having a good time, for shouts of
+laughter and shrill screams from the women told that
+something was happening which amused them all.</p>
+
+<p>Riding up to the edge of the crowd, Jack saw in the
+midst of it a little buffalo calf, standing there with its
+head down and tail in the air, facing with very determined
+attitude two or three small boys who were trying
+to approach and get hold of it. Every now and
+then one of the little fellows would get up his courage
+and venture close to the calf's head, when the calf
+would charge him and the boy would jump out of the
+way; but just as Jack came to a place where he could
+see, one of the boys went slowly forward toward the
+calf, and just as the calf began to charge, one of the
+boy's companions gave him a push forward, so that
+instead of dodging the calf he met its charge, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span>
+was knocked sprawling on the ground. Then everybody
+screamed with laughter, and the boy scrambled
+out of the way as fast as he could.</p>
+
+<p>At one side of the ring of people, Jackson was
+standing, evidently much amused at what was going
+on. Jack called out to him, "What are they doing,
+Billy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I roped this calf to-day and brought him in
+to try to take him back to the river, where there are
+some cows, and raise him, but some of these small
+boys got bothering and teasing him, and I told them
+if they didn't let him alone I'd turn him loose, and let
+him take care of himself, and now it seems to me he's
+doing it pretty well; he's knocked a half dozen of 'em
+out of time already, and once in a while, if he gets
+real mad, he charges into the crowd, and I tell you
+they scatter."</p>
+
+<p>The fun went on for a little while longer, and then
+Jackson, after speaking to the people, put a rope
+about the calf's neck, and with the assistance of two
+young men, dragged it away to his lodge, where it
+was picketed to a stake firmly driven into the ground.</p>
+
+<p>That night, Joe said to Jack, "Say, Jack, do you
+want to see some fun to-morrow?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I do," said Jack. "I always want to be
+around when there's any fun going on."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "there's going to be some fun
+to-morrow; at least I think there is. Some of the
+young men have been making fun of Eagle Ribs;
+they say that there's something he dare not do; to
+jump from his horse to the back of a bull, and ride it.
+When they said that, Eagle Ribs said, 'Why do you
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span>
+talk about doing that? You should talk about something
+that is really dangerous. I should not be afraid
+to jump on a bull's back and ride him; but it's too
+easy; I do not care to do little things like that. It
+would be a trouble to me, and could not do any one
+any good.' The others kept teasing him, and making
+fun of him, and at last, after they had bothered him a
+good deal, Eagle Ribs said, 'It will be a little trouble
+to do this, but if you want to see me I will do it. I
+will ride a bull; the fastest and strongest that I can
+choose. Watch me to-morrow, and see whether I do
+it or not.' So to-morrow we're all going together, to
+see whether Eagle Ribs will ride the bull."</p>
+
+<p>"But isn't there danger that the bull will throw him
+off, and catch him and kill him?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Joe, "I guess he can stick to it; or, if
+he can't do that, why he'll have to be quick on his
+feet if the bull does throw him; they can't turn very
+quickly, you know, and Eagle Ribs, if he's smart, can
+get around and keep out of the way of his horns.
+Besides that, there'll be a lot of us there, and we can
+tease the bull, and get him to chase us, if Eagle Ribs
+should be in any danger."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "it's going to be a regular
+circus, I guess, and I'll have to be there."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Joe, "you want to be there if you can;
+and a lot of us young fellows are going to keep pretty
+close together, and I think we'll have a real good
+time, even if we don't kill any buffalo. The camp
+has got about all the meat now it wants, anyhow."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning before the chase began, Jack
+and Joe found themselves among a lot of boys about
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span>
+their own age, many of whom were making fun of and
+teasing Eagle Ribs. When the chase started the
+boys did not ride as usual to try to catch cows, but
+instead of that singled out some old bulls that made
+up the rear of the herd, and turned them off on to
+the prairie.</p>
+
+<p>Then they all began to whoop and yell, and call out
+Eagle Ribs' name, and say to him, "Now is the time
+to show us what you can do. Here is your horse;
+now ride him." Eagle Ribs was riding a good horse,
+and at once accepted the challenge. He pressed the
+animal close up to a bull, and when he was so near
+that his horse's side almost touched the buffalo's side,
+he reached far forward, grasped the long hair on the
+buffalo's hump, and threw himself from his horse
+onto the bull's back. The bull was frightened, and
+for a few minutes it ran faster than all the horses;
+and then forgetting that it was being chased, and only
+anxious to get rid of the terrible burden that it was
+carrying, it stopped, and began to plunge and buck,
+and skip around, and acted as if it were a calf instead
+of a huge old bull. Eagle Ribs clung to it with both
+hands, and with his legs, but the bull jumped so high,
+and came down so hard, that two or three times he
+was shaken from his seat. The boys all about him
+were shouting with laughter, some of them calling
+out encouraging words to the bull, and some to the
+rider.</p>
+
+<div><a name="he_reached_far_forward_and_grasped_the_long_hair_on_the_buffalos_hump" id="he_reached_far_forward_and_grasped_the_long_hair_on_the_buffalos_hump"></a></div>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img class="mw" src="images/i001.jpg" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">
+<p>"HE REACHED FAR FORWARD, AND GRASPED THE LONG HAIR ON THE
+BUFFALO'S HUMP."&mdash;<cite>Page <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</cite></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The bull seemed very strong, and for a long time
+did not get tired, and two or three times Jack feared
+that the boy would be thrown from his back. Presently,
+however, the bull stopped, and stood with his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span>
+head down, glaring at the horsemen about him, as if
+he wanted to fight. Now the boys began to ask
+Eagle Ribs why he had stopped; why he did not ride
+further; and one of them threw his quirt to him,
+telling him that he should use this to make his horse
+go better. Others ran their horses close by, in front
+of the bull, trying to make him charge. Toward one
+of these horses he rushed furiously, and as he did so,
+Eagle Ribs slipped from his back and ran away in the
+opposite direction, and got behind a horse ridden by
+one of the boys. Jack rode up to him, and signed to
+him to get on behind him, and then they went back
+to where Eagle Ribs' horse was feeding, and he
+mounted him. Meantime, the bull had run on, and
+some of the boys had killed him.</p>
+
+<p>The next evening the old crier rode about the
+camp, shouting out the orders of the chiefs; telling
+the people that the next day, early, the camp would
+move back to the great river.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening of that day Jack was awakened by
+a shot in the camp, and then another, and then a
+rush of people, followed by a swift pounding of
+horses' hoofs on the prairie. He scrambled from his
+bed, put on his moccasins, and seizing his gun and
+cartridge belt, rushed out-of-doors. Joe was standing
+in front of the lodge, having just come out, and
+Jack asked him what was the matter. "I don't know
+sure," said Joe, "only horses have been stolen."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "why don't they go after the
+thieves?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," said Joe, "that would not do; that is too
+dangerous. Suppose we were to run out onto the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span>
+prairie, chasing the thieves, they could stop behind
+any sage brush, or the edge of any hill, and shoot us
+as we came up to them, before we could see them.
+We'll have to wait until to-morrow, until it gets light,
+and then take good horses and try to catch them."</p>
+
+<p>The whole camp was now thoroughly awake, and
+the fires were made up in every lodge, while
+people went about visiting each other, and trying to
+find out what the extent of the loss had been. It
+appeared that only three good horses had been taken;
+but more would have been stolen if it had not happened
+that a man coming back late from a gambling
+game, and seeing somebody cutting the rope of a
+horse in front of his lodge, had shot at him with a
+pistol that he carried. The enemy threw himself on
+the horse and rode swiftly away, and at the sound of
+the shot a half dozen men rushed from their lodges
+and fired at the retreating sound.</p>
+
+<p>It was several hours before the camp quieted down
+again, and before daylight next morning forty or fifty
+men on good horses were prepared to follow the trail,
+and try to overtake the thieves. Both Jack and Joe
+wished to accompany the pursuing party, but Hugh
+advised them not to. He said, "If we had come up
+here to spend the summer with these people, maybe
+there'd be no harm in your going off, but now in the
+course of a few days we're going to leave them and
+go into the mountains, and if you run your horses
+down, or if either of you should get hurt, why it
+might spoil our whole trip back to the ranch. These
+Indians ain't likely to overtake those fellows, and
+'twill just be a long hard ride for nothing. We'd
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span>
+better stop at the camp for two or three days more,
+and then strike out for the mountains, just as we
+intended to, and go on down there and see that place
+they used to call Colter's Hell, and then go on down
+through it, and back to the ranch." The boys, rather
+unwillingly, agreed to do this.</p>
+
+<p>Three days later the Piegan village was once more
+camped not far from the Judith Mountains, and all
+the pursuing warriors had returned, not having overtaken
+their enemies. Dire were the threats that they
+made against the Crows who had stolen the horses,
+and a number of war parties were made up to go
+south and make reprisals on that tribe.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VI<br />
+AMID WONDERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE PARK</h2>
+
+<p>It was toward the middle of August that Hugh
+and Jack and Joe, with their little pack train, started
+southwest, to strike the Carroll Road, to go to the
+place once known as Colter's Hell, and now as the
+Yellowstone Park. Their animals carried only their
+provisions, messkit and bedding, and a skin lodge
+which Hugh had purchased from Fox Eye's wife.
+Their way led them through the beautiful Gallatin
+Valley, crossing the surveyed line of the Northern
+Pacific railroad, then being built westward, and then
+over the mountains to the valley of the Yellowstone,
+which they followed up to the ca�on. Before they
+reached the Gallatin Valley they had seen plenty of
+buffalo, and had killed one for fresh meat, while in the
+Valley there were many antelope. In the Bridger
+Mountains, by which they passed, elk and deer were
+abundant; and one morning in the trail which they
+followed were seen the tracks of an enormous bear
+and two small cubs.</p>
+
+<p>In the mountain streams which they crossed, trout
+were abundant, and they greatly enjoyed the delicious
+fish which were so easily caught.</p>
+
+<p>A wagon road had been built through the ca�on
+into the Yellowstone Park, and here a number of
+white people were travelling back and forth, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span>
+wagons were hauling material for hotels and other
+buildings that were to be put up near the Mammoth
+Hot Springs. They reached these one night, and
+spent the next day wandering about them, marveling
+at the floods of hot water which poured over the
+many tiny falls, and deposited the lime which had
+built up the terraces of what the people there called
+"the formations." From an old German, Jack purchased
+three or four articles: a horse shoe, a nail, and
+the twig of a tree which had been suspended in the
+water until coated with a beautiful white covering
+of lime.</p>
+
+<p>The next day they climbed the hill to the right and
+came into a level park-like country, which they followed
+south. It was a picturesque region, with grand
+mountains showing on every hand, yet nearby, a
+green level meadow, spangled with wild flowers, and a
+little further back dotted with clumps of pines and
+spruces, which were very beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>At every step there was something new to be seen:
+new birds, new animals, and new scenery. The trail
+led up a fork of the Gardiner River, and then, crossing
+over, struck one of the heads of the Gibbon River,
+down which they passed, and then suddenly found
+themselves in a country of hot springs, which steamed,
+and sometimes threw up boiling water to a considerable
+height. This was the recently discovered Norris
+Geyser Basin, and here they camped, and spent the
+day walking about among the hot springs, which at
+first were very awe-inspiring. In many of them there
+were old tree trunks and branches of trees, which,
+when taken out and examined, seemed to be partly
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span>
+turned to stone. Fine particles of a flinty material
+seemed to have penetrated all the pores of the wood,
+and while the branches were not hard, the woody
+matter in them seemed gradually to be changing to
+stone. As they sat eating their supper that night,
+Hugh said to Jack, "Well, son, I don't wonder that
+the mountain men in old times used to call this
+Colter's Hell. It is surely a place where the flames
+down below seem to be mighty close to the surface of
+the earth."</p>
+
+<p>"It makes me afraid," said Joe.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "it does me too a little. This
+morning I was afraid pretty nearly every minute that
+I'd fall through the ground and get into hot water
+below."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning they moved camp, and rode over
+toward the river intending to look at the Grand
+ca�on, and the wonderful falls of which they had
+heard.</p>
+
+<p>Although the Yellowstone Park had been known
+for more than ten years, few people had as yet visited
+it. Nevertheless, they saw a number of visitors,
+some travelling with teams, and some with pack
+trains, and altogether the Park seemed quite a bustling
+place. That night they camped on the head of
+Alum Creek, and the next day, leaving their pack
+horses picketed and hobbled at the camp, rode over
+to see the falls. They rode first down toward the
+river, passing the Sulphur Mountain, a great barren
+hill, full of hot springs and sulphur vents, about which
+much sulphur had been deposited. Many fragments
+of the bright yellow mineral were strewn on the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span>
+ground, and at one place Hugh noticed where two or
+three grass blades had fallen across one of the vents'
+and calling the boys' attention to this, they all dismounted
+to look at it. About these blades of
+grass, and on their slender heads, most delicate and
+beautiful crystals of sulphur had collected. These
+were so fragile that a little motion made them loose
+their hold, and drop from the grass, or else break, so
+that it was impossible to carry them away. Near
+here, at the foot of the hill, was a large spring, six or
+eight feet in diameter, and boiling violently. The
+water was sometimes thrown up eight or ten feet
+high, not in jets, but seemingly by impulses from the
+center of the pool, so that the spray was sent outward
+in all directions.</p>
+
+<p>They then followed down the river for two or three
+miles. It was a broad stream, swiftly-rushing yet
+smooth, and nowhere interrupted by rocks or rapids
+until the upper falls were almost reached. Here were
+short rough rapids and then the tremendous falls.
+The great mass of dark water glided rather than
+plunged into the depths below, and just below the
+crest of the cataract was broken into white foam,
+which, further down changed to spray. The falls
+are 162 feet high, and clouds of white vapor constantly
+rose from the water below, and hid the view.
+Looking down the stream, they had a glimpse of the
+wonderful ca�on below.</p>
+
+<p>The roar of the falls was so tremendous that conversation
+was impossible, and nothing was said; but
+presently they left the upper falls and rode on north
+to the lower one. Here was repeated the marvelous
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span>
+impression which they got from this tremendous body
+of water falling 150 feet sheer to the great basin
+below, and from under the mist cloud that hid the
+foot of the fall came out the narrow green ribbon of
+the river, winding and twisting, hardly to be recognized
+as a river, dwarfed by distance, and creeping
+with a slow oily current. On either side the stream
+rose the walls of the ca�on, five or six hundred feet
+to the pine-fringed margin above.</p>
+
+<p>Looking down the stream, Jack saw a ca�on a
+thousand feet deep, and perhaps twice as wide, extending
+for miles to the northward. Its sides were
+curiously sculptured and carved into fantastic forms.
+In one place a vertical cliff supported lofty cones of
+rock, ranged side by side upon the same horizontal
+ledge along its face. Again, a narrow buttress arose
+from the river's level in a series of pinnacles and turrets
+overtopping one another, until the summit of the
+ca�on wall was reached. At one place that wall was
+so nearly perpendicular that it seemed as though a
+stone dropped from the edge of the cliff would fall at
+once into the water of the river. In another, the
+decomposing rock had been eaten away above until a
+talus of fallen rock and earth arose in a steep slope
+half way to the top. But to Jack's mind the glory of
+the ca�on was in its color. The walls glowed with a
+vivid intense radiance which is not less wonderful
+than beautiful. Browns and reds and pinks and yellows,
+and delicate grays and pure whites had painted
+these hard rocks with a wealth of coloring hardly
+to be described in words. In the sun the ca�on
+walls shone with brilliancy. When the clouds passed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span>
+over the sky they grew duller and softer, but were
+hardly less beautiful. Down close to the river were
+the most vivid greens, and in the mist which rose from
+the foot of the fall were seen, when the sun was shining,
+all the hues of the rainbow.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers sat long watching this wonderful
+sight, and then pushing along the margin of the
+ca�on, below the falls, walked out on a projecting
+point of rock, and looked up and down the river. The
+more they gazed, the more wonderful it seemed, the
+harder to take it all in, and the harder to put into
+words.</p>
+
+<p>On a pinnacle of rock, rising from the end of the
+point on which they had walked, was a great nest, in
+which the boys noticed two large and downy young
+birds. Flying up and down over the river, sometimes
+low over the water, again far above the heads of those
+who stood on the edge of the ca�on, were great
+hawks&mdash;eagles, Hugh afterward said they were, but
+Jack recognized them as fish-hawks&mdash;and while they
+were standing there, one of these great birds brought
+a fish to the nest, and tearing it to pieces with its
+beak, gave the fragments to its greedy young. Jack
+noticed, also, little sparrow-hawks flying about the
+edge of the ca�on, and, far below at the edge of the
+river, saw little birds flying from point to point, which
+he thought must be dippers.</p>
+
+<p>The whole day was spent here, for no one seemed
+to wish to return to the camp; but at last, as the sun
+swung low, and the pangs of hunger began to be felt,
+they returned to their horses, and mounting them,
+were soon at camp once more.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span>
+The next morning they set out up the river to go to
+the lake. On the way they passed two well known
+places. The Mud Volcano, a huge hot spring of gray
+clay, which steamed, and bubbled, and thumped, and
+sometimes spouted, throwing up its mud to a great
+height. Jack in his mind compared the boiling mud
+to mush boiling in a kettle, but as this pool of mud
+was fifty feet in diameter, the comparison was not a
+good one. All about, the trees were splashed with
+mud, which had dried on them, showing that at some
+time, not long before, there had been an eruption.
+Nearby, on the hillside, was a steam spring in a little
+cavern, which they had heard of as the Devil's Workshop.
+From this cavern came constantly great volumes
+of steam, while within it were heard hollow
+bubbling noises, which sounded like the clang and
+clash of great pieces of machinery turning. It was a
+mysterious place, and neither one of the three cared to
+go very close to it. There were boiling springs and
+sulphur vents hereabout in great plenty, and the place
+seemed an uncanny one.</p>
+
+<p>The way to the lake was attractive: it led through
+forests, sometimes of living green, and at others killed
+by fire. Occasionally they passed through pretty
+grassy meadows, and from them had charming views
+of the river, which grew wider as they approached the
+lake, and seemed to spread out over wide flats. To
+the right the mountains rose sharply, forming the
+"Elephant's Back," a thousand feet in height.</p>
+
+<p>Presently they came to a broad opening, and saw
+before them the lake. At the outlet the grass grew
+thick and rank, and in the marshes, pond-holes and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span>
+sloughs here, they saw many flocks of wild ducks and
+geese; and sand-pipers and beach birds fed along the
+shore. Some swans were seen, and a few great white
+pelicans.</p>
+
+<p>Their fresh meat was now exhausted, and for a day
+or two they had been living on trout, of which great
+numbers were caught in the streams that they had
+crossed, for fish are abundant everywhere in the
+mountains. When they made camp that night,
+Jack got out his line, and cutting a pole, went down
+to the shore to catch some fish, while Hugh and Joe
+made the fire.</p>
+
+<p>Jack had hardly thrown his hook in the water when
+it was seized, and he dragged a large fish to shore.
+As he was taking it off the hook however, he noticed
+a bunch on its side, and after examining it for a
+moment, cut into this bunch with his knife, and drew
+from it a long white worm. He got a dozen trout,
+but all of them seemed to be afflicted with this
+parasite, and finally putting up his line he carried
+them to the fire, and showed them to Hugh. Both
+Hugh and Jack agreed that these fish were not fit to
+eat, and that night they supped on dried meat and
+back-fat.</p>
+
+<p>As they had made camp that night they had
+noticed, just beyond them, two white tents, and had
+seen some horses feeding near the lake shore. Shortly
+after their supper, a man walked into the camp, and
+after saluting them, sat down by the fire. A little
+talk showed that he was a member of the geological
+survey that worked in the Park, and he had been
+attracted to their camp by the fact that they had an
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span>
+Indian lodge. He was a pleasant man, and seemed
+quite willing to talk, and to answer all their questions,
+and very much interested in his work. After he and
+Hugh had talked together for a while, Jack ventured
+to ask some questions about the Park, and especially
+about the place where they now were. "Won't you
+tell me, sir," he said, "what you can about this big
+lake that we are on. It looks to me awful big to be
+up here high in the mountains. Of course I know it
+isn't anything like the Great Lakes; still it's the
+largest lake I ever saw."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a large lake," said their visitor, "for it contains
+about 150 square miles of water, and there is probably
+no lake in North America of equal size at so
+great an elevation. You see, we are about 7700 feet
+above the level of the sea. Roughly speaking, the
+shape of the lake is like that of an open hand which
+lacks the first and middle finger; the wrist is the
+northern end of the lake, the west arm answers to the
+outstretched thumb, and the south and southeast
+arms to the ring and little finger. If you are going to
+travel around it, you will feel that it is a lovely sheet
+of water. It is very picturesque, and in fair weather
+it lies here like a great sapphire beneath the unclouded
+sky. But when the storms come up, and the wind
+rolls down along the mountain sides, the lake can get
+up a great sea, and one would not care to be out on it.
+But in fair weather it is very beautiful&mdash;to me the
+loveliest spot in all the park. And what is more, I
+never get tired of it; the more I see it, and the more
+familiar I become with its scenery, the lovelier it is.
+From every promontory and every bay, and from
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span>
+every hillside above it, one has always a different
+view, and each view has a charm that is all its own."</p>
+
+<p>The geologist sat there long with them that night,
+talking to them in a most interesting way about the
+Park and the geysers and the ca�ons. He told them
+that all this country was volcanic in origin, and that
+for some reason or other, which he did not know, the
+heat still remained close to the surface of the earth;
+and that this was the reason that there were so many
+hot springs and geysers here.</p>
+
+<p>"It's one of the most interesting regions in the
+world," he said, "and one of the most beautiful. As
+yet, people do not appreciate it. Many people do
+not even know that it exists; but the time will come
+when thousands will gather here each summer, from
+all quarters of the world, to see its beauties. Geologically,
+it is most interesting, and already geologists
+from all over the world are coming to see it, or are
+making plans to come. I predict that the time is
+coming when the Yellowstone Park will be acknowledged
+to be the most wonderful place in the world."</p>
+
+<p>As the visitor rose to go, he looked about the lodge
+and said, "So this is an Indian lodge, is it? I've
+often read about them, but this is the first one I've
+ever seen. They seem warm and comfortable, but are
+they not rather smoky?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh, "they're not smoky; but you
+must remember they're not made to stand up in; people
+in the lodge are expected to sit down, or to lie
+down. If there's a fire burning, and no wind blowing,
+or if the air is damp and heavy, smoke often gathers
+in the top of the lodge, and a man standing in it finds
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span>
+about his head more than he likes. Stoop down a
+little bit and you will see that the smoke no longer
+troubles you." The geologist did as Hugh advised,
+and seemed to be greatly interested by the discovery
+that it was as he had said; and then bidding them
+good night, he left the lodge.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VII<br />
+GEYSERS AND HOT SPRINGS</h2>
+
+<p>They were afoot before the sun had arisen next
+morning, and the outlook over the lake was beautiful.
+Away to the east and south were many mountain
+peaks, the names of which they did not know; but all
+grand and majestic, and far away to the south was
+one larger than any of the others, and covered with
+snow. As Jack looked at them, he saw these snowy
+crowns take on a glow of pink, and then grow brighter
+and brighter, and then could see the sunlight creep
+down the sides of the mountains, and finally it was
+broad day. The islands in the lake interested him,
+and he thought them beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>As they passed the geologist's camp, they saw him
+standing with his back to the fire, and he called out
+good morning to them; then, signing to Hugh to
+draw near, he said, "Excuse me for asking you, but I
+suppose you have been to the Upper and Lower Geyser
+Basins?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "we've been to one geyser
+basin; that one on the way to the falls, but that's the
+only one we've seen."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said the geologist, "of course you know
+your own affairs best, but it seems to me you will
+make a great mistake if you do not get to the Upper
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span>
+and Lower Geyser Basins, because it's there that the
+most wonderful geysers are to be seen."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "we're travelling through
+here to see the sights, and I'd be mightily obliged to
+you if you'd tell me what we'd better do. We are
+strange to the country, and don't know anything
+about it."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall be very glad to help you in any way that I
+can," said the geologist, "and you certainly should
+not miss the geyser basins. You can follow the trail
+along the lake here for about twenty miles, and then
+turn to your right, at the end of the Thumb, and
+strike northwest across through the timber, to the
+streams running into the Firehole River, and follow
+them down, and that will take you to the Lower
+Geyser Basin; then from there you must travel up
+the Firehole to the Upper Geyser Basin. Then, if
+you want to, you can cross over to Shoshone and
+Lewis Lakes, and go on south, following Snake River,
+to Jackson's Lake. From there you can go wherever
+you please, but if you choose to follow up Pacific
+Creek, and pass through Two Ocean Pass, that will
+bring you back on the upper Yellowstone, and then
+you can come down to the lake again."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "we want to go south, and to
+get down on the streams that run into the Platte.
+I reckon we might as well go down to Jackson's Lake
+the way you say, and then strike across the country,
+over into the Wind River drainage, and then over
+onto the Platte."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I guess that is one very good way to go if
+you know the way across the range," said their friend.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span>
+"Well," said Hugh, as he started on, "we'll try to
+find a way, and anyhow we're mightily obliged to
+you for telling us about those two geyser basins,
+and we'll sure see them before we go south;" and
+saying goodbye to their acquaintance, they rode on.</p>
+
+<p>A few miles further along the trail, they came to a
+natural bridge, spanning a brook which now carried
+little water, but showed that in the spring it was
+much larger. The stream had burrowed its way
+beneath a dike of lava, at right angles to its course,
+and was bridged by a nearly perfect arch of rock,
+about six feet thick above the keystone. From the
+top of the bridge on its lower side to the bed of the
+stream is about sixty feet, and the bridge is twenty-five
+feet long, and the arch fifteen feet in width. The
+lava stands in upright layers, from one to four feet
+in thickness, and seems to have separated into
+these thin plates in cooling.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the bridge, the dim trail which they followed
+led for the most part through the pleasant
+green timber, but at midday they passed over several
+hog-backs, from which the timber had long ago been
+burned off, most of the tree trunks had rotted away,
+and only a few charred fragments of the roots remained
+on the ground. No young growth had
+sprung up to replace the old, and the ground was
+bare: not merely bare of timber, but bare even of
+underbrush, weeds and grass. Exposed for years to
+the full force of the weather, the rains and melting
+snows had swept away all the rotted pine needles,
+twigs and fallen branches which had formed the old
+forest floor and soil, leaving only the fine lava sand
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span>
+and gravel, without any soil to support vegetation.
+Dry, thirsty and desolate, these hog-backs resembled
+the desert, a barren waste in the midst of the green
+pine forest.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh turned to Jack and said, "You see, son, what
+the forest fires may do in these mountains. When
+the timber burns off, unless there are seeds in the soil
+to spring up at once, the snow, melting quickly,
+washes away the soil, and leaves the rock, whether it
+is solid or broken up fine like this here, uncovered
+and without the power to support anything. Every
+year the snow melting quickly washes off a larger
+tract, and so these little deserts increase in size. The
+time is coming, I am afraid, when these mountains will
+all be burned over, and then what the ranchmen down
+on the prairie are going to do for water for their hay
+meadows and their crops I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"But, Hugh," said Jack, "aren't there laws forbidding
+people to set the timber on fire?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "there's plenty of laws, but the
+trouble is nobody pays any attention to them."</p>
+
+<p>Toward evening they camped on the shores of the
+lake, at what Hugh supposed was the Thumb, and he
+told the boys that the next day he was going to start
+off northwest through the timber, and try to strike
+the streams leading down to the Firehole.</p>
+
+<p>Making an early start, they rode up the hill, following
+a deep ravine through the cool green timber, over
+ground covered with feathery moss, where the hoofs of
+the animals made no sound as they struck the ground.
+Soon the lake was lost to view, and then, on all sides
+of them rose the tall straight boles of the pine trees.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span>
+There seemed not very much life. A few small birds
+were seen in the tops of the trees. Some gray jays
+gathered near them when they stopped at midday to
+eat, and uttered soft mellow whistles, and two came
+down very close to Jack and Joe, and picked up little
+bits of dried meat that they threw to them.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after they started on, they came to a stream,
+and following that down, about three or four o'clock
+rode into the Lower Geyser Basin.</p>
+
+<p>Here was a large wet meadow, with green grass, and
+plenty of good camping spots; and before long they
+had the lodge up, and closing the door, started out to
+make a tour of the basin. The many geysers, large
+and small, and the wonderful hot springs of surpassing
+clearness and deep blue color astonished and delighted
+Hugh and the boys. Many of the springs
+were very hot, seeming to boil from beneath, bubbles
+of steam following one another to the surface, and
+then exploding. One of these large springs, about
+twenty-five feet long and more than half as wide,
+gave a vigorous display, beginning first to boil at the
+middle, and then to spout; at length throwing the
+water about in all directions, from twenty to forty
+feet in height. The margins of all these geysers and
+hot springs were beautifully ornamented with yellow
+gray and pinkish deposits of stone, which took the
+form of beads and corals and sponges, and all the tree
+trunks and branches seen in and near them were
+partly turned to stone. Close to the geysers were
+what are called the paint-pots. These are boiling
+pools of finely divided clay of various colors. The
+air seemed to be forced up slowly through the thick
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span>
+fluid, making little puffs, much like those that one
+would see in a kettle of boiling indian meal. Some
+of these paint-pots were very large, others small, and
+they were of a variety of colors&mdash;some red, some
+white, some yellow, and some softly gray. The clay
+was exceedingly smooth to the touch.</p>
+
+<p>The Geyser Basin was long, and contained a great
+many wonderful springs and geysers, of which some,
+like the Grotto, had built up great craters for themselves,
+twelve or sixteen feet high.</p>
+
+<p>The Grotto was at the end of the Lower Geyser
+Basin, and from here they turned back to go to their
+camp. Much talk was had during the evening of the
+wonderful things that they had seen, and of what
+they expected to see in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>An early start brought them to the Upper Geyser
+Basin not long after the sun had risen. Not far from
+the Grotto which they had seen last night was the
+Giant, with an enormous crater, from which great volumes
+of steam were escaping, and where the water
+could be heard boiling below the surface, and occasionally
+rising in great jets which splashed over the top.
+They camped near at hand, and turning out their
+horses, proceeded on foot to see Old Faithful, the
+Bee-hive, the Giantess, the Grand, and many other
+large geysers, besides many hot springs wonderful
+in color and in the purity of their waters.</p>
+
+<p>Just before they reached Old Faithful, the roar of its
+discharge was heard, and its wonderful shaft of water
+was seen rising, by two or three rapid leaps finally to a
+height of over one hundred feet, with clouds of steam
+reaching far higher, and drifting off with the wind.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span>
+The great column of water maintained its height for
+fully five minutes, and then, dropping by degrees, it
+sank down and disappeared. All about the crater the
+naked shell of silica which surrounds it was flooded
+with water, so hot that Jack and Joe, who tested it
+with their fingers, shook them violently and at once
+thrust them into their mouths. The crater of this geyser
+is very beautiful. It stands on a little mound and
+is four or five feet high, and its lips are rounded
+into many strange and beautiful forms, beaded and
+shining like glistening pearls, while all about it are
+little terraced pools of the clearest water, with scalloped
+and beaded borders. The margins and floors of
+these pools are tinted with most delicate shades,
+white, buff, brown and gray, and in many of them are
+beautiful little pebbles, which are also opalescent.</p>
+
+<p>Many cruel hands had been at work breaking down
+these beautiful borders, to carry them away, and
+people who had visited the place had scrawled their
+names on the smooth pebbles and in the beautiful
+flooring of the pools.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh said to Jack, "Well, we come from the
+Indians, and we belong in a cow camp; but we ain't
+low down enough to spoil pretty things like these, by
+writing our names on 'em, are we, son?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Hugh, we're not," said Jack, "and I'm mighty
+glad of it. I don't think anybody that had any love
+for pretty things would want to spoil them in this
+way, or take any of this beautiful bordering away
+with them. You get these pretty things away from
+their surroundings, and they are not pretty any longer.
+It's like picking a beautiful flower and carrying it
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span>
+away with you; before you've got far, it's all faded and
+gone, and good for nothing except to throw away."</p>
+
+<p>During the day, which seemed to them all too short,
+the geysers were good to them. The Bee-hive played,
+throwing up a slender shaft of water to a height
+of about 200 feet; the Grand Geyser sent up a stream
+eighty feet in height; the Castle played, but its exhibition
+was not very showy compared with the others
+that they had seen. But toward afternoon, the greatest
+of all the geysers, the Giantess, gave an exhibition
+of her power, throwing up a vast quantity of water,
+sometimes to a height of one hundred feet. While
+the geyser was playing, Jack and Joe brought a large
+tree stump and threw it into the basin, and it was
+instantly whirled to a height of 200 feet, looking at
+the last like a tiny piece of wood. The wind, which
+was blowing, kept the steam and water from going
+nearly as high as the stump went. The roar of the
+geyser was tremendous, and its force shook the
+ground all about, so that those who were looking on
+were almost afraid.</p>
+
+<p>As they returned to camp that night they saw a
+party of tourists moving about among the geysers, and
+passing near they could see that they were busy with
+axes and a pick, cutting away and prying out the borders
+of some of the geyser pools. It was an irritating
+sight, but they could do nothing, and much of the
+way back to camp was devoted to talking of the
+wickedness of destroying the beauties of this place,
+and declaring that the government ought to do something
+to protect the wonders of the region from the
+destruction which constantly threatened them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span>
+At night, after supper, they sat in the lodge talking
+about what they should do to-morrow, and for the
+following days. Generally, their idea was to travel
+in a southeasterly direction, and finally to bring up at
+Mr. Sturgis' ranch; but just how they should go was
+uncertain. Neither Jack nor Joe had ever before
+travelled in the mountains, and they were therefore
+quite dependent on Hugh for advice. Jack said, "Of
+course, Hugh, we want to get back to the ranch, but
+then, too, we want to see as much as we can of what
+there is in the mountains; but I suppose we'll have
+to travel by some trail or some road, because we can't
+take the horses everywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that's so," said Hugh; "we can't go everywhere,
+but then again, when you are travelling with a
+pack train there's mighty few places where you can't
+go; you're mighty free and independent when you're
+packing. Of course you can't take a pack train up a
+cut cliff; but, on the other hand, the rough mountains
+and down timber don't cut much figure; you can
+pretty much always go round, and keep your general
+direction. You can go and come about as you want
+to."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "of course I never travelled
+before with a pack train in the mountains, but I tell
+you I like it. It's a mighty pretty sight to see the
+white packs winding in and out among the timber, or
+to see them following one another along a narrow
+ridge, or zigzaging up and down a steep hillside, as
+we've seen them since we've been here in the Park."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "it's a nice way to travel; of
+course it's a little slower than a wagon, and it takes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span>
+you some time to load and unload; but then again
+you can often go straight, instead of going a long way
+round, and I like it."</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you," said Joe, "I like to watch these horses.
+I don't know whether they've ever been in the mountains
+before, but it seems to me they're smart. They
+seem to know a whole lot, and I notice that when
+they're going along among the trees, sometimes I see
+a horse start to go between two trees, where I think
+there isn't room enough for the pack, but generally
+they get through. Then, sometimes, going under
+branches it seems to me that the pack has got to
+strike the branches, but the horses generally get
+under them without touching. Of course if they
+follow old Baldy close, there is always room enough;
+but now and then that dun horse tries to cut off a corner,
+and get in ahead of one of the others, and then
+sometimes I think he's bound to get caught. He only
+did so once, day before yesterday, and then he went
+between two trees where there wasn't room enough;
+then he pushed and pushed and pushed for a long
+time, and I had to run round in front of him and drive
+him back, and then he got out."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "horses that are used to the
+mountains, or mules or burros, get to be mighty
+smart in going through thick timber, and if the packs
+are properly put on, there isn't likely to be much
+trouble, unless you strike down timber. Of course,
+down timber is bad."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what is down timber, Hugh?" said Jack.
+"I've heard of places in the woods back east where a
+hurricane goes along and tears up all the trees in a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span>
+strip for miles in length. They call that a wind-fall
+there. Is that the way down timber is made here?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh, "we've plenty of wind here, but
+it don't often act that way. Down timber comes like
+this: say that you have a rough and rocky mountain
+side, where the timber stands thick, most of the trees
+will be from six to ten inches in diameter, but they'll
+all be pretty near of a size. Now, suppose a fire
+passes over this, and kills all these trees; likely it
+doesn't burn them to amount to anything, but it's
+hot enough to sort o' cook the sap, and kill the trees.
+They'll stand there naked, with the bark gradually
+drying up and peeling off them, maybe for twenty,
+thirty or forty years; and likely while they're standing
+there, there'll be a new growth of young pines
+springing up among them, and grow to quite a height.
+But after a while these dead trees get white and
+weathered, and the dead roots that hold them in the
+ground keep on rotting and rotting, and at last these
+roots become so weak that there's nothing to support
+the tall trunk that stands there, and then with every
+big wind that comes blowing along, some of the trees
+get blown over, and fall to the ground. They don't
+all fall at once, but some may fall to-day with a
+south wind, and some may fall next week with a west
+wind, and some the week after with a north wind. In
+this way they're falling all the time, and in all sorts
+of directions, and presently the timber will lie piled
+up on the ground there, criss-cross in all directions.
+Now, if the logs are not more than a foot or two
+above the ground, and don't lie too close together,
+you can take your train through them, but if they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span>
+lie three or four feet high, of course the horses can't
+step or jump over them, and you've either got to go
+winding round among them, picking out the low
+places where the animals can get across, or else you've
+got to chop your way through, or else you've got to
+back out and go round. That's down timber."</p>
+
+<p>"But Hugh," said Jack, "I should think it would
+be kind of dangerous to ride through one of those
+patches of dead timber when the wind is blowing;
+they might fall on you."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "so they might. I've sometimes
+had to ride through a patch of that timber
+when the trees were falling all about, but I never
+happened to have one fall on me, nor on any animal
+that I was driving. The chances are mighty few that
+you'll get hit. I mind one time a big tree fell, with
+the top about twenty feet from one of my animals,
+and threw dirt and splinters all about him. The
+horse was scared a whole lot, and ran away; but of
+course I got him again."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII<br />
+ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE</h2>
+
+<p>The next morning they made an early start, and
+following up the Firehole, turned up a branch coming
+in from the east, only a short distance beyond Old
+Faithful. They purposed to go over to Shoshone
+Lake, and camp there, and to do this they must pass
+over the Continental Divide, for the Firehole finds its
+way through the Madison River, and the Missouri, to
+the Atlantic Ocean, while the waters of the Shoshone
+Lake fall into Snake River, then into the Columbia,
+and so at last reach the Pacific.</p>
+
+<p>The way was pleasant, through park-like openings
+and green timber, and the distance not great. There
+was no trail, but they followed up a narrow grassy
+valley, whose slopes on either side were clothed with
+pines.</p>
+
+<p>At last, when Hugh thought they must be near the
+Divide, they found down timber, and began to wind
+about among the logs. Little by little, however,
+matters grew worse, and presently a stick was encountered
+over which old Baldy could not step, but
+on which he caught his foot and almost fell. Here all
+hands dismounted, and getting an ax out of a pack,
+Hugh and the boys went ahead, and by lifting some
+of the larger sticks, and breaking smaller ones, and a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span>
+little chopping, a way was soon made by which the
+horses could pass along.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond this timber was an open and almost level
+country, which Hugh declared was the Divide, and
+passing along a little further, they began to go down
+a gentle hill. Here there were park-like meadows and
+low wooded hills on either side. There were a few
+little gullies, but no water; and in the dry stream-beds
+and water-holes were many tracks of elk, all made in
+the spring when the ground was soft. From the
+summit of this Divide, when snows are melting in
+the early summer, little trickles of water pour down the
+opposite sides of the mountains, some to the north,
+to find their way into the Firehole; others south
+toward Snake River. Hugh followed the general
+direction of one of these water-courses, which constantly
+grew larger, and presently turned into one still
+wider, whose sandy bottom was dotted with great
+blocks of black lava. Hugh pointed out these to the
+boys, and said to them, "That's the stuff that in
+old times many of the Indians used to make their
+arrow points from. It must have been a great article
+of trade, for away up north of the boundary line I
+have seen little piles of chips of that black glass lying
+on the prairie, where men have been making arrow-heads,
+and I know that there wasn't any of the rock
+within 400 miles."</p>
+
+<p>All along the valley of this dry stream was a beautiful
+park of gently rolling country, with timbered
+knolls and open grassy intervales. Some of the trees
+were very large&mdash;two or three feet in diameter.</p>
+
+<p>It was early in the afternoon when they reached
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span>
+Shoshone Lake, and riding along its smooth, firm
+beach, camped in a little point of spruces. The lake
+was large, and looked as if it should have a fish in it.
+Jack got out his rod and put it together, and standing
+it against a tree, went back into the open meadow
+where the horses were feeding, to catch grasshoppers.
+He caught half a dozen, and then, returning, fished
+faithfully for quite a long distance along the shore,
+but without success. Neither could he see anywhere
+that fish were rising, and he wondered whether it
+could be possible that this beautiful lake, which
+seemed an ideal home for trout, should have none in
+it. Joe, on the other hand, as soon as camp had been
+made, had taken his rifle and started out on foot,
+working along the edge of the lake and looking for
+game. He found many old elk tracks and a very few
+made by deer, but went quite a long distance without
+seeing anything. Then, turning away from the shore
+of the lake, and taking the hillside at some distance
+from it, he began to work back to the camp. Here
+there were more deer tracks, but none that seemed
+worth while for him to follow, and he began to feel
+discouraged. When he had come almost opposite the
+camp he crossed a wide dry water-course, going now
+rather carelessly, though still making no noise, yet
+not trying to keep out of sight. As he climbed the
+gentle slope, after crossing the little valley, and had
+almost reached the top, he stopped, and turned about
+and looked backward, and there to his astonishment
+saw, projecting above a patch of low willows
+and weeds, the heads of two fawns. They were staring
+at him most innocently, but the camp needed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span>
+meat, and bringing his rifle to his shoulder he fired
+at the neck of one of them, and the little deer disappeared,
+while the other turned about and raced away
+through the brush.</p>
+
+<p>Going to the place Joe found the fawn quite a small
+one, though it had already lost its spotted coat. He
+dressed it, and then throwing it on his shoulders
+walked quickly to the camp. As he came in front
+of the lodge, Hugh said to him, "Hello, Joe, what
+have you got there, a jack rabbit?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "it is not much bigger, but it's
+the only thing I have seen except another of the
+same size, and that I could not shoot at."</p>
+
+<p>That night as the sun went down the wind began
+to blow a fresh dry wholesome breeze from the west.
+The wind raised quite a sea on the lake, and big waves
+tumbled up on the beach one after another, so fast
+that it was not an easy matter to get a bucket of
+water without at the same time getting a wet foot.
+Jack and Joe walked along the beach a little way.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know, Joe," said Jack, "this looks to me
+just like the seashore; the wind blows in the same
+way, and the waves have the same white-caps, and
+the surf roars as it pounds on the beach; and there is
+the moon on the water. Why it seems to me just like
+some nights I have walked on the beach, back east on
+the Long Island shore."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "it's not like anything I ever
+saw before. Up in our country we don't have sand
+beaches like this, though we do have the lake, and the
+waves and the wind."</p>
+
+<p>The animals were packed early next day, and they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span>
+followed the shores of the lake southward. In some
+places they could see where elk had passed along
+recently, and there were tracks of bulls and cows and
+calves. In some places, too, along the beach the pines,
+which were small yet looked old, were all bent toward
+the eastward, and had no branches on the western
+side. Joe pointed these trees out to Hugh and said,
+"Why is it Hugh that these trees seem all bent one
+way, and have no branches on the other side; is it
+the wind?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "the wind. You'll see that
+in lots of places, especially on mountain tops, and
+along big waters like this, where the wind blows
+mostly from the west and northwest, and gets a wide
+sweep."</p>
+
+<p>The wind was still blowing hard, and the lake was
+in a turmoil. The air was cold, and all hands wore
+their coats as they rode along.</p>
+
+<p>A day's journey took them by Shoshone Lake and
+Lewis Lake, and they camped below it on Lewis Fork.
+For much of the distance the trail passed through an
+attractive open country, full of streams and springs,
+and dotted with clumps of thick willow brush; while
+on the higher lands were the ever-present pines. To
+the left was the lofty ridge of the Red Mountain
+Range, down which half a hundred beautiful cascades
+hurried toward the river. To the right was the
+stream, and beyond the steep sides of the Pitchstone
+Plateau, so called from the black glossy fragments of
+the lava rock, of which the soil is largely made up. It
+was evident that this would be a hard trail in the
+early spring, for it was low and wet, and animals
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span>
+would have trouble in passing over it at any except
+the dry season.</p>
+
+<p>A few miles below the camp they began to look
+for a ford. The stream looked deep and difficult, yet
+it was necessary for them to cross it, for on the east
+side the mountains came down close to the river in a
+steep and impassable jumble of slide rock. Just
+above them they could see a great water-fall, not far
+below the lake. It was now getting toward night,
+and Hugh was a little uncertain whether to cross this
+stream, or to camp on this side. However, he determined
+to cross, and stopping, had the boys catch up
+the pack animals, while he rode into the stream to
+prospect for a ford. He kept diagonally down the
+river, going very slowly, and feeling for the shoalest
+places, but at last, reached the opposite bank and
+climbed out. Then, turning about, he recrossed, and
+telling the boys to keep the horses close to him, he led
+them into the stream. The ford was rather deep, the
+water coming more than half way up the horses'
+bodies, so that they all tucked their feet up behind
+them on the saddle, and rode along with some anxiety,
+lest a false step or a stumble over the great stones
+which formed the river bottom should throw down
+one of the animals, and so wet either a pack or
+a rider. However, the crossing was made safely,
+and then climbing the steep hill, they kept on
+through the timber, soon, however, camping by a little
+spring, in an opening where there was food for the
+animals.</p>
+
+<p>By the time camp was made, the sun had set and
+it was too late to hunt. The little deer had all been
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span>
+eaten, and once more they made their meal on dried
+meat and back-fat.</p>
+
+<p>The next day they kept on through the green
+timber, riding over ridges and at a distance from the
+stream, though now and then they had glimpses of
+its dark hurrying waters. To the right were seen
+some little lakes, one of them covered with water-fowl.
+Across the trail that they were following&mdash;if
+it could be called a trail&mdash;was some fallen timber, but
+nothing that delayed them. Jack noticed that some
+of the living trees were curiously bent in their growth,
+sometimes at right angles to the vertical a foot or two
+from the ground, the trunk growing six inches or a
+foot horizontally, and then turning once more straight
+toward the sky, the remainder of the tree being
+straight as an arrow. In some cases the bend was more
+than this, the tree growing straight up for a foot, and
+then turning over, growing down for a few inches or a
+foot, and then making another curve, and growing
+upright once more. Some of these curves were almost
+shaped like the letter S, and Jack kept wondering
+what caused these bends. As they stopped at midday
+to unsaddle and let the horses feed and to eat something
+themselves, Jack asked Hugh about the curious
+way in which these trees grew.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh smiled and said, "I don't much wonder you
+ask about that, son. I remember that I used to
+think about that a good deal, and wonder how it
+happened. But it is easy enough to explain if you
+once get onto it, and you can easily enough get onto
+it if you travel around through the mountains
+enough."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span>
+"You know I told you the other day," he continued,
+"that when a country has been burned over, the trees
+stand for a good many years, and then they commence
+to fall in all directions. Likely enough before they
+begin to fall, a whole lot of young trees and sprouts
+have started from the ground, and are growing among
+them. Now, nothing is more likely than that some of
+these falling trees may happen to fall upon these
+young saplings and sprouts. Some of them they smash
+down flat, and the sprout dies; but sometimes they
+fall so as just to bend a sprout over, or so that a little
+small sprout just growing is bound to grow up against
+the log as the sprout grows larger. These young
+trees are springy and bend easily. Of course the
+ones that are smashed down and broken off short are
+killed; we never hear anything more of them. But
+likely enough there are some young and hardy plants
+caught beneath the tops or branches of the fallen trees
+within a foot or two of the ground, and not much hurt
+but just held down. Sometimes these little trees are
+pressed flat to the ground, and when they are, they
+usually die. But if they are only bent over a few
+inches, or a foot or two from the ground, they don't
+always die. Instead of that they keep on growing,
+and of course the top of the growing tree keeps on
+reaching up all the time toward the light. No matter
+if it is bent flat, it tends to turn upward, so that all of
+it beyond the place where the dead tree is pressing
+on it grows straight, just like all the other trees
+around it. Then, after a while the dead stick which
+is holding the young tree down, rots, and at last disappears.
+The injured tree grows larger and larger,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span>
+and at last gets to be a big tree; and there is then
+nothing to show how this big tree should have grown
+in such a bent, queer fashion."</p>
+
+<p>"Well now, Hugh, that's mighty interesting," said
+Jack, "and I ought to have worked it out for myself,
+for three or four times to-day I saw dead trees pressing
+little green sprouts over to one side; but I never
+thought about that being the reason for the bends in
+these big trees. The fact is, I never thought of them
+bending while the trees were young, but supposed it
+must be some accident or disease that had struck the
+trees after they were big."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "you see it's all simple enough,
+if you understand it."</p>
+
+<p>"Simple!" said Jack, "Why it's simple as rolling
+off a log; but you've got to understand the reason."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "you keep your eyes open as
+you ride through the timber, and you'll see the very
+thing I've been talking about, happening before
+your face all the time."</p>
+
+<p>The wind blew fiercely all day long, though when
+they were in the timber they hardly felt it, and only
+the sighing of the pines and occasionally the crash of
+some distant tree told of the force of the gale. They
+crossed Snake River about noon, and kept on southward.
+During a halt at the river all hands went to
+the fishing, and caught some splendid trout, which
+they promptly cooked and which gave them a delicious
+meal. A little more fishing furnished them with
+enough fish for two or three meals more, and Jack
+was hard at work trying to catch a big one that he
+had seen rise, when he saw two great shadows on the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span>
+water, and looking up, saw only a few yards above him
+a pair of great sand-hill cranes. They were not in the
+least afraid, and flying on a little further, alighted in
+the meadow where they fed, walking about in most
+dignified fashion until the train started on again, and
+alarmed them.</p>
+
+<p>As they went into camp that afternoon at a little
+spring, Hugh said to the boys, "Now, look here; if one
+of you don't go out pretty soon and kill something,
+I'll have to do that myself. This camp needs fresh
+meat. Dried meat and back-fat is good; fish are
+good; but we want either a deer or an elk; or, better
+still, if you can find it, a buffalo; but I reckon these
+bison here in the mountains are a little too smart for
+any of us. They're pretty scarce, and they're pretty
+watchful."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "which one of us shall go? We
+can't both go, because one has got to stay and help
+drive the animals. I'll toss up with you, Joe, to see
+which shall hunt to-morrow morning."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Joe, "I'll toss up;" but as no one
+of them had a coin, Jack took a fresh chip, and rubbing
+some black earth on one side of it, said, "We'll
+call that black side heads, and the other tails; and
+Hugh will throw the chip. You call, Joe." Hugh
+tossed the chip into the air, and Joe called heads.
+But the chip came down the clean side up, and so
+Jack was to go hunting next morning.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the animals were packed, Jack started
+off, keeping to the right of the trail and up the hill.
+He knew, of course, that at this time of the year the
+elk were likely to be found high up, and the deer,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span>
+too; for the flies and mosquitoes were bad. The
+underbrush was thick, and there were many marshy
+places, and once this hillside had been covered with a
+great forest, for it was strewn with logs. The underbrush
+seemed higher and thicker than he had been
+accustomed to, and he saw many sorts of plants that
+he did not remember to have seen before; and at last
+it struck him that perhaps as he was now on the western
+side of the Continental Divide, the rain-fall might
+be greater, and that this might make a difference in
+the vegetation. Willow and alders, and other brush,
+made riding rather difficult, and besides that, the hillsides
+grew steeper and steeper, until at last Jack dismounted,
+and clambering up on foot, left Pawnee to
+follow, as he had long ago been trained to do. Getting
+up on a high ridge, bald now, though once forest-grown,
+for the ground was strewn with great charred
+and rotting tree-trunks, long before killed by fire, he
+followed the ridge toward higher land, and gradually
+climbing, at last reached a commanding height, from
+which he saw the beautiful Jackson's Lake, and its
+lovely surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>To the eastward the Red Mountain Ridge, rising
+above him, cut off the view, but northeast he could
+see the valley of Snake River, broad near at hand,
+but narrowing further off, until the mountains, closing
+in, hid the silver ribbon of the stream's course. To
+the west were the splendid gray and white masses of
+the Teton range, low and rounded toward the north,
+with long easy ridges of moderate steepness, and
+crowned with great fields of snow. Toward the southward
+the mountains became more and more abrupt,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span>
+until at last the highest peak of all, Jack knew must
+be the Grand Teton. From this pinnacle the ridge
+gradually sank away again, becoming lower and lower
+in the blue and misty distance. Immediately under
+the ridge, and south of where Jack stood, was Jackson's
+Lake. He had often heard Hugh speak of
+Jackson's Hole and Jackson's Lake, spots for many
+years hardly known to white men, and about which
+most marvelous stories were told. Here, men used to
+say&mdash;the miners that the streams were paved with
+nuggets of gold, the trappers that the rivers and forests
+abounded in fur, the hunters that game was so
+abundant and so tame that there was always plenty to
+eat, and the camp never starved; and now this wonderful
+region lay before him.</p>
+
+<p>And yet he knew that within the past few years
+many people had passed through this place. He
+knew that the miners had washed the sands of the
+rivers, but found that they did not pay; that trappers
+had caught the beaver and the marten, and had soon
+trapped almost all of them. Now it was for him to
+find whether the game was as plenty as had been said.</p>
+
+<p>At all events, Jackson's Lake with the wide meadows
+that surrounded it, and the superb mountains that
+walled it in on one side, made this a lovely spot.
+The lake shone in the sunlight like a sheet of silver,
+and was dotted with pine-clad islands. On the west its
+waters flowed close beneath the great mountains
+which rose above it, but on the other three sides a
+belt of forest grew close to the water, and back of
+this belt, broad meadow lands, with groups of trees
+and low rounded clumps of willows, looked almost
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span>
+like a park. Further to the eastward bare ridges rose
+higher and higher, forming the foot-hills of the main
+range, and still further to the east and southeast were
+massive mountains, more distant&mdash;and so seeming
+lower&mdash;than the Teton Range, but which were the
+Continental Divide. Jack looked, and looked, and
+enjoyed this beautiful view; but after a little he realized
+that time was passing, and that he must move on,
+and do his hunting, and get to camp.</p>
+
+<p>He crossed the ridge, and began to ride down the
+side of the mountain toward the south, following the
+crest of a hog-back, which would take him down to
+the valley of the lake by a gentle slope. Below, and
+to his left, was a narrow valley, in which stood green
+timber, and among the green timber much that was
+dead and much that was down.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>Chapter IX<br />
+AN ELK HUNT UNDER THE TETONS</h2>
+
+<p>He was riding along slowly, letting Pawnee make
+his own way among the loose rocks and tree-trunks,
+when he caught sight of an animal standing with its
+tail toward him, in a little opening among the trees.
+For an instant he thought it was a buckskin horse,
+and the idea flashed through his mind that there must
+be a camp down there. Almost before the thought
+had taken form, the animal moved a little, and he saw
+that it was an elk. He slipped off his horse on the
+side furthest from the animal, and led Pawnee out of
+sight behind a clump of pines, and left him there.
+Then he crept back to the ridge. In the timber
+below he soon made out half-a-dozen elk, and as he
+watched, he could see quite a large bunch of cows and
+calves. He lay there, watching and waiting. The
+drop down the hill into the valley was very steep, and
+he was hoping that the elk might move into some
+position where he would not have to go down to
+them. They seemed uneasy and suspicious, and presently
+something startled them, and they ran a little
+way, and then stopped, looking back up the valley.
+Two big heifers stood almost side by side facing opposite
+ways, with their shoulders close together, and
+their heads in such position that their necks seemed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span>
+to cross. Jack raised his gun and took a careful sight
+at the necks, just below the heads, and pulled the
+trigger. One of the cows dropped instantly, while
+the other, standing a moment to look, turned and ran
+off. He heard the elk crashing through the timber of
+the valley, and then saw them climbing the bald hills
+on the other side, stopping every little while to look
+back, and at last walking slowly off over the hills.</p>
+
+<p>A convenient side ridge gave Pawnee a good road
+down to where the cow had fallen, but she had rolled
+far down the hill, and finally had stopped on a little
+level place. She was quite dead. The animal was
+rather large for Jack to handle, but with some trouble
+he managed to cut off her hams and sirloins, and
+tying the two hams together by the gambrel joints,
+he balanced them on his saddle, and then tying the
+sirloins on behind, set out on foot for camp. There
+was much scrambling up steep hillsides, and down
+others quite as steep, and some working through the
+thick underbrush, before he came out into the open
+lake valley. Here progress was more rapid. Jack
+walked swiftly, and Pawnee followed close behind.
+After a time he came on the trail made by the pack
+train, some hours before, and hurrying along this,
+presently saw in the distance what looked like a
+house. Before he reached it, however, the trail that
+he was following turned sharply to the right, and led
+down toward the river, two or three miles below the
+lake.</p>
+
+<p>As he approached the tall cottonwood timber,
+which he supposed grew on the shores of the river, he
+saw the horses feeding close to it, and before long the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span>
+cone of the lodge showed through the leaves, and a
+little later he stopped by the fire.</p>
+
+<p>"Good boy," said Hugh. "I'm mighty glad to get
+that meat. That'll keep us going for quite a while,
+and now that we've got fresh meat, and dried meat
+and fish, we're bound to live well."</p>
+
+<p>"Animal's in good order, too," he continued, as he
+began to lift the meat from the saddle. "I expect
+you picked out a heifer, didn't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "I tried to, but I wasn't sure
+that it wasn't an old cow until I put a knife into her.
+The only thing I was sure of was that she had no calf."
+"Well," said Hugh, "it's a nice piece of meat, and
+I'm mighty glad you got it."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that house that I see up there, Hugh?
+Nobody lives here now, does there?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh, "I reckon that's some kind of a
+shelter or stable, built by hunters or prospectors, for
+their horses in fly-time. Flies are pretty bad here
+now, and I reckon close about this lake the greenheads
+must be enough to drive the horses crazy. I
+noticed to-day when we were crossing some points of
+that meadow up above that they were bad. If it
+hadn't been for that, I reckon we'd have camped up
+there by the lake. It's an awful sightly spot, but
+there were too many flies."</p>
+
+<p>Supper was almost ready, and they feasted royally
+that night on trout and the fat sirloins of the elk; and
+after the meal was over, it was pleasant to sit round
+the big camp-fire that Jack and Joe built out in front
+of the lodge, and watch the blaze, and listen to the
+murmur of the river as it hurried over the stones, just
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span>
+beyond the camp. Every stick tossed on the burning
+pile sent a great cloud of sparks soaring upward
+to disappear among the dark green foliage of the
+spruces, which here grew among the taller cottonwoods.
+The warmth of the fire was grateful; the
+willows and cottonwoods and spruces all about their
+camp sheltered them from the strong wind which still
+blew down the valley; and Jack, as he lay stretched
+out on the ground between Joe and Hugh, thought
+that he never could have a happier time than that
+very moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, boys," said Hugh, "I don't know how you
+feel about it, but it strikes me this is a terrible nice
+place to stop for a day or two. This is a good camp,
+and these mountains right opposite to us are things I
+like to look at. What do you say to our stopping
+here, say for one day, anyhow; and maybe to-morrow
+we'll take a little ride across the river, and get closer
+to these mountains, and see something of what they
+look like. I'd like mighty well to look at them long
+enough to kind o' carry a remembrance of them back
+with me to the ranch."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "let's do that. There's no reason
+for our hurrying; we've got plenty of grub, and I
+think we'd all like to stay here for one day, anyhow."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, there's two things we can do," said Hugh.
+"We ain't made up our minds how we'll go home;
+but we can cross the range in a whole lot of different
+places. We can either follow down Snake River for a
+way, and then work up one of the creeks, and go over
+and strike the head of Wind River, and follow that
+down, or we can go back to the park, and then cut
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span>
+across, and get down onto Stinking Water, and then
+go back on the prairie. My idea is that we'll do
+better to keep on south, and try to go straight on our
+course. We can either go up Buffalo Fork, and then
+strike across to the head of the Wind River, and follow
+that down; or go down and follow up the Gros
+Ventre, and get across some way there. We don't
+have to make up our minds to-day; we can settle that
+to-morrow night. Let's agree that we'll stop here to-morrow,
+and then to-morrow night decide what we'll
+do."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said both boys.</p>
+
+<p>When the three friends got up next morning, and
+went to the stream to wash, they could see nothing of
+the great range beneath which they were camped, for
+the tall spruce trees which grew on the opposite bank
+cut off the view of everything beyond. After breakfast
+they saddled up and having picketed two of the
+pack horses, set out to cross the river, and to get
+nearer to the mountains. The river was wide, and so
+deep that the water came almost up to the saddle
+blankets, but they crossed comfortably enough, and
+riding through the open dry timber of the bottom,
+before long were approaching the high bluffs which
+formed the first terrace above the river. In the
+bottom were many tracks of deer and elk, some of the
+deer tracks quite fresh; and they almost rode over a
+huge old porcupine, which waddled awkwardly to one
+side, and then stopped among some low rose bushes,
+with its head between its forefeet, its quills erect, and
+its tail thrashing about in a threatening way. Jack
+stopped his horse and said to Hugh:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span>
+"Hugh, is there anything in that story that porcupines
+throw their quills? I've heard lots of people
+say it is so, and then other people say it isn't."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh drew his horse up, and turning in his saddle
+said, "Why no, son, there's nothing in that; though
+I've heard plenty of men who ought to know a heap
+better say that there was. Take a stick and go right
+up close to that fellow, and poke him with it, and
+then bring it to me."</p>
+
+<p>Jack picked up a dead branch, and going to the
+porcupine, poked him in the sides and back, and when
+he did this the porcupine thrashed his tail about more
+vigorously than ever, and two or three times struck
+the stick. Leaving him, Jack went to Hugh, carrying
+the stick in his hand, and Hugh said, "Look at the
+end of that stick now, and see those quills." The end
+of the stick was pierced by a dozen or twenty sharp,
+strong quills, and Jack, taking hold of one and trying
+to pull it out, found that the point was firmly fastened
+in the wood, so that it required quite a little effort to
+pull it out.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, son," said Hugh, "a porcupine, as you have
+seen, is slow, and can't run away. His back and sides
+and tail are covered with these quills, which are
+mighty sharp, and which have little stickers pointing
+back toward the root, so that if a quill gets fast in
+the flesh, it is a very hard matter to pull it out again.
+If a quill gets stuck in an animal's head or foot, it
+keeps working forward all the time; it never works
+backward and comes out; it has to go through to the
+other side. Most animals know that it isn't good to
+fool with a porcupine. The only way to kill him is to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span>
+turn him over on his back, and get at his throat and
+belly, which are not covered with quills. When a
+porcupine sees an animal coming he holds his body
+close to the ground, makes his quills stand up all over
+him, and thrashes around with his tail, which is pretty
+well covered with quills too. His tail is strong, and
+he can hit a hard blow with it; and so you see he's
+pretty well defended. The quills are not set deep in
+the skin; they are loose, and they pull out mighty
+easy; you see that just by poking the porcupine you
+got that stick full of quills. Sometimes when he
+thrashes hard with his tail he may hit a piece of wood,
+or may knock loose some of the quills on his tail so
+that they may fly a little distance; but as for throwing
+them any distance from his body, or with any force,
+why he can't do it.</p>
+
+<p>"I have had dogs that would tackle porcupines,
+and when they did, it was a terrible job to pull the
+quills out of them."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "I'm glad to hear all that
+I've been told of dogs tackling porcupines, up in the
+Adirondacks, but I never saw one that had been
+pierced by quills."</p>
+
+<p>"Most dogs," said Hugh, "soon learn never to
+bother porcupines, but some seem never to learn, and
+will go for one every time they see it. Bears sometimes
+tackle them, and so do lynx and panthers, but
+they say the greatest animal of all to kill a porcupine
+is a fisher. I've seen two or three panthers with their
+jaws full of quills. I've heard people say that the
+fisher kills them by turning them over on their backs
+and then jumping onto the belly, but I never saw this
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span>
+done. What I have seen is fishers with lots of quills
+in their bodies: some in the legs, some in the belly,
+and some in the sides. And the Indians say that
+these quills don't bother them at all; that is to say,
+that a fisher full of quills don't swell up the way a
+dog or a panther does. The porcupine is a pretty
+stupid beast, but its effect on its neighbors is quite
+interesting."</p>
+
+<p>Jack listened with much attention to this lesson in
+natural history, and they mounted and rode on again.</p>
+
+<p>Soon they came to a great slough, evidently an old
+beaver meadow, and as Hugh drew up his horse and
+looked at it, he shook his head:&mdash;"Too soft for us to
+cross, I reckon, we'll have to go round some other
+way. There's plenty of sloughs and mud-holes in
+there where our horses would go out of sight."</p>
+
+<p>They turned northward, and for the next two hours
+were occupied in trying to make their way out to the
+high prairie. At frequent intervals they came to
+what looked like a tongue of hard dry land extending
+out to the bluffs, but after following it for a little distance
+they found at its end a mud-hole, which obliged
+them to turn back and take another road. At length
+they reached a strip of hard ground which led them
+to the bluffs; and just before they rode up the steep
+ascent, Hugh's horse started from the ground a brood
+of grouse, which scattered in all directions, many of
+them alighting on the willows and spruce branches
+close to them. They were singularly tame, almost as
+much so as the fool hens they had seen farther north,
+and Jack rode up to within three or four feet of one,
+and then reached out his gun to touch it, but before
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span>
+the muzzle was within a foot of the bird, it flew
+away.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the higher prairie they rode off
+toward the range, which was now plainly to be seen.
+There were three principal peaks, the names of which
+Hugh gave them. One, he said, was Mount Moran, a
+great square-topped mass of granite, with two or
+three vast snow or ice banks on its north face. To
+the south of that were the three pinnacles of the
+Tetons, whose slender summits ran far up into the
+blue sky. The prairie over which they were now riding
+was uneven:&mdash;here cut by dry, grassy, ancient
+water-ways, there with mounds of great extent rising
+above the general level. There was much gravel&mdash;some
+of it very large&mdash;which looked as if it might have
+been carried down by the water. Long ridges composed
+wholly of this gravel ran for long distances out
+from the foot of the range, and were now for the most
+part bare of timber, having been burned over. On
+some of them the fire had spared many of the pines,
+and young aspen timber grew on their slopes. The
+terraces of the river's flood-plain rose one above
+another, and on the highest of all, on the west side,
+were groups of evergreen trees, and now and then a
+single pine standing alone in the wide sage-plain.
+Scattered about over the prairie were many antelope.</p>
+
+<p>They rode on toward the mountains, trying to get
+up high enough so as to look down on Jackson's
+Lake, which runs in close to the foot of Mount
+Moran; but the ridges became higher and higher,
+more and more timber grew on them, and cut off the
+view, so that at length they gave up the effort and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span>
+turned off to one side to ride through the timber.
+Here were many fresh elk tracks and trails, some
+made the night before, and some since daylight; and
+here, quite unexpectedly, as they rode over a ridge a
+little higher than any that they had yet passed, a fine
+view was had of the southern end of Jackson's Lake.
+It seemed to wind and twist about among its points
+and islands, and sent out long and narrow finger-like
+bays into the hills in a most curious way. A little
+further on they saw from a hilltop another lake, not
+nearly so large as Jackson's, but still perhaps two
+miles long. It was surrounded by dense forest, and
+reflected the great peaks which overhung it. Here
+they dismounted for a while to look at the range,
+which was now plainly seen.</p>
+
+<p>"Big mountains, ain't they, son?" said Hugh, as
+they sat there looking up at them.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Hugh," said Jack, "they're awful big, and
+how bare and gray they are. There seems to be a
+little timber in small patches, but except for that,
+there doesn't seem to be anything growing on them at
+all; they are just rocks with snow on top and in the
+ravines."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I expect for the most part
+that rock is so steep that the snow can't lie there.
+Even if the wind don't blow, just as soon as any
+weight of snow falls on the rocks it slips off.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you got your glasses with you, son?" he
+continued, and when Jack had handed them to him,
+he looked through them and said: "I thought so.
+Do you know, son, that snow up there in those highest
+ravines isn't snow at all, it's ice; just like them
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span>
+glaciers that we have up there in the mountains to the
+north. Look through the glasses, and you can see
+the cracks on the lower border, and you can see too
+that it is blue, and not white like snow."</p>
+
+<p>Jack and Joe both looked through the glasses and
+saw what Hugh meant, and both were reminded of
+the masses of ice that they had seen in the mountains
+of the north, the year before.</p>
+
+<p>It was pleasant sitting in the warm sun and looking
+up at this wonderful scenery, but at last they caught
+up their horses, and mounted and rode back to the
+camp. As they were going along side by side, down
+the wide point of a ridge, a great brown deer bounced
+out from an aspen thicket on Joe's side and ran
+down the ravine. Joe sprang from his horse and
+raised his gun to shoot, but just as he did so she
+sprang into a little gully, so that Joe could see only
+her ears as she raced along. She followed the ravine
+down and was not seen again.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh and Jack both laughed at Joe, and told him
+that he should have stayed on his horse, for from
+their point of view on horseback, the doe's body had
+been in sight for quite time enough to shoot.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the level bottom, they rode out
+close to the river, and keeping along the bank found
+firm ground all the way to the camp. There remained
+still some hours of daylight, and both boys got out
+their lines and began to fish, catching a number of
+fine and heavy trout. Just as they were about to go
+to camp with their catch, a flock of seven wild geese
+flew up the river, calling loudly, and after they had
+passed a little beyond the boys, Joe began to honk in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span>
+response, and presently the great birds turned about
+and came back, flying directly over the boys, looking
+down at them, as if to see who it was that was talking
+to them. The air was cool and damp after dark and
+they sat about the fire in the lodge. A great horned
+owl a little way down the river was hooting regularly,
+and Joe said, "We're going to have a storm."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "I hear him now, and I heard
+him last night. I reckon we're going to have change
+of weather."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean, Hugh?" said Jack, "has the
+owl anything to do with the weather?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well no, son, I don't know that he has; but some
+of the Indians say that if you hear an owl calling it
+means a storm's coming."</p>
+
+<p>It was raining the next morning when Jack thrust
+his head from under his blankets, and as the fire had
+not been started, and nobody seemed to be moving,
+he knew that this day also would be spent in camp.
+When he went out of the lodge the ground was
+covered with an inch of very wet snow, and the
+weather seemed to be trying to make up its mind
+whether it would rain or no. Big wet flakes were falling
+in a mixture of rain and snow, and moisture was
+everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast, Hugh cut some crotches and poles,
+and with the ropes and two of the mantas made a
+very good shelter, under which they built an outdoor
+fire. By this they sat for a long time, discussing various
+matters, and then, since the rain had stopped,
+Jack went down to the stream and began to fish. He
+caught a few fish weighing from three quarters of a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span>
+pound to a pound, and there were enough of them
+to make it interesting. The small ones seemed to
+trouble his hook very little, and one or two little ones
+that he caught he shook off before getting them to
+shore. Suddenly, after a long cast that he had made
+out toward the middle of the stream, a huge fish rose
+to his fly, but in its eagerness, missed and sprang over
+the fly showing its full length out of the water. This
+was such a fish as Jack had not seen before, and he
+was very anxious to get it. He cast again over the
+same spot, and this time drew in his line a little more
+slowly. The great fish rose again, and just at the
+right moment Jack struck, and had him fast.</p>
+
+<p>For a moment the fish did nothing, but then came
+a fight the like of which Jack had never witnessed.
+The fish made a strong rush toward the deepest water
+of the rapid, and twice on his way there he sprang
+into the air, shaking his head savagely to rid himself
+of the steel that was biting his jaw. Then he turned
+about and rushed back toward the bank, again throwing
+himself out of the water. Jack was excited, but
+was trying to keep cool. Whenever the fish gave
+him an opportunity he took in line, and when the fish
+ran he gave him as little as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly the trout started down the river at great
+speed, so fast that Jack was afraid to check him, and
+started racing after him, running over the slippery
+stones of the beach, and through the pools of water
+left by the river. Presently the fish stopped, and
+refused to move, and Jack recovered all the line that
+he could, and then began to try to move the fish.
+Now it began to give a series of tugging jerks on the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span>
+line, as if it were bending itself from side to side in
+the water; then it began to throw itself over and
+over, as if trying to twist the line; and then it would
+rush off, as if striving to break it. As the splendid
+fish grew tired, Jack worked it nearer and nearer to
+the beach; but he had no net and of course could not
+lift it from the water. After looking about a little
+he found a place where the beach was shelving, and
+laying down his rod, he drew the fish out by the
+leader and soon had it safely in his hand. It was
+a handsome fish, deep and thick, and yet graceful in
+all its lines, and it seemed to Jack as big as a North
+River shad. As soon as it was killed, Jack took his
+rod and started back to the camp for he wished to
+show them there the biggest trout that he had ever
+seen.</p>
+
+<p>White clouds hung low over the valley and hid the
+mountains on either side; but as Jack walked along
+the beach the western sky grew lighter, and for a few
+moments the sun struggled to shine through the
+clouds. Then suddenly, far down the valley the
+white wall that shut out the view broke away, and
+Jack could see the great mountain mass of the Teton
+Range. He stopped and gazed, waiting for the rent
+to close up again. Through it he could see, like a
+picture in its frame, the mountains, not dark and gray
+as they had been yesterday, but white now, in all
+the purity of new-fallen snow. As he looked, the
+break in the clouds moved rapidly northward, exposing
+one mountain after another, each seeming more
+beautiful than the one seen just before. A wreath of
+mist hung around and concealed the needle peak of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span>
+the Grand Teton, adding to, rather than taking away
+from its height. The rift in the clouds passed northward,
+and after it had shown him Mount Moran, it
+closed again and the white vapor cut off the view.
+Jack had seen the glories of the Tetons, snow-clad.
+He returned to camp.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER X<br />
+TRAILING BLACK-TAILS</h2>
+
+<p>It was pleasant that night after supper was over, as
+they lay about the bright fire in the lodge. During
+the afternoon, while Jack had been fishing, Joe had
+split fine a lot of dry cottonwood sticks, and a good
+pile of them lay within the lodge door, just to its
+left. The fire blazed and crackled merrily and the
+draft was good, so that there was no smoke even in
+the top of the lodge.</p>
+
+<p>Joe said to Jack, "Jack, have you seen all this old
+beaver work up north of the camp?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Jack, "I have seen plenty of small
+beaver cuttings. There have been lots of beaver
+here, but I haven't seen any big work."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "you'd better go up fifty yards
+from the camp, and you'll see there bigger trees cut
+down by the beaver than I've ever seen, and I've seen
+some beaver work in my day. Why, there's cottonwood
+logs there cut down by the beaver that are
+bigger round than my body, and I believe they're
+more than a foot through. You surely ought to see
+them."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "I will in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"This used to be a great place for fur, didn't it
+Hugh?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span>
+"Yes," said Hugh, "I expect when the white men
+first came in here that beaver were awful plenty.
+Wherever I've been since I came into this valley I've
+seen lots of old work but not much new work. All
+the same, these sticks that Joe is talking about are
+not very old; they were cut down only a few years
+ago. I guess 'twas a great fur country. But, Lord!
+I've told you about the stories that people used to tell
+about Jackson's Lake. They used to say that pretty
+nearly everything good in the mountains was to be
+found here, and plenty of it.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know, boys," Hugh continued, "I've about
+made up my mind what we'd better do? Now, we
+don't know the country here, none of us, but I expect
+we can find our way around pretty well with the pack-train.
+I think the best thing we can do is to go back
+to that last big creek that we crossed, and follow that
+up to its head; then cross the mountains there, and
+get over onto Wind River; and then we can follow
+Wind River down; and then over and strike Sweetwater,
+and follow Sweetwater down to the Platte; and
+then, you know, we're pretty near home. What do
+you say? Would either of you rather go any other
+way, or will you leave it that way?"</p>
+
+<p>The boys sat silent for a little while, and then Joe
+said, "I think it will be good to do as Hugh says; he
+is the leader, and we will follow him."</p>
+
+<p>"I think so, too," said Jack. "Neither of us boys
+knows anything about the country, and we want to
+do just what you think is best, Hugh."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I guess that is best, and if
+you say so, we'll do it; and we'll start to-morrow
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span>
+morning if the weather is good and the things are
+dry."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said both boys.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning saw the little train following its
+back trail up Snake River for a few miles, when Hugh
+turned off to the right, and entered the valley of a
+great stream which rushed down from the Red Mountain
+Range. The hills were low and rounded and
+composed of sand and gravel, covered with grass and
+sage-brush. On either side, from time to time, the
+stream had cut into the hills and washed away the
+gravel, and its bed was full of huge boulders; so that
+it was necessary for them to keep back on the ridge,
+at some distance from the water. The river was so
+large and along it there were so many evidences of a
+vast body of water running down through this valley
+in the spring, that it seemed evident that it must be a
+very long stream, and must drain a wide area of
+country. Before they had gone very far, the sun,
+which had been shining, went behind clouds; it began
+to rain hard; and before long they began to get wet.
+Early in the day, therefore, Hugh drew up his horse
+in the shelter of some spruces on a little bench about
+thirty feet above the valley, and said, "Let's camp,
+boys, and get out of this wet." It took but a little
+time to put up the lodge, to unsaddle, get things
+covered and a fire in the lodge, and also one outside
+under a shelter of manta, so that they were soon dry
+and comfortable again. Jack tried the fishing, but
+the fish would not bite. The rain continued, and by
+the middle of the afternoon had changed to snow, and
+before dark the ground was white. When they went
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span>
+to bed at night the snow was still falling and the
+weather was growing colder.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning the snow had stopped, but it
+was two or three inches deep on the ground. Everything
+was wet, and it looked as if it might snow again
+at any time. Jack got tired of sitting round the fire,
+and watching Hugh fill his pipe, and light it and
+smoke it out, and then fill and light it again, and
+presently he proposed to Joe that they should go
+out and try to kill a deer. Joe was ready and they
+started. For a short distance, they followed the trail
+up the river, and then turning to the left, took the
+first ridge and began to climb the hill on the north
+side of the valley. It was pretty wet. It had begun
+to rain again, and the snow was damp, and under the
+snow there seemed to be an inch or two of water.
+When they had to pass through willows and other
+underbrush, these wet the upper parts of their bodies.
+The ground was soft and slippery, and the down
+timber and the loose stones made walking and climbing
+quite hard work. Nevertheless, they pushed
+on, and having reached the top of the ridge, could
+see beyond other ridges toward which they climbed.</p>
+
+<p>They crossed one or two elk tracks, made since the
+snow had stopped falling, but the animals were going
+pretty fast and they did not follow them. A few deer
+tracks, made while the snow was falling, tempted
+them; but they did not follow them and continued to
+climb. The higher they went the harder it seemed to
+rain, and every little while a heavy fog would rise
+from the valley, and creeping slowly along the mountains
+would shut out from sight one hilltop after
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span>
+another, until it reached them and hid everything from
+their sight. There was a little breeze blowing from
+the west, and these fogs did not last long; but while
+they were about them the boys could only stand still
+and wait for the mist to lift.</p>
+
+<p>As they climbed they saw a good many birds:
+flickers, robins, and blue snow-birds, as well as some
+other western birds that Jack did not know.</p>
+
+<p>The boys climbed hill after hill for several hours,
+but saw nothing but tracks, and none of these seemed
+worth following. At last Jack turned to Joe and said,
+"What do you say, Joe, shall we go any further?
+It's pretty cold, and we can't see far, and perhaps we
+might as well go down the hill again and get back to
+camp."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "it's pretty cold and wet up
+here and we don't see much."</p>
+
+<p>They turned and followed the ridge they were on for
+some little distance, trying to see down into the valley,
+and to determine just where the camp was. As they
+were doing this, all at once the fog lifted, and Jack saw,
+a little way before them, a green timbered ridge leading
+down into the valley, pretty near where the camp
+should be. As he looked down into the valley, Jack
+heard Joe whisper, "Hold on!" Jack stopped, slowly
+turned his head and threw a cartridge into his gun,
+and then stood motionless; for over the crest of the
+ridge just above them had risen the horns, head and
+body of an enormous black-tailed buck. Almost at
+once, two others, much smaller, followed him, and in
+a moment more two others, one nearly as large as the
+leader, and the other smaller, came up to the top of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span>
+the ridge and looked over. They were a long way
+off, perhaps three hundred yards, and neither boy
+dared move for fear of startling them, for two or three
+jumps would have taken them out of sight. The
+great leader had seen the boys at once, but could
+not make out what they were, and perhaps for ten
+minutes he stood there and watched. He was not
+alarmed or suspicious, but these two upright objects,
+which might be stumps or might be something else,
+excited his curiosity, and he kept looking at them.
+The deer stood on the very crest of the ridge, with
+only a white sky for a background; so that the outline
+of his graceful form and large branching horns
+was plainly visible.</p>
+
+<p>While he stood there watching, the other deer wandered
+about, now taking a bite of grass and again
+giving a long look over the country. One of the
+smallest came a few steps down the face of the ridge
+to a low pine, three or four feet in height, against
+which he began to rub his horns and head, just as a
+deer or an elk does when ridding the antlers of the
+velvet, or, as it is termed, "shaking." The large one,
+next in size to the leader, came still further down the
+bluff and began to feed at a bush that grew there. A
+third, the smallest of all, was very playful and frisked
+about almost as a fawn might do.</p>
+
+<p>At length, after his long, long stare, during which
+the boys scarcely breathed, the big leader seemed satisfied.
+He shook himself, and then turned and gave
+a long look to the east and one to the west; then he
+lowered his head, took a bite of some weed, and stepping
+proudly along the ridge for a few yards, turned
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span>
+away and walked out of sight. While he was doing
+this, two of the young deer, like boys when the
+schoolmaster's back is turned and they feel that they
+can begin to play, backed away from each other, and
+then charged each other, coming together vigorously,
+head to head. It did not seem to be done angrily, but
+rather in sport, and one of them, being evidently much
+the stronger of the two, as he was the larger, pushed
+the other a few feet backward, when the smaller one
+sprang lightly out of the way, and both turned and
+walked off after the big buck.</p>
+
+<p>Four of the deer had now moved out of sight, and
+there remained only the large one feeding on the hillside.
+A couple of dead trees, one leaning against the
+other, stood sixty or seventy yards in front of the
+boys, between them and the deer, and it seemed possible
+by moving up behind these to approach within
+rifle-shot. He was busily eating, and when he had his
+head down the boys whispered to each other. Jack
+said, "Let us sneak up behind those trees, and we can
+get near enough to kill him, I guess."</p>
+
+<p>"Better wait," said Joe, "pretty soon he'll go off
+over the hill, and then we can follow him, and get one
+sure."</p>
+
+<p>But Jack had not yet learned the patience which
+makes an Indian so certain of his game; he began to
+make a slow approach, but had taken only a few steps
+when suddenly the deer stopped feeding, looked
+about him, walked briskly up to the top of the ridge,
+and then pausing for a moment to see where his companions
+were, followed them over the ridge and out of
+sight.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span>
+At last the coast was clear; the boys hurried toward
+the ridge, and clambered up its steep face with breathless
+haste. When they reached the crest they cautiously
+looked over, but saw nothing, and still as they
+slowly advanced in the direction which the deer seemed
+to have taken, the game was not seen. They were
+just about to go back and take the deers' tracks, when
+suddenly, without an instant's warning, a mountain
+hurricane of hail, rain and snow swept down upon
+them, blotting from view every object save those
+directly at their feet. The wind blew cold, and the
+rain and hail pelted them. There was no shelter, and
+all they could do was to turn their backs to the blast
+and stand there waiting. The storm lasted but a few
+moments, and as soon as it was over they started
+back, and soon crossed the tracks of the deer, not far
+from the ridge. All had been walking slowly, except
+the last one, who was trotting to catch up with the
+others. The trail led over the rolling ground, toward
+two little groups of spruces, and when the boys saw
+these, and could not see the deer on the open ground
+beyond, they looked at each other and nodded, each
+feeling sure that the animals would be found in this
+timber.</p>
+
+<p>They were still a hundred yards from the nearest
+clump of trees when Joe's eye caught sight of something
+moving just beyond them, and almost at the
+same time Jack saw something dark move against the
+snow. They made themselves very small, and keeping
+the thick foliage of the trees between themselves and
+the deer, crept carefully up almost to the timber. Suddenly,
+through a little opening in the branches, Jack
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span>
+saw three deer standing close together&mdash;the big
+leader and two of the yearlings. He wanted the
+leader, of course, and yet he could see only his head
+and neck, and hesitated to shoot at the neck, for he
+was chilled and shaking with the cold. However, he
+determined to risk it, and looking round at Joe saw
+that he was ready, and that he nodded. Jack fired,
+the leader disappeared, and a moment later four
+deer ran out over the snow, beyond the trees, and
+stopped; and as they turned to look back, Joe fired,
+and killed the other big deer.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah!" said Jack, and he shook Joe's hand,
+"we've surely got plenty of meat now."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Joe, "good meat, too."</p>
+
+<p>They found the big leader lying on the snow just
+beyond the trees, his neck broken, and the other big
+deer not more than fifty yards beyond him.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Jack," said Joe, "I tell you what we'd
+better do: you go back to camp and get two pack
+horses, and fetch 'em up here, and I'll butcher these
+deer, and then we can take 'em back to the camp
+to-night. We don't want to make two trips."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Jack, "I'll either go back for the
+horses or butcher, whichever you like."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Joe, "you go back, and when I get
+through butchering I'll make a little fire here and dry
+off, and wait for you."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Jack, "I'll do it. I don't believe
+it'll take me very long to get back to camp, and I'll
+be back here in an hour or two, anyhow."</p>
+
+<p>He at once started, and was soon following the
+green timbered ridge down to the stream. When he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span>
+reached there he found that camp was only a short
+distance further down the creek, and he was soon standing
+by the fire. Hugh had heard the shots, and was
+not surprised when Jack told them that they had two
+deer. Jack went out to look up the horses, and soon
+returned with two of them, and putting saddles on
+them, mounted one, and rode off up the hill leading
+the other.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XI<br />
+TRACKS IN THE SNOW</h2>
+
+<p>Meantime Joe had proceeded with his butchering
+and after he had finished, gathered some wood and
+made himself a little fire. It took some time to do
+this, for almost everywhere the wood was wet; but
+by looking carefully he found some dry branches that
+were sheltered by the foliage above them, and others
+that lay under a fallen tree, and presently he had a
+good fire lighted, and one that was so strong that he
+could throw wet wood on it and it would soon dry
+and burn. He built his fire in a sheltered place, and
+the light breeze drifted the smoke off down the
+stream. Before long he was warm and dry. After he
+had waited a while, he went out beyond the trees and
+looked off toward the ridge where Jack had gone, to
+see whether he was not yet coming back, but he saw
+nothing. A little later he went out again and Jack
+was not yet in sight, but as he turned about he saw
+coming down the hill about half a mile off, thirteen
+elk, mostly cows and calves, but one spikehorn, and
+following last of all and keeping the others together
+a monstrous bull with a great pair of horns. Of
+course when he saw them Joe stood still. The elk
+had come down from some higher hill, and when they
+came to where the snow was not very deep they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span>
+began to scatter out and feed. When most of them
+had passed behind the point of hill which backed the
+next ridge above the one Joe was on, he began to move
+very slowly and cautiously toward the shelter of a
+clump of trees. Every now and then, one of the old
+cows would lift her head, and as she munched the
+grass that she had just plucked, would look all around
+the horizon, and when she did so, Joe stood without
+moving a muscle. Then when all the heads were
+down again, he very slowly moved a little toward his
+cover. At last only one of the elk was in sight, and
+when she put her head down he could see nothing
+but her back and hips, and two or three steps took
+him out of sight even of these. Still he did not run,
+but walked slowly, watching closely the sky-line above
+him, for at any moment one of the elk might walk up
+there to look over the country. None appeared, however,
+and in a very few moments he was hidden by
+the trees.</p>
+
+<p>Now he did not know what to do. His first idea
+was to creep up to the ridge and kill some of the elk,
+but before he determined that he would do this he
+considered. He remembered how Hugh often spoke
+of not killing anything more than they needed to eat,
+and he knew that these deer that they had would last
+them for a long time. He did not wish to do anything
+that Hugh would not like, and so, instead of
+deciding that he would kill anything, he took his gun
+and walked over to the ridge, to look at the elk. He
+had crept up to the top of the hill and peered over,
+and was watching the elk feeding not far in front of
+him&mdash;half a dozen of them within easy rifle-range&mdash;when
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span>
+he heard a faint whoop behind him, and turning
+his head saw Jack coming with the pack-horses.
+Slowly creeping back a little way, Joe waved to him to
+come on, and to hurry, and Jack galloped the pack
+horses over to the foot of the ridge, and at a sign
+from Joe, dismounted. Then he crept up to Joe and
+they both lay there on the hill and watched the elk.</p>
+
+<p>It was a pretty sight, and an interesting one, too.
+The bull, although all the time feeding, seemed to
+keep close watch of his companions. Once in a while
+one of the cows would stray off to a little distance
+from the others, and the bull would walk over toward
+her, shaking his head as he approached, and when the
+cow saw this she turned back to the bunch and
+joined them again. Then the bull began to feed
+once more.</p>
+
+<p>"Watch him," said Joe, "he's a pretty good herder,
+isn't he? He won't let one of those cows wander
+away; he's afraid that somewhere there might be
+some other old bull looking for cows, that would take
+her and carry her off. Pretty smart at this time of
+year they are."</p>
+
+<p>While they were watching the herd as they fed
+along a little beyond them, presently some eddy of
+the wind brought their scent to the cows farthest
+down the stream, and they lifted up their heads, and
+looked for a moment; then turned and trotted
+swiftly away up the hill. As soon as they did this,
+the other cows began to look, and then to move off;
+but the bull seemed to understand at once that there
+was danger near at hand, and rushed around the cows,
+thrusting at them with his horns, so that in a moment
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span>
+they were all in motion, and swiftly trotting away.
+At the top of the hill the cows paused to look back;
+but the bull, which was laboring along behind, shook
+his head at them, and they began to run again.
+When the elk had disappeared, the boys rose to their
+feet, and then realized that they were both of them
+chattering with cold. The breeze was blowing harder
+now, and lying on the hillside exposed to it, they had
+both become chilled. They went down to the horses
+and took them over to where the deer lay and then
+built up the fire and got warm again. Then they
+packed the deer on the two horses, but the animals
+were so large that they could not lift them without
+cutting them up into quarters. At last the loads were
+arranged, the ropes tightened, and they started down
+the hill toward camp, which they reached just before
+dark.</p>
+
+<p>Supper was ready, and as soon as the boys had
+hung up their meat on the branches of a tree, and had
+washed their hands in the brook, they fell to eagerly.
+Not much was said during the meal, but after it had
+been cleared away and Hugh had filled his pipe and
+was sitting by the fire comfortably smoking, Jack said
+to him, "Hugh, we had a mighty nice view of a
+bunch of elk this afternoon, and watched them for
+quite a while, and saw the old bull gather up the cows
+and drive them away when they found that we were
+there."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "haven't you ever seen a bull
+do that before?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Jack, "I've seen plenty of elk but I
+never happened to see that."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span>
+"Well," said Hugh, "you know the bull elk is
+mighty rough with his cows, after he has gathered
+them and got a bunch, and what is more, when he is
+looking for them in the early fall, just about this time,
+he is mighty systematic in the way he hunts for them.
+I've sat on a hill and seen an old bull hunt out a lot
+of ravines in the elk country just as systematically as
+a cow-puncher would hunt them out for cattle. He
+makes a regular business of it, and after he's got them
+together he don't allow any straggling, and if a cow
+don't mind what he says, and he can catch her, he
+gives her a terrible thumping with those old horns of
+his."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh, did you ever see two bulls fight?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "I've seen 'em do that a good
+many times. I reckon I've told you about that
+before. They don't fight quickly; they're not active
+like an antelope when they're fighting: but they're
+mighty powerful, and they come together pretty hard,
+and then they just push and push, and at last, if the
+footing is good, the biggest one is pretty sure to push
+the other out of the way, and if the smaller one doesn't
+hop round pretty lively, he gets a good punch with
+the horns. I've heard tell of elk killing each other
+when they fought; but I never saw anything like that,
+and I never even saw an elk get cut up with the horns
+of an animal that he was fighting with. Of course I
+never had a chance to look close at many elk that I
+saw fighting, but I never could see any blood or any
+cuts. An elk-hide is pretty thick, and I guess they
+just scratch and bruise each other.</p>
+
+<p>"I've heard of elk-horns being locked, same as
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span>
+deer-horns often are, but I never myself saw but one
+pair; they were locked and you could not pull them
+apart. I heard that some chap bought them, up on
+the Missouri River, to send back east to some
+museum."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I tell you, Hugh," said Jack, "I don't think
+much of elk, anyhow, except to eat. You remember
+that tame one we had down at the ranch? There
+wasn't anything interesting or nice about him; he
+was awkward and clumsy and mean. Of course he
+looked nice, but that was about all."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh, "that's so; elk meat is good, but
+that's about all elk are good for&mdash;to eat."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning the sun came out bright and
+strong, and the snow began to melt rapidly. Lines
+were strung among the trees, and all the blankets,
+ropes and saddles, which had been more or less wet
+during the last day or two, were hung up to dry. The
+flesh of the deer was sliced into thin flakes, and hung
+up on scaffolds made by Joe and Hugh, and under this
+a small fire was made, and the smoke passing under
+the flakes of meat partially dried it. The hams and
+saddle of one of the deer were kept for fresh meat.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd like to get off this afternoon," said Hugh,
+toward midday. "Of course it's early in the season
+yet, and no heavy snow is likely to fall; but often we
+have a storm late in September that might stop us for
+a week, and I'd be pleased if we could get over the
+ridge before that comes. We must start as soon as
+these things get dry, and as soon as that meat will do
+to pack; it's pretty fat, and it won't dry fast in this
+kind of weather; this air is too damp."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span>
+In the effort to hurry up the drying process they
+built a large fire near the wet things that were hung
+up, and as the heat from the fire and from the sun
+grew strong, the steam rose from them. A little after
+noon, Hugh, who had been inspecting the things, said,
+"Come on, now; let's saddle up. The robes and
+blankets are dry, and we'll shove this meat in a sack
+and give it another steaming when we get to a good
+place. The weather is cool enough now so that it
+will keep until we get over the range." Before long
+the packs were lashed, and all the members of the
+party were in the saddle and pushing their way up
+the stream.</p>
+
+<p>There was now no visible trail. The snow covered
+everything, and though it was dripping fast from the
+trees at their level, they could see that on the higher
+hills it still hung thick upon the branches. From time
+to time the stream narrowed, so that they were obliged
+to leave it and climb the ridges, which often afforded
+much better going than the creek bottom. As they
+climbed higher and higher, everything was draped in
+white; but now the sun went behind the clouds, and
+the glare of the white snow was not uncomfortable.
+Hugh had said as they started, "You boys better
+take and blacken your faces; I am going to do it;"
+and taking some charcoal from the fire, each of the
+party rubbed the black over the upper parts of the
+face, the cheeks, the bridge of the nose, and around
+the eyes, to keep the glare from the snow from affecting
+the eyes.</p>
+
+<p>They climbed higher and higher, and as they
+climbed, the stream grew smaller. From time to time
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span>
+they reached some point from which there was an
+extended view, showing far-reaching, snow-clad mountains
+and evergreen forests; and ahead of them the
+high peaks of the main divide, with precipices of bare
+black rock, to which the snow could not cling. As
+they passed along, Jack noticed frequent tracks of
+deer and elk, and others of smaller animals which he
+did not recognize, and which there was no time to stop
+and ask about. Hugh rode fast, and the boys kept
+the animals close behind him. Often for a little distance
+through an open valley, or along a bare ridge,
+Hugh would trot or gallop. He was evidently anxious
+to get on.</p>
+
+<p>It was growing dark when, at the head of a pretty,
+open valley, Hugh turned his horse into the timber,
+and after looking around for a moment, said, "We'll
+camp here, boys. Bring the horses right up close to
+Baldy." They did so, and soon had the loads on
+the ground. Poles were quickly cut, the lodge was
+put up, and the ground within it was soon cleared
+of snow, and a fire started. Then, under Hugh's
+direction, the boys went out and broke several armfuls
+of spruce boughs, which they brought in and placed
+around the walls of the lodge where the beds would
+be spread, to keep them off the snow. Two of the
+horses had already been picketed and the others
+hobbled. There was danger that night they might
+desert, and take the back trail for the lower ground,
+where, of course, they well remembered that there was
+good grass, while up here to get anything to eat
+they would have to paw through the deep snow.</p>
+
+<p>"You boys had better cook supper," said Hugh.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span>
+"I'm going down to the end of this valley, to see if
+I can't stop it up in some way so that the horses
+can't get away to-night; they're likely to leave us, and
+if they do, we'll have to hunt them to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>Before entering this valley they had passed up
+through a narrow ca�on, riding for a short distance in
+the stream-bed, and Hugh, who had noticed two or
+three spruce trees standing on either side of the
+stream, took an axe, went down there, and felling two
+of the trees across the stream, made a fence that the
+horses could not surmount. They could possibly get
+around by climbing high on the hillside, but as all the
+loose ones were hobbled, it was not likely that they
+would go very far up hill.</p>
+
+<p>When he returned to the camp supper was ready,
+and before long they were all fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning was bright and cold. No more
+snow had fallen. The horses were all there, but those
+that had been hobbled looked gaunt and hungry.
+Hugh was up before daylight and took off their hobbles,
+and when the sun rose they were all busily at
+work getting what must have been their supper and
+breakfast. When their front feet were tied together,
+they could not paw through the snow to the grass
+beneath.</p>
+
+<p>"Now boys," said Hugh, as soon as breakfast was
+over, "let's saddle up and get along. I'd like mightily
+to get over the range to-day, if we can." It took but a
+short time to get started, for the three had now been
+working together so long that they wasted no time,
+and made no unnecessary motions.</p>
+
+<p>Neither of the boys had noticed the night before
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span>
+how deep the snow was; but to-day they could see
+that down here under the trees it was eight or ten
+inches deep, though perhaps in the open where it had a
+chance to melt or to blow off there was not so much.</p>
+
+<p>As they went forward, Jack was more and more
+interested in the tracks. Down at the foot of a ca�on
+wall in the valley he saw a series of tiny parallel dots
+in the snow, which he thought must have been made
+by a little striped squirrel, which had run out from the
+broken rock-fragments where he had his home, down
+nearly to the water's edge, and then, frightened by
+some sight or sound, had turned and hurried, with
+long bounds, back to his rocky home. Higher up on
+the hill, about every weed-stalk that showed above
+the surface of the snow were numbers of long parallel
+depressions, and scattered about on the snow were
+fragments of the seed-cases of the plants, and strips
+of the bark of the stem. Here the birds had been
+at work, and so hard pressed for food that they had
+visited almost every projecting plant.</p>
+
+<p>There had been killing during the night; death
+had been abroad, travelling over the barren hills, and
+pushing his way among the thickly clustered pines.
+There had been battles and ambuscades, and stern
+unrelenting pursuits; fierce struggles; resistance, feeble
+and unavailing; despair, and, at last, yielding, when
+the hope of escape was lost. More than one life had
+gone out that night on the hillside. Here, close to
+the margin of a little brook, was a pile of bright blue
+feathers, telling its story of death, and near it in the
+light snow, long, light strokes, which told of some
+fierce bird, that, in the gray light of the morning, had
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span>
+crushed in his strong crooked talons a little blue-bird
+which was just beginning his journey toward the south.
+There were tracks of a fox winding about on the hillside,
+often quartering the ground like a well trained
+hunting dog. He had covered much ground, and had
+visited every spot that might give shelter to his
+prey. In one place Jack saw the tracks of a grouse,
+and those of a fox following them, then suddenly the
+tracks of the grouse were seen no more, the last two
+sunk deep in the snow, showing where the bird had
+sprung from the ground and had darted away among
+the snow-laden trees. A few feet from these, Jack
+could see where the fox had stopped when the bird
+took flight, and he could fancy how angrily the sly
+fellow gazed after it as he saw his wished-for breakfast
+disappear. A little further on the fox had been more
+lucky, and a hole dug in the snow and a tuft or two
+of bluish fur showed where the keen-nosed hunter
+had caught a mouse.</p>
+
+<p>At the border of a grove of pines, Jack saw the
+impress of the great pads of the snowshoe rabbit,
+scarcely sinking into the light snow. For the most
+part, the rabbits kept close under the evergreens
+where the snow was less deep, and food most easily
+to be found; but if startled by fox or wolf, they
+could readily run over the drifts, where the heavier
+pursuer must sink into them, far behind.</p>
+
+<p>As they climbed higher and higher, the trees grew
+larger, and now they began to see, through the valley
+and coming down from the higher hills on either side,
+the tracks of elk. The heavy snow-fall, warning these
+animals of the near approach of winter, had set them
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span>
+in motion down from the peaks, and everywhere trails
+were seen leading from the hillside into the valley.
+They saw none of the animals, for the footfalls of the
+pack-train clambering over the rocks, the sound of
+dead branches rattling against the packs, and the calls
+to the horses alarmed the elk at a distance, and they
+retreated to the timber, out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the climbing seemed at an end for the
+present, and the valley became more open and nearly
+level. Not far ahead off to the southeast they could
+see a low pass in the mountains, which seemed likely
+to be the one they were trying to find. As they
+ascended, the stream continued to grow smaller, large
+branches, almost equal in size to the main brook kept
+coming into it, and often it was uncertain which was
+the main fork. Hugh gave no hint of what was
+passing in his mind, but pushed on, and the boys kept
+the animals close behind him.</p>
+
+<p>In this broad level valley there were more elk tracks
+than ever. These, seen at a distance, were very
+pretty, often looking like two delicate chains laid side
+by side, and running for a long distance almost in a
+straight line. Sometimes the animals seemed to have
+wandered about, biting off the heads of the grass
+and weeds that stood above the snow; but always at
+last the tracks turned and kept on down the valley.
+In the middle of the great meadow stood an old
+pine stub, and a number of the tracks converged to this,
+and then went away from it in one path. It seemed
+that the elk, coming along, had gone to this stump,
+and rubbed against it, and then all followed the same
+trail going away.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span>
+As the afternoon advanced, the valley grew narrow
+again and they entered the timber, and soon afterward
+came on what was evidently a trail that had
+been travelled both by whites and Indians. Some of
+the trees were blazed with an axe, but many years ago,
+for the bark had partly grown over the old blazes;
+there were later marks where little three-cornered
+patches of the bark had been knocked off, showing
+where the hard corners of packs had struck against
+the trees. On one or two of the trees were seen little
+woolen threads, white and red, showing where some
+Indian's blanket had rubbed against the trunk and
+left a little sign, to remain there for years. At
+length, the trail again passed out of the timber into a
+narrow valley, and a sharp climb brought them to a
+place where water seemed to be flowing down hill both
+before and behind them. Hugh stopped and waved
+his hand and pointed ahead; and beyond they could
+see a valley, steep-walled and full of timber, stretching
+off toward the southeast.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XII<br />
+WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE ELK?</h2>
+
+<p>"Here we are, boys; this is the divide&mdash;the top of
+the range," said Hugh. "Now if we can only get down
+this hill and find decent travelling in the valley, we'll
+soon be out of this snow. I expect this is one of the
+heads of Wind River, and I hope we can make it
+down below the snow to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>The way down the new stream was steep, and for a
+while progress was slow. There appeared to be no
+trail, and several times Hugh dismounted and went
+ahead slowly on foot, to pick out a way for the animals
+down steep rock slides. At last, however, they
+came to a point where the stream had a little bottom,
+thickly overgrown with timber, but all of it green;
+and working their way along through this they came,
+shortly before sundown, to a little open park surrounded
+by willows, where they camped.</p>
+
+<p>There was a little daylight left after camp had been
+made and supper eaten, and Jack, with Hugh,
+walked out to the edge of the stream. There was a
+good deal of water flowing in it, for ever since they
+came into the valley they had been crossing rivulets
+and brooklets, tumbling down from the high hills and
+pouring their current into the valley. The little river
+flowed among the close-set pines, and its bed was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span>
+composed of great blocks of stone. Just opposite the
+camp it opened out into a pool twenty feet long, and
+half as wide; and, as they stood here, they saw two
+little dippers at work in the stream.</p>
+
+<p>Although Jack had often seen these birds in the
+northern mountains, they constantly interested him.
+He knew that, although living always in and about
+the water, their nearest relations were not water-birds,
+such as ducks or snipe, but instead were thrushes, of
+which the common robin is one. Yet as many times
+as he had seen them diving into the water, swimming
+about on it, and again disappearing beneath its waves,
+he could never quite get over his astonishment at seeing
+a bird walk down the shelving rock or smooth
+beach into the water, and keep on walking, without
+attempting to swim or to dive, until it had disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>He spoke about this now to Hugh, and said,
+"Those are the queerest little birds I ever saw, and I
+don't know of any like them anywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "they are queer; but they're
+mighty cheerful&mdash;mighty good company if you're
+alone in the mountains. They stay here, you know, all
+summer and all winter, wherever the water is open,
+and they've got a real nice little song, and they sing,
+too, at all seasons of the year. There, listen to that
+one," he said, as a dipper appeared from under the
+water in the pool before them, and then flying to an
+old dead stick that projected from the bank, alighted
+on it and began to warble a simple but pleasing song.
+After it had finished, it flew part way across the pool,
+and then dived from the wing, and came to the surface
+again some distance below where it had entered
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span>
+the water. Then flying to a rock it seemed to batter
+to pieces some small object which it had brought up
+from the bottom, which it then devoured.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't it seem queer, Hugh," said Jack, "that they
+never get wet; their plumage seems light and fluffy,
+like that of a land bird, and not close and compact
+like that of the duck or grebe. They must have a big
+oil-sack, and must oil up their feathers pretty often."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon they do," said Hugh, "but I'm sure they
+never get wet. I've often wondered what it is they
+feed on; I suppose it's insects that live at the bottom
+of the water. Anyhow, I've often seen them bring
+up one of those little worms that build sort of houses
+for themselves out of sticks and little bits of sand, and
+take it to a rock and pound it to pieces, and then
+eat the worm that's inside of it. You've seen those
+things, haven't you? I don't know what they do, or
+what they're good for, without it is to feed the birds
+and the fish."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, Hugh," said Jack, "I've often seen those.
+Mighty queer little houses they are, but I don't know
+any more than you do what the insect in them lives
+for. I expect he may turn into a dragonfly, or maybe
+some kind of beetle or other. I know I've heard
+that there are lots of insects that lay their eggs, and
+live part of their lives in water, and then finally, coming
+up to the surface, change their shape and become
+perfect insects."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I expect likely that's the way
+it may be."</p>
+
+<p>Jack noticed that the dippers seemed to dive into
+the upper part of the pool, and to be carried down by
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span>
+the swift current close to a little point of rocks, and
+slowly walking out there, and standing perfectly still,
+he soon saw one of the birds drop down from a large
+stone near him, and disappear under the water. He
+could see a sort of a flying shadow under the surface,
+and in a moment the bird came up a little below
+him, and flew off to the other side of the stream. As
+it grew darker, the dippers disappeared, having probably
+gone to their roost; and as the two returned to
+camp, Hugh said to Jack, "Son, did you ever see one
+of the nests made by these birds?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Hugh, I never did," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we must be on the lookout for that.
+They're mighty queer little nests. On the outside
+they seem to be made of green moss, so that the
+nests look just like a bunch of moss growing on a
+rock. Often they build them close under some little
+water-fall, and I expect maybe it's the mist from the
+fall that keeps the moss wet and growing; but if the
+outside is damp and wet, the inside is just as dry as
+can be, and the young birds have a good warm place,
+and a good roof over their heads. It's kind of fun to
+watch one of these nests and see how hard the old
+birds have to work to keep the young birds quiet.
+They come with an insect, and give it to some one of
+the young ones, and then dart off, and are not gone
+more than a few minutes, and then come back again,
+so both the old birds keep travelling back and forth;
+and all the time the young ones are making all the
+noise they can, only you can't hear'em for the sound
+of the water&mdash;they're a hungry lot, I tell you. Of
+course, the breeding season is past a long time now,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span>
+and maybe if we keep our eyes open we'll be able
+to see a nest and get it for you to take home with
+you, though often they're in a place where it's mighty
+hard to get at them."</p>
+
+<p>The little circular meadow in which they had
+camped was not large enough to give good feeding for
+their horses, even if the ground had not been covered
+with snow; but Hugh felt certain that the horses
+would not try to follow the back trail up the hill
+again, nor did he think that they would venture away
+down the stream into country unknown to them.
+However, he picketed two horses and hobbled
+most of the others, and when morning came they
+were most of them in sight, though one or two had
+strayed away into the timber. The snow on the
+ground made it an easy matter to follow them, and
+soon after sunrise the train had started on again.</p>
+
+<p>The travelling was better than had been expected.
+Although sometimes the walls of the valley drew so
+close together that there was hardly room for the
+stream to flow, they managed to get along without
+very much climbing, and were all the time going
+down hill. The next night when they camped, the
+snow had almost entirely disappeared from the valley,
+only patches lying in some of the most shady spots.
+There was abundant sign of game here, but they saw
+none, nor did they look for it. The next afternoon
+however, Hugh stopped as they were crossing a
+meadow, and, calling Jack to him, pointed out some
+tracks in the soft ground, which Jack at first supposed
+were elk tracks, but on more careful examination
+found to be quite different; and after thinking for a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span>
+moment, he asked Hugh if they could be moose
+tracks.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "that's just what they are.
+This was a good bull, and he crossed here early this
+morning. Follow his tracks a little way and see if
+you can make out anything special about them, and
+then come on after us and tell me what you saw."</p>
+
+<p>Jack followed slowly along on the tracks until they
+entered the timber. Then he returned to take his
+position in the pack train. By this time the way was
+so open that it was not necessary to travel in single
+file, and Jack, riding up to Hugh said, "Well, Hugh,
+those tracks are about twice as long as an elk's track,
+and only a little bit wider; that makes them look
+long and narrow. Then, besides that, I noticed that
+whenever the animal went over a soft spot, and his
+foot sank in a little, there seemed to be two marks
+behind the main track, and I suppose those are the
+dew claws sinking in. Is that so?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's it," said Hugh, "I'm glad you took notice
+so carefully. Maybe we'll get a chance to kill a
+moose before we get down out of these mountains.
+We don't really want one now; but you've never seen
+a moose, and I expect if one should show up, why
+maybe you'd want to shoot at it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh, I guess I would," said Jack; "but
+I suppose as long as we're travelling here with the
+pack train, and making so much noise, there isn't
+much chance of our seeing one."</p>
+
+<p>"No, not much," said Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>As the valley became wider, and the stream larger,
+there seemed to be more life in the bottom. Several
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span>
+broods of ruffed grouse had been noticed during the
+day, and all were so tame that they scarcely moved
+out of the horses' way as they passed along. In the
+river there were a few ducks, of the kind that breed
+high up in the mountains; and the next morning,
+when Jack was down at the water's edge, just after he
+had risen, he saw a hawk make a dash at a family of
+ducks. The ducks were flying down the river when
+the hawk came out of the timber and darted toward
+them. They all fell into the water, with loud splashings,
+and the hawk swooped at one of them which was
+a little apart from the main flock; but the duck made
+a rush to one side and easily avoided it. Then the
+hawk gave up the chase, and flew into a tall tree,
+where he watched the ducks as they swam swiftly
+down the stream. Jack was amused at a little spotted
+sandpiper that had been flying up the stream when
+the hawk darted for the ducks. The bird was very
+much frightened, thinking that the hawk was after it.
+It dropped into the water as if it had been shot, and
+sat there with its head cocked to one side, watching
+the enemy, and prepared to dive at a second's
+warning, if the hawk should dash at it.</p>
+
+<p>The weather was bright and pleasant, and they
+kept on down the stream, which constantly grew
+wider. Now there was some sage-brush on the
+benches above the bottom, and often the trail kept
+away from the stream, and close under these benches,
+in order to avoid the frequent wet and miry places
+which would have troubled the horses. As Jack was
+riding along he suddenly heard a shot behind him,
+and looking about, saw three deer running near the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span>
+top of a ridge, and just below the timber. Joe had
+shot at one of them, and just after Jack looked round,
+two of them disappeared over the ridge. The last
+one stopped almost at its crest, and looked back, and
+Joe fired again. The doe fell, and Joe rode up to
+where she lay. The train was halted, and when the
+deer had been brought down to the trail she was put
+on one of the packs and they started on again. As
+the bottom became wider it was evident that beaver
+had been much at work here, and although they had
+long deserted it, the marshes and sloughs and mud-holes
+caused by their damming of the stream still
+remained as pitfalls for the traveller.</p>
+
+<p>Ever since they had left Snake River they had
+heard from time to time the shrill bugling call of the
+elk, though near the top of the range where the snow
+was deepest they had not heard them whistle. Now,
+however, they frequently heard elk, and on this day
+an old bull came out of a point of timber near which
+they were travelling, and stood and looked at them.
+He was but a short distance off, and might easily
+have been killed; but they had meat enough, and there
+was no reason for shooting him. He was but forty
+or fifty yards distant, and seemed disposed to come
+even nearer, making some threatening demonstrations
+with his head, and advancing a few steps; but no
+attention was paid to him, and presently he turned
+about and disappeared in the timber. Hugh said that
+very likely the elk took some of the pack animals for
+cows, and wished to gather them in.</p>
+
+<p>That night they camped on an enlargement of the
+river, which almost seemed like a little lake. Behind
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span>
+them and on either side were timbered hills, before
+them the water, and beyond the mountains rising
+steeply. The lodge stood in a little grove of pine
+trees, which furnished shelter and fuel, and the hungry
+animals fed on the rich grass behind it. The bright
+fire in front of the lodge lit up the trees and the lodge
+and the pack saddles, and as it flamed and flickered,
+curious shadows peeped out from the dark caverns
+that stretched back beneath the pine branches to the
+gloom beyond, and sometimes creeping stealthily
+forth, danced for a moment within the circle of the
+firelight, and then chased one another back into the
+darkness, and were swallowed up in it. The soft
+murmur of the river over its stones came to the
+campers in a monotonous undertone, while now and
+then from the nearby trees came the plaintive call of
+some bird, and the mountain sides echoed at intervals
+to the fierce shrill challenge of the angry elk.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a great elk country, isn't it, Hugh?" said
+Jack. "It seems to me that elk are 'most everywhere,
+and I suppose they'll always be here, won't they?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't know, son," said Hugh; "it's pretty
+hard to say about that. They'll likely be here until
+the white folks come; but as soon as they come, why
+the elk are bound to go. I've heard they're talking
+about passing a law not to let them be killed in the
+Park we came through&mdash;that place where the hot
+springs and spouting fountains are. But just as soon
+as mineral is discovered in these hills, the game will
+go. I reckon, too, that this law they're talking about
+passing for that Park back there won't amount to
+much, for I talked with two hunters there who said
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span>
+that they expected to get the contract this winter to
+kill meat for all them fellows that's working on those
+buildings that we saw. Of course what two men'll
+kill in a winter won't amount to much; but just as
+soon as many people begin to come into this country,
+the game will all get killed off. I've seen places down
+in the south, in Colorado, where twenty or twenty-five
+years ago game was so plenty that you could kill all
+you wanted right close to camp, any time; and now
+that country is full of settlers, miners and ranchmen,
+and they've killed off the game for the mining camps
+and tie camps and every settler has to go and get
+three or four wagon loads for his winter's meat, and
+the first thing they know there won't be a hoof left
+in the country."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, but Hugh," said Jack, "what's going to
+become of all the game? Isn't there going to be
+any left after a few years?"</p>
+
+<p>"You can't prove it by me, son. I don't know; but
+I expect there won't be any game left, unless they
+pass some laws, and enforce them, to stop the killing
+of it. Of course laws don't mean anything without
+they're enforced, and as far as I can see, these laws
+protecting the game never are enforced."</p>
+
+<p>"But, Hugh," said Jack, "that seems to me all
+wrong. Do you mean to say that if I come out here
+twenty years from now there won't be anything for
+me to hunt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Looks that way to me, son," said Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"And if I should have a son, and ever want to bring
+him out here and show him the things that I saw when
+I was a boy, he could not see them?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span>
+"I don't believe he could. I tell you, son, this
+country has changed an awful lot since I first saw it,
+and it seems to me it's changing more and more all
+the time, and quicker now than it used to. I used to
+think that the time would never come when I couldn't
+go out and kill meat if I wanted it; but my ideas have
+changed a whole lot in the last year or two, and I
+believe now that the time will come when there won't
+be any game left for a man to shoot with a rifle. I
+used to think that the buffalo could never be killed
+off, but I've seen 'em killed off over part of the country,
+and I may live long enough to see 'em killed off
+everywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "it seems as if there ought to
+be some way to stop that."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, there ought to be," said Hugh, "but you see,
+every fellow that comes out into the mountains,
+he's just like you and me; we think the other fellow
+oughtn't to kill game, but we ought to kill it. We
+claim that we don't kill anything more than what we
+want to eat, and these other fellows claim, maybe&mdash;if
+they're buffalo skinners or elk skinners&mdash;that they
+don't kill any more than they want to skin. Each
+man thinks that what he'll kill won't do any harm;
+but when they're all at work killing as hard as they
+can, the upshot of it is that there's no game left."</p>
+
+<p>"I see," said Jack; "each one of us is thinking about
+himself and about nobody else, and yet each one of
+us is likely to talk about what the other people do.
+You must have seen lots of game in your life, Hugh,"
+he added.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, son," said Hugh, "I've seen a heap of game.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span>
+Why, at one time men used to travel day after day,
+and never be out of sight of game; and most times
+the game was not afraid at all. Buffalo or elk or
+antelope would just move out the way, and a man
+never thought of shooting at anything until he needed
+meat to eat. Of course in those times we never took
+anything but the best parts, and so it often happened
+that we killed an animal every two or three
+days. But we never thought, up to within a very
+few years ago, when railroads began to come into the
+country, that things would be much different from
+what they were then; but when the railroads came,
+they brought a heap of people, a good many of them
+hunters, and a good many of them men who came to
+live on the land where the game had always roamed
+without being bothered by anybody, except maybe
+once a year when Indians happened to pass that way
+and perhaps camped in the neighborhood for a few
+weeks. Of course the time has been when a man
+could easily enough kill a car-load of game in a day,
+but in the old times no one had any reason for doing
+that. We could only eat about so much meat, and
+wear about so much buckskin; and ammunition cost
+money, and nobody wanted to waste it."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII<br />
+A PACK HORSE IN DANGER</h2>
+
+<p>They had not gone far down the river the next
+morning when the mountains on either side drew
+closer together, and the valley narrowed greatly.
+Before they had gone far Hugh stopped, and, turning,
+said to the boys as they came up, "I don't
+like the looks of things ahead; I reckon we'll have to
+go up on the hillside down below here. Looks to me
+like we were coming to a ca�on."</p>
+
+<p>A little farther along it proved so; and Hugh, after
+going ahead and making a little investigation, called
+out to the boys to bring on the animals. They found
+him on a narrow game trail, which began to climb the
+hill among thick timber, where the trees stood so
+close on both sides of the trail that it was evident
+that there might be trouble in getting the packs
+along. Hugh got an axe out of the pack, and, going
+ahead on foot, began to chop the branches on either
+side, so as to make room for the loaded horses. Two
+or three times he found small trees fallen across the
+trail, and, as it was extremely steep, it was necessary
+to cut out each one of these. Progress was slow, but
+after two or three hours they emerged from the timber
+and could see ahead of them the trail leading
+along a very steep hillside. Immediately below the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span>
+trail grew underbrush, and below that the rocks fell
+off sharply to the river. From the hillside a number
+of little brooks and springs trickled down, making
+slippery, muddy places in the trail over which it was
+necessary to go carefully. Hugh several times called
+back to the boys, saying, "Go slow along this place,
+and don't crowd the animals; let each one take its
+time, and you boys go on foot. The horses will
+follow all right."</p>
+
+<p>There was nothing on the trail that was difficult for
+a man on foot or for a careful horse, and for some
+time they went on very well, and made good time;
+but in crossing a little brook which ran down over
+the trail, and where there was a mud-hole, the bay
+horse, pausing and putting down his head to investigate
+the trail, was crowded upon by the dun and
+kicked back at him with both heels, and when his feet
+came down they were over the edge of the trail, and,
+trying to recover himself, he clumsily fell down and
+rolled over once or twice. Just below the trail at this
+point there was a big patch of stiff alders growing
+close to the steep hillside. Jack saw the horse begin
+to fall, and, dropping his own bridle rein and placing
+his gun on the hillside above the trail, he slipped by
+the dun, and before the pack horse had turned over
+twice he had caught it by its hackamore and checked it.
+In a moment Joe was by his side, and the two hung
+on like grim death, and held the horse there on its
+side, with its head a little up the hill. Meantime
+Hugh had left his horse and come back along the
+trail, and in a moment he too had hold of the horse's
+head. Fortunately, the horse lay perfectly quiet,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span>
+and neither slid nor rolled, his hips being more or
+less supported by the alders. Hugh quickly unfastened
+the hackamore, which gave all hands a better
+hold, and then said to Jack, "Slip down there now,
+behind the horse, and see if you can loosen that lash
+rope. If you can't, cut the lacing that holds it to the
+cinch. We've got to get that pack off, or else lose
+the animal. Don't get where the horse can hit you
+with his feet; reach over his back."</p>
+
+<p>The horse was lying on its off side, and it was
+impossible to loosen the lash rope, but reaching over
+the back, Jack cut the lacings of the lash cinch, so
+that the whole lash rope fell off. "Now," said Hugh,
+"come back here and hang on to the hackamore."
+Jack took Hugh's place, and Hugh quickly loosened
+the sling ropes, and removing the packs from the
+saddle, carried them up to the trail, and then along it
+a little distance until he reached a place where the
+ground on the upper side sloped more gradually.
+Here he deposited the packs one by one; then he
+took hold of the hackamore again and said to Jack,
+"Go and get your rope and bring it here, and tie it
+round this horse's neck in a bowline." When this
+had been done, the end of the rope was passed round
+a small spruce tree, which grew just above the trail,
+and then all three held the rope, so that now the
+horse could not possibly roll down the hill, unless the
+tree gave way, or the men let the rope go. While
+two of them held the rope, Jack led the horses
+along the trail, until a place was reached where it
+came out on a wider ledge, and leaving them there
+returned. Then the pack horse was made to rise to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span>
+its feet, and without very great difficulty, assisted by
+the rope about its neck, it climbed back to the trail
+and was led along to a place where there was more
+room. Now, while Hugh mended the lash cinch, the
+boys carried the packs along the trail to where it was
+wider, and at length the horse was re-packed, and they
+started on.</p>
+
+<p>While they were at work, Jack said to Hugh, "I
+want you to understand, Hugh, that I didn't drive
+the dun onto that horse. The dun came up behind
+him and stopped, and the bay kicked at him, and lost
+his footing, and went over the side of the trail."</p>
+
+<p>"I know," said Hugh, "I know; I was watching.
+It wasn't anybody's fault, but the fool horse that
+tried to kill himself. You did mighty well to get
+hold of him as quick as you did, and if it hadn't been
+for that, if he'd made one more roll, he'd have gone
+over the rocks, and we'd have lost him, and likely a
+lot of the load he's carrying.</p>
+
+<p>"We've got to look for things like this when we're
+travelling with a pack train, and I'm mighty surprised
+that we've had as little trouble as we have."</p>
+
+<p>It was near sundown when Hugh stopped as
+they came out on a bench of the hillside, and said:
+"I reckon we'll have to camp up here to-night, boys.
+There don't seem to be any place where we can get
+down to the river. There's good grass here for the
+horses and a place where we can picket two or three
+of them, but I don't see any water just here. Jack,
+you ride up the hill, and see whether you can find
+anything that looks like a spring. Joe and I'll stop
+here with the horses."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span>
+Jack had not ridden far, when, passing over a little
+ridge, he found, issuing from a ledge of rock, a good
+spring, which ran down into a little ravine, and calling
+to the others, they came up there, unsaddled, and
+made camp. It was dark when supper was over, and
+their talk was chiefly of the difficulties of the day,
+and the narrow escape had by the pack horse.</p>
+
+<p>"A man is bound to lose an animal in the mountains
+now and then," said Hugh, "not always through
+his own carelessness, but because there's always
+some horses and mules that are fools. After all a
+horse is nothing but a bundle of nerves, and if
+he gets scared and loses his head, why he doesn't do
+anything but jump round and kick and make things
+worse for himself. Now, that's where a good man has
+the bulge on any dumb beast that ever was. A man,
+if he's got sense, will stop and think, and reason, and
+try to find some way out of his difficulty; but a
+critter doesn't do that. That's the reason horses and
+mules and cattle stampede, and that's the reason
+often that human beings stampede too; they lose
+their senses, and become no better at all than just so
+many animals. We've always got to keep our wits
+about us, be ready, and when anything happens do
+the right thing, and do it right off&mdash;like you did
+to-day, son, when you ran to grab that horse's head,
+and like you did too, Joe; for I saw that you were
+both ready. You saved us the horse, and a mighty
+good job it is.</p>
+
+<p>"I remember one day, years ago, we lost our whole
+kitchen outfit just through the foolishness of a mule.
+It was near Henry's Fork of Green River, and I
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span>
+was guiding a lot of soldiers and bug hunters up from
+the Unita agency. To get down into the valley we
+had to follow down a mighty sharp crest that ran out
+between two deep ravines. It was mighty narrow,
+and a terrible long way down on either side, but there
+were no bad places in it; but a big bay mule that
+carried the kitchen, in two big baskets, tried to turn
+round and look at the rest of the train that were coming,
+and somehow she caught her hind legs over the
+edge, and they slipped down, and she hung a little
+while with her forefeet, but before any one could get
+to her she let go, and she fell. She was dead long
+before she struck the bottom, I guess, and the kitchen
+was all smashed and broken up. I believe we did get
+some knives and forks and tin plates out of the mess,
+but the plates were all battered, and had to be
+hammered out on a tree with an axe before they
+would set on the ground. It was one of the worst
+falls I ever saw an animal take."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning the horses were seen scattered
+all along the hillside above the camp, and it took the
+boys some time to gather and bring them in; and
+while they were doing this, a big doe, followed by
+two little fawns, jumped up out of a patch of quaking
+aspen, ran a short distance up above them on the hillside,
+and then all three animals turning round stood
+looking at them, with their great ears thrown forward.
+The boys stood for a few moments and looked at her,
+and then she turned again and clambered still higher
+up, only to stop again for another look. Neither felt
+any desire to shoot at her.</p>
+
+<p>The greater part of the day was devoted to working
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span>
+down stream along the hillside. They found that
+they could travel with some comfort on the benches,
+except when these were interrupted at frequent intervals
+by deep ravines, cut out by streams coming down
+from the hills, and the plunge down into these, and
+the subsequent climb up the other side, was tiring to
+the animals. Also they had to stop frequently to
+adjust the packs and tighten the saddles.</p>
+
+<p>That night they camped again on the benches, and
+Hugh said, "I believe we'll do as well to stop somewhere,
+if we can find a good camp, and rest up for two
+or three days. These horses have been having hard
+work now for some little time, and they'll get poor.
+Besides that, this up and down work is awful hard on
+their backs, and I think it would be a good idea to
+given 'em a rest. If we can find a good camp to-morrow,
+any time in the day, as we're travelling along, I
+think we better stop and rest up, or we can stop right
+here. You boys might want to take a hunt or a fish.
+It's nice weather now, and we're low enough down so
+that there's no danger that the snow will catch us, and
+I think we can spare the time."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh," said Jack, "I think that's a pretty
+good idea. I'd like to look over these hills and see
+what there is in them, and I guess we'd all like to rest
+for a day."</p>
+
+<p>The next few days were spent in this camp. Hugh
+was busy mending up saddles and riggings, fixing
+blankets, and getting things in good shape for their
+further journey, while Jack fished a good deal in the
+river and took many trout.</p>
+
+<p>One day while working around the edge of a large
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span>
+pool, and trying to cover it all with his line, he found
+himself close to a steep rocky wall, over which poured
+a fall six or eight feet high. He had fished here for
+some minutes, when suddenly his eye caught a round
+brownish-green bunch of something, resting on a little
+ledge close to the falls and over deep water; and as
+he saw it he thought that this must be a nest of the
+dipper. It was impossible to get close to it, and remembering
+that it was now autumn and that the nest
+by no possibility could contain anything, he reached
+over with his pole, and pushing it from its position, it
+fell to the water and was soon in his hand. He found
+it just what Hugh had described: a bunch of moss,
+containing a chamber within, lined with dried grass
+and a few feathers, and with a round hole at the front
+for the passage in and out of the birds. It was a
+beautiful piece of bird architecture, and he determined
+to take it with him and to try to carry it back
+east.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV<br />
+A BIGHORN</h2>
+
+<p>While Hugh had been working and Jack fishing,
+Joe had been roaming the hillsides. He had found
+some signs of game and killed another little fawn, but
+had not been higher up than the first bench above the
+camp. From there, however, he had seen higher
+mountains rising beyond, and one night he said to
+Jack, "Jack, why don't you quit catching these fish,
+and let's go up high on the hills here, and see if we
+can't kill something?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's a good idea, Joe," said Hugh, "the meat
+of these black-tails is about gone now, and it's a good
+idea for you boys to go out and kill something more.
+That last fawn that you got is almost gone, too. We
+don't want to keep eating fish all the rest of the
+trip.</p>
+
+<p>"Good enough," said Jack. "I'll go you; and we'll
+start early to-morrow morning. Shall we take horses,
+Hugh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," said Hugh, "if I were you I'd leave
+the horses here to rest, and go afoot. You can hunt
+better afoot, and then if you kill anything that's too
+big for you to pack in, you can come down and get a
+horse for it."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning the two boys started early, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span>
+for a long time scrambled up the hill. When they
+reached the top of the bench above camp, they found
+before them a plateau, more or less level, and beyond
+that rose another ridge, which cut off the view. They
+climbed and climbed for a long time, passing over one
+bench after another, and at length, a little before
+noon, Joe saw far off on the hillside, at about the
+same level with themselves, three mountain sheep.
+They were on quite another mountain, for there were
+two wide gorges between them and the boys; and,
+what was more to the point, the sheep had already
+seen them and were looking. So the boys kept on
+climbing.</p>
+
+<p>At last they reached the rocks, a great brown slope
+of broken weathered lichen-covered stones, which rose
+steeply before them; but the going was not bad,
+and they climbed up, heading always for a place
+where the precipices above seemed broken away, so
+that they could get through. It was now noon and
+the sun shone warm, but a cool breeze was blowing
+along the hillside, and the air was fresh and invigorating.
+Jack said, "Now, Joe, when we get to the top
+of this cliff we'll find a sheltered place, and sit down
+there and eat."</p>
+
+<p>"That will be good," said Joe; "I'm hungry."
+They had now climbed quite high, and looking across
+at the mountain on the other side of the stream,
+could see that the timber was small, and that a little
+higher up it seemed to stop. Joe said, "We ought to
+see sheep up here, it seems to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I should think so," said Jack, "but we'll have to
+wait until we get to some place where we can get a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span>
+good look along the mountain." Before long they
+reached a ravine, and clambering up it for some distance
+came out on a rocky hillside, from which both to the
+north and south they could see a long way over
+ground that for the most part was open and steeply
+sloping. Above them the mountains rose in a series
+of narrow benches&mdash;a bench not more than fifty feet
+wide, and then a cliff as high, then another bench, and
+another cliff, and so on up. Here, choosing a place
+which was sheltered from the wind, they sat down
+and rested for a while, at the same time eating their
+bread and dried meat, which tasted very good. When
+they had finished, Jack said:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Joe, you know more about the mountains
+than I do. What shall we do? Shall we keep on
+climbing, and try to get up to the top, or shall we
+walk along one of these benches? I suppose if we
+do that we might easily enough run across some
+sheep, for at this time of the day they'd be likely to
+be lying down in just such places."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Joe, "that's so; but if they're lying
+down there, they're looking 'round all the time, and
+pretty sure to see you before you see them. Then
+maybe they'll make one jump out of sight, going up
+the hill, or down, and you don't get a shot."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then," said Jack, "let's go higher."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Joe, "we'll go ahead."</p>
+
+<p>The climb was steep and rough and hard, but
+they kept at it for sometime longer, and at last found
+themselves up above the benches and on a gentle
+rounded rock slope, where little grass grew. There
+were no trees or tall weeds.</p>
+
+<div><a name="almost_below_them_feeding_were_two_good_sized_rams" id="almost_below_them_feeding_were_two_good_sized_rams"></a></div>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img class="mw" src="images/i002.jpg" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">
+<p>"ALMOST BELOW THEM, FEEDING, WERE TWO GOOD SIZED
+RAMS."&mdash;<cite>Page <a href="#Page_183">183</a></cite></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span>
+"Now," said Joe, "I think we've got to the place.
+Now we can work along and look down into these
+ravines, or little basins, or onto the ledges, and maybe
+if we see sheep we'll be above them and can get to
+them."</p>
+
+<p>They followed the ridge down the stream, and in
+the first ravine that they came to they saw a big drift
+of snow. They headed that, and as they went on,
+found that in all the low places on the mountain top
+there was more or less snow. They had gone more
+than half a mile when, peering over a crest of rock,
+they looked down into a pretty little basin in which
+there was a good deal of snow, but above the snow
+grew green grass, and almost below them feeding were
+two good sized rams. The animals did not see them,
+and they drew back.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Joe," said Jack, "which of us shall shoot?
+I guess you'd better, because I don't think you have
+ever killed a big ram, have you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Joe, "I never killed a ram as big as this,
+but then I've killed sheep, and I'll have plenty of
+chances to hunt when maybe you won't. You'd
+better shoot."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Jack, "I'd rather have you."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Joe, "you shoot."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I tell you," said Jack, "let's toss up for it, the
+way we did before," and picking up a small flat stone
+he spat on one side of it, and said, "we'll call the wet
+side heads. Now, you call," and throwing it up in the
+air, Joe called "Head" and "tail" came uppermost.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Jack, "that settles it." He stepped
+forward and shot, and Joe stood beside him, ready, in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span>
+case Jack should miss. At the crack of the gun the
+two sheep jumped a little, but did not run away but
+stood looking in all directions. Jack said to Joe,
+"Now you give him another," and Joe fired at the
+sheep Jack had shot at. Almost as the gun cracked,
+the sheep sank to his knees, and its head fell down.
+The boys reloaded their guns, and began to pick their
+way down the rocks to it. The other ram stood until
+they had approached quite near to it, and then suddenly
+seeming to become very much frightened, rushed
+away along the mountain side, and was soon seen
+climbing the cliff.</p>
+
+<p>They could see that the ram that had fallen was big
+and fat, and knew that they could not take the whole
+of the meat into camp with them, and both felt quite
+sure that they could not bring an animal up here. At
+least, if they could do so, it would take all day to do it.
+On turning over the sheep and examining it, they
+found that the bullet holes made by the two shots were
+only two inches apart. Both were shots that would
+have killed the sheep in a few moments. This merely
+meant that Jack's had not given the animal a shock
+sufficient to throw it to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>When they had butchered, they found the sheep
+very fat, and neither Jack nor Joe liked the idea of
+leaving the greater part of it up here on the mountain
+to waste. "I'll tell you what we'll do, Jack,"
+said Joe, "let's each of us take one of the shoulders
+and try to carry that down to camp, and then
+to-morrow we can come up here with the horses and
+see if we can get the rest of it down. We can tell as
+we go home what sort of a trail there will be up here
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span>
+for a horse. Of course we can't get him up here over
+these cliffs that we climbed, but maybe by following
+down the stream that runs out of this basin we can
+find a horse trail."</p>
+
+<p>When the boys got into camp that night they were
+both pretty tired. They told Hugh what they had
+done, and that it was impossible to get a horse up as
+they had gone. Of course there might be some other
+way of climbing the hills.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "now I'll tell you what we'll do
+to-morrow: we'll take a pack horse, and all of us go
+up there on foot, and we'll take the horse as far as we
+can, and when we can't get him any further, why of
+course we'll have to leave him. Then we can bring
+the meat down, or most of it, on our backs, and when
+we get to the horse, put it on him, and so get it all to
+camp."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh," said Jack, "let's do that; but I tell
+you, that sheep is awful heavy. I had all I wanted to
+carry one of those shoulders down, and of course the
+hams will be twice as heavy as the shoulders. I don't
+believe either Joe or I can carry those hams."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well, we don't any of us know what we can do
+until we try. I'd like to stretch my legs on the
+mountains, and I'll see what we can do toward bringing
+in the meat to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>While breakfast was being cooked next morning
+Hugh told the boys to go out and bring in the dun
+horse, for he was the stoutest and toughest animal in
+the bunch, and besides that, Hugh thought him the
+best climber.</p>
+
+<p>Before starting, Hugh had the boys point out as
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span>
+nearly as possible the direction from which they had
+come the night before, and then swinging off down
+the hill, he worked up on the mountain, the others
+following close behind. Studying each steep ascent
+as they approached it over the more or less level
+bench below, he avoided a number of the rock climbs
+that the boys had made the day before, and several
+times led the horse up through ravines where
+Jack would not have supposed it possible for any
+animal except a sheep or a deer to pass. Jack
+noticed, too, Hugh's method of climbing. While he
+walked briskly across the level and gently sloping
+country, he climbed steep ascents rather slowly and
+stopped frequently. The boys, of course, did just as
+he did, and Jack noticed that he was not nearly so
+tired or so out of breath as he had been during the
+climb of the day before.</p>
+
+<p>During one of the rests which they made just after
+reaching a bench, Jack said, "I wonder why it is,
+Hugh, that I can climb so much better to-day than I
+could yesterday. Yesterday I lost my wind all the
+time, and it took me a long time to get it back.
+Every time I climbed up one of these steep places,
+when I got to the top I gave out, and had to throw
+myself down and pant for a long time before I could
+go on. I suppose it's because I've been riding so
+much, and doing but little on foot."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "I reckon that has something
+to do with it; but how did you climb yesterday?
+Did you hurry on and try to get to the top of each
+cliff quick, going as fast as you could, and then stop
+and rest for a long time?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span>
+"Yes, that's the way we did. We wanted to get up
+to the top as quickly as we could, and see what was
+over the next hill."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "that's natural, but I don't
+think that's the way to climb 'round among the mountains.
+You get along as fast, and I think easier, if
+you go more slowly and make frequent stops, but
+have them short ones. If you go hurrying all the
+time, you get all blown by the hard work you're doing,
+and then when you have to stop, you have to stop a
+long time, and after you've rested for a long time you
+don't feel much like getting up and going on again;
+you're all tired out.</p>
+
+<p>"It always seems to me," he went on, "better to
+climb a little way and then stop and take a few deep
+breaths, and then go on a little way further, and then
+stop and breathe again. In that way you are not
+nearly so tired at any time, and the whole climb is
+easier for you. I have scrambled 'round considerable
+in the mountains myself, and that is the way I've
+learned to climb. You watch through the rest of the
+day, and see if you don't find it easier on you than
+it was yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"I will," said Jack. "It seems a good deal easier
+so far, but then we haven't climbed anywhere near as
+steep places as we did yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"That's another thing you want to learn," said
+Hugh: "when you're climbing the mountains, try
+always to pick the easiest road; it's a good deal less
+trouble to go 'round and take the easy slopes, even if
+it's twice as long, than it is to buck right against the
+steep face of a hill. Of course there's lots of places
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span>
+where there are no easy slopes, and you've got to go
+up over bad steep sliding shell-rock, and to climb up
+straight cliffs; but when you can do it, it pays to
+take the easy ways."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XV<br />
+A CHARGING GRIZZLY</h2>
+
+<p>They were now getting high up in the mountain,
+and pretty near, Jack thought, to where the sheep
+was. The horse was still with them, and it astonished
+Jack to see that Hugh found a means of getting him
+up or around every cliff or rock slide that they met.
+At length they were so near the top that, after speaking
+with Joe about it, Jack told Hugh that he thought
+they were pretty near the game. One more high cliff
+should bring them to the little basin in which the
+sheep lay.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, boys, if you're sure of that," said Hugh,
+"we'll leave the horse here, and maybe we can pack
+the meat down to him. It's getting to be pretty
+steep and pretty rocky under foot, I don't want to
+take him any further than we must."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "I think we're right close now&mdash;that
+it's just over this little bluff ahead of us."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh twisted the horse's rope around a little bush
+that grew on the hillside, and then turning to Joe
+said, "Well, Joe, go ahead, and take us up to it."
+Joe started, and they were soon at the ridge; but just
+before passing over it, Joe made a motion with his
+hand, and sank back out of sight, and whispered to
+Hugh, "There's a bear at the sheep."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span>
+"Sure?" said Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure," said Joe.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, how can we get at him?" asked Jack, who
+had pushed up beside Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"The same way we did at the sheep, I guess," said
+Joe. "It don't look very far from here." You take a
+look, Hugh. Hugh climbed up, and cautiously raising
+his head, looked for a few seconds, and lowering it
+again said, "Well, boys, we've got more than we
+bargained for; there's two bears there, a big one
+and a little one. Now, let's go 'round to the left
+here, and get behind those rocks and a little above
+them, and then we'll have a chance to look at them
+and see what we'll do."</p>
+
+<p>They went back down the ravine, and then a little
+way around and again climbing the rocks, found that
+they could see the basin in which the sheep lay, and
+hurrying forward, they soon reached its rim and looked
+down on the spot.</p>
+
+<p>Sure enough, there were two bears, tearing away at
+the sheep's carcass, and seeming greatly to enjoy
+themselves. They looked like mother and cub, and
+to Jack the mother looked pretty big. They had
+mauled and partly eaten the fore part of the sheep's
+carcass, and had dug into its belly, gnawing the
+flanks.</p>
+
+<p>The cub paid no attention to anything, and was eating
+greedily, but the larger bear stopped feeding every
+few moments and looked in all directions, and throwing
+up her head seemed to snuff the breeze. Fortunately,
+the wind was blowing from the southeast, and
+so up the stream, and there was no danger that the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span>
+animal would detect the presence of human beings;
+yet she seemed uneasy, and more or less suspicious.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, boys," said Hugh, "what do you want to
+do? I expect you want to kill them bears."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed, Hugh," said Jack, "of course we
+want to kill them."</p>
+
+<p>"Hide's no good now," said Hugh, "they're in
+summer coat, and all sunburned, and the winter coat
+isn't started."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Hugh," said Jack, "you don't mean you want
+to let those bears go. Why look how they've torn
+our sheep to pieces. Why they ought to be killed for
+that, if for nothing else."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, well," said Hugh, smiling, "you are an
+unreasonable creature. Do you expect if you leave
+meat out on the mountain that bears, or wolves, or
+Indians, or white people either, are going to pass it
+by and not use it? How do you suppose those bears
+knew that you were coming back?"</p>
+
+<p>Jack saw that Hugh was making fun of him, and
+said, "Well, how shall we take them, Hugh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Fix it any way you like. Suppose you take the
+old bear and Joe the cub; and I won't fire until I
+have to."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Jack, "but wouldn't you rather
+fire? I've had some hunting, and so has Joe since
+we've been out, and you haven't had a shot.
+Wouldn't you like to kill the old bear?"</p>
+
+<p>Hugh laughed again, as he said, "No, I'll give that
+up to you. You take the old one, and Joe'll take the
+young one; but I tell you, the young one's hide is
+better than the old one's."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span>
+"Oh, I don't care about that," said Jack. "What
+do you say, Joe, does that suit you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Joe, "it suits me all right."</p>
+
+<p>"All right then, let's shoot at the word; and you
+count, Hugh; when you say three we'll both fire."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Hugh, "get ready. Are you
+ready?"</p>
+
+<p>Both boys grunted in assent. One, two, three! the
+two guns cracked at the same instant. The smaller
+bear fell over, and then sprang to its feet, screaming
+dismally, and ran along the hillside. The larger one
+turned her head quickly and bit at the place at which
+Jack had fired, and then, without a moment's waiting,
+came rushing toward the spot over which the smoke
+of the two rifles still hung.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah, boys!" said Hugh, with more interest
+than Jack had ever seen him show. "Here she
+comes; get ready, and shoot again." The two boys,
+having reloaded, fired, but both hurriedly, and the
+bear made no pause, but kept galloping toward them
+at tremendous speed. She was now within thirty or
+thirty-five yards, and Hugh, saying, "Scatter out if
+she keeps a-coming, and keep shooting," raised his
+rifle to his shoulder and fired; and as he did so, the
+bear crumpled up and fell to the ground, and after a
+few struggles, lay still; but for several moments all
+three stood with loaded guns, waiting to see what she
+would do.</p>
+
+<p>"She was a tough one," said Hugh, "but I reckon
+that neither of you boys hit her a second time to do
+any harm to her. You were a little excited, I guess,
+and shot before you got your sights rightly drawed. I
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span>
+tell you when a bear is coming for you, that isn't the
+time to get excited. If you get excited when a deer
+or antelope is running away from you, that's all right,
+but when a bear is coming to you, you want all your
+wits.</p>
+
+<p>"But what became of your bear, Joe," he continued.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Joe; "last I saw of him he
+was going over that ridge, squealing a whole lot. I
+know just where he went over, and I can go there and
+look for him."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you'd better," said Hugh. "But first let's
+see if there's any life left in this old lady down here."
+They slowly approached the bear, and threw stones at
+her, but she did not move. Moreover, much blood
+was running from her mouth and nostrils, and she was
+evidently dead. When they turned her over to skin
+her they saw that she was not a very large bear, but a
+grizzly. Her coat, as Hugh had said, was not in good
+order, being faded and sunburned, and with many
+thin patches. Still, Jack thought it would be worth
+taking home with him, and he and Hugh proceeded to
+skin her, while Joe went off to look for the small one.</p>
+
+<p>"Keep your eyes about you, son," said Hugh, as
+the boy started. "Even a little bear can scratch and
+bite a whole lot, if he gets hold of you. If you find
+the bear lying down, don't go up to him until you're
+sure either that it is dead or alive; and if it is alive,
+kill it."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI<br />
+SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS</h2>
+
+<p>As they began to skin the bear, Jack said, "I want
+to find out why I didn't kill this bear, Hugh; I
+thought I held all right on it, and yet my shot never
+seemed to faze her."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll tell you what I think, son. I noticed
+where she seemed to snap at where you hit her, and I
+reckon you forgot you were shooting down hill, and
+shot a little high, and perhaps hit a little far back.
+Now, when we get her hide off we'll see."</p>
+
+<p>Jack thought for a moment, and then said, "Hugh,
+I bet you're right. She made a kind of a step to one
+side just as I was pulling the trigger, and I never
+thought one thing about holding low because we were
+above her on the hillside. I guess if we open her
+we'll find that that shot of mine went nearer her liver
+than it did her heart."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I wouldn't be surprised. Of
+course the liver is a pretty deadly shot after a while,
+but it isn't so good as the heart, and, as I've told you
+I guess more than forty times, it's always better to
+shoot under than over."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "that was a pretty bad blunder.
+I feel pretty badly about that. I ought to have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span>
+known better than to have done such a thing. I
+wonder if Joe shot over, too. I hope he'll get his
+bear, so that we can know about it."</p>
+
+<p>The work of skinning the bear was long and slow,
+and Hugh said, when they drew the skin out from
+under the animal, "Now we've got it, it ain't worth
+anything."</p>
+
+<p>It was found that Jack's ball had struck the bear
+much too far back, and so that it passed just under the
+spine, yet not quite high enough to cut the great vein
+that passes along close beneath the vertebrae. The
+bear might have lived a number of days, or even have
+recovered, with this shot alone. The heavy ball from
+Hugh's rifle had struck her in the back of the neck,
+and had smashed two of the vertebrae, and lay there
+flattened in the muscles of the neck. As Jack looked
+at the wound made by Hugh's ball, and then cut the
+flattened lead out and held it in his hand, he said,
+"Well, Hugh, it's mighty sure that you didn't get
+excited, anyhow. That was an awful good shot, even
+if it was close, and a mighty hard shot when you think
+how fast the bear was coming."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "of course in a case like that a
+man's got to figure close. I took the chance of
+striking her on the top of the head, or breaking her
+neck, or breaking her back right between the shoulders;
+but I hit just the place I wanted to hit. I don't
+hear anything of Joe," he went on; "let's walk over to
+that ridge and see if we can see him. I'd like to see
+the trail left by that bear, and maybe call Joe back if
+he's going too far."</p>
+
+<p>They walked quickly over to the ridge, and had
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span>
+just reached its top when they saw, a little way below
+them, the figure of Joe bending over something
+which they knew must be the bear, and going to him
+they found that he had nearly finished skinning it;
+and a few minutes help by Hugh and Jack completed
+the job.</p>
+
+<p>"That looks like good meat, Hugh," said Jack.
+"Is it worth while taking any of it along?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do as you like," said Hugh. "I don't go much
+on bear meat, myself. I've had to eat it, but then
+I've had to eat lots of other things that I didn't
+hanker after. If you like, we can take those hams
+along. The horse will have all he can carry, with the
+sheep if any of it is worth taking, and the bear skins.
+They've mauled that animal a whole lot, I reckon,
+and it may not be fit to carry to camp." Folding up
+the little bear skin, Joe put it on his back, while
+Hugh cut off the hams of the bear, which he said was
+a yearling, and he and Jack each taking one, they
+started back to look at the sheep. This was found in
+bad shape, but the greater part of both hams was
+uninjured, and cutting these off, and cutting away the
+part where the bears had gnawed, they were ready to
+start on their return.</p>
+
+<p>"Jack," said Hugh, "do you suppose you can carry
+both of these little bear hams? If you can, I'll take
+both the sheep hams, and then come back here and
+get the bear skin. But one of you boys'll have to
+come back to carry my rifle, for I reckon I can't tote
+both the skin and the gun, at least not without a rope
+to tie the skin up with."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess we've got to make two trips anyhow,"
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span>
+said Jack, "there's too much to carry, and anyhow it
+isn't far."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh, "it isn't far." The two trips were
+made, and all the things carried to the edge of the
+cliff, and then Hugh said: "Now, I'll go and get
+the horse. I'd rather get him myself, for the smell of
+the bears'll maybe scare him, and I may have to fool
+with him a little. You boys get these things down;
+get the bear skins down first, and then the meat.
+We're likely to have some trouble packing that horse.
+I don't think he'll mind the meat, but the smell of the
+bear is likely to scare him."</p>
+
+<p>It proved as Hugh had said, the dun made a great
+fuss when approaching the pile which constituted
+the hunters' spoils, and after he was close to it it
+was necessary for Hugh to take off his coat and
+put it over the animal's head, and tie it there; and
+then Joe held the horse's rope, while Hugh and Jack
+packed the load. After the ropes were all tied, Hugh
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"Now boys, you want, both of you, to get hold of
+that rope, for I expect when I get this blind off the
+horse he'll buck plenty, and if he bucks down the hill,
+he's likely to turn a somersault, and roll, and break
+his neck before he stops rolling."</p>
+
+<p>The boys, having put their guns well up above the
+horse on the hillside, took the rope, prepared for anything.
+As Hugh had said, when the coat was taken
+from the horse's head he partly turned his head, and
+giving a frightened snort at the load on his back,
+began to buck. If he had gotten his head down the
+hill he would certainly have fallen, but the boys, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span>
+with them Hugh, kept his head from turning down the
+slope, and he soon tired of bucking, and though once
+or twice he staggered as if about to fall over, they
+managed to keep him on his feet. Though he bucked
+no more that day, he was still much alarmed by what
+he was carrying, and they were obliged to handle him
+with great discretion while going down some of the
+steep places; for, as the load pressed forward toward
+his neck he would snort loudly, and roll his eyes, as if
+he felt that he must do something to get rid of the
+terrifying burden.</p>
+
+<p>They reached camp just before dark, and all were
+glad to get there. When they stopped before the
+lodge, Hugh again put his coat over the horse's head
+until he was unpacked and unsaddled, and when it
+was taken off, the dun threw head and tail into the
+air and trotted out to the other horses, looking back
+and snorting fiercely, showing that his alarm was not
+yet over.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I believe if I had that job to
+do over again I'd rather carry the stuff down on my
+own back than fool with that horse. If I'd known we
+were going to have bear skins to pack, I wouldn't have
+taken the horse along."</p>
+
+<p>Before doing anything else, Hugh sent the two boys
+with the axe down into the timber, and told them to
+get a slender pole, like a lodge pole, and trim it, and
+bring it up to him. Then resting the ends of the pole
+on the branches of two trees, about six feet from the
+ground, he spread the bear hides over it.</p>
+
+<p>After supper that night the talk turned to what
+they had seen and done that day, and from that to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span>
+bears. Jack had many questions to ask about them,
+some of which Hugh could not answer.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought bears almost always had two cubs," said
+Jack; "but this one only had one, and that you say is
+a yearling."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "they do 'most always have
+two cubs, and sometimes three, and sometimes four.
+I've heard of five, but I never saw more than four,
+and those only once. I expect this old bear started
+in with two cubs, but that something happened to one
+of them. You see, when cubs first come out they are
+pretty small, and lots of things are likely to happen to
+them. This old she-bear very likely lost one of her
+cubs when it was a little one. You notice, the one
+we killed is pretty good size for a yearling, and fat
+and in good order. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd
+had all his mother's milk now for over a year, and
+that's maybe what makes him so fat."</p>
+
+<p>"When are the cubs born?" asked Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Most people think they're born about the middle
+of the winter," said Hugh. "I know the Indians
+think that, and I've had one or two men tell me that
+they've come across bear dens in winter, and killed the
+mother, and found the cubs in there mighty small&mdash;no
+bigger than a young pup. Anyhow, by the time
+they get to travelling round, in May and June, they're
+still right small, not near so big as old Shep, down at
+the ranch. They say that if you catch the black-bear
+cubs when they're right small, they make nice
+pets for a while; but I never heard of anybody that
+got very friendly with young grizzlies.</p>
+
+<p>"I remember once, years ago, Joe Kipp had a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span>
+couple on the Blackfoot Reservation, that one of the
+Indians had caught and brought in when they were
+right small. Joe put collars on them, and then forgot
+to take them off, and long toward the end of the
+summer both bears were like to choke to death, the
+collars were getting so small for them. I helped Joe
+and Hi Upham take 'em off, one day, and 'twas a
+regular circus. Those little cubs&mdash;they weren't more'n
+a foot or fifteen inches high&mdash;were awful mean, and
+regularly on the fight. They were hard to catch, too,
+and if you did get hold of them they'd turn quick as
+a wink and bite or scratch you. Finally, we cornered
+one of 'em, and Joe grabbed it by the ears and
+held it between his legs, while Hi held the forepaws
+and I loosened the collar; but it came pretty
+near scratching Joe's overalls to pieces with its hind
+feet. We did the same thing with the other one. I
+tell you they were mean little cusses.</p>
+
+<p>"The Indians don't like bears much; ask Joe,"
+continued Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Joe, "Indians don't like bears. Afraid
+of 'em. Bears are powerful medicine, you know, and
+some people won't speak about a bear, or won't sit
+down on a bear skin, and of course they won't eat
+bear meat. There's lots of stories about bears among
+the Piegans. In old times, you know, bears used to
+kill lots of Indians; and the Indians had only stone
+arrows, and couldn't do anything. If a bear took
+after a man, maybe the man would shoot three or four
+arrows into him, and they wouldn't much more than
+go through his hide, and just make him madder and
+madder all the time, and at last he'd just catch the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span>
+man and tear him to pieces. One story my grandfather
+told me a long time ago, and I heard my uncle
+tell it again last winter. Would you like to hear it,
+Jack?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII<br />
+THE STORY OF A MAN-KILLER</h2>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Jack, "this is bully; I'd love to hear it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "this happened a long time before
+the white people came. In those days we didn't
+have any guns. I expect the bears knew that they
+were stronger and better armed, and they weren't a
+bit afraid of the people. Often they wouldn't move
+out of the road if they saw people coming; but the
+people were always afraid of them and willing to let
+them alone. Very few men ever killed a bear, and
+those that had done so were thought brave. It was
+more to kill a bear than it was to kill two or three of
+the enemy, and a man who had killed a bear used to
+string its claws, and make a collar that he wore
+about his neck.</p>
+
+<p>"In those times we had no horses, and the only
+animals that we packed, or that hauled the travois,
+were the dogs; and so the people did not wander far
+over the prairie as they do to-day; they used to stop
+in one place for a long time, and did not move camp
+except for some good reason. You see, the people
+could pack some of their things on the dogs, but
+besides that, men and women, and sometimes even
+the children, had to carry heavy packs on their backs
+whenever they moved. In those days, a great place
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span>
+for camping in summer was the valley of Two Medicine
+Lodge River. You know where it is, Hugh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I should say so," said Hugh.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a good place. Berries grew there, big
+and sweet; and along the river were high steep bluffs,
+over which the hunters used to lead the buffalo,
+which were killed by falling on the rocks below.</p>
+
+<p>"One summer the people were camped there, as
+usual. It had been a good summer. All about the
+lodges, whichever way one looked, you could see only
+red, the red of meat hanging on the trees and bushes,
+and scaffolds, drying, above the reach of the dogs;
+and all over the ground, spread out so thick as to
+cover almost all the grass, were the skins of buffalo,
+elk and deer, on which were heaped berries, curing in
+the sun, to be used during the winter. No wonder
+the people were happy, and that you could hear
+laughter and singing all through the camp. They had
+plenty of food; they feared nothing. No enemies
+were near at hand; the Stonies of the north, the
+Kutenais and Flatheads of the west, ran away when
+the Piegans came in sight; they did not dare to wait
+to fight them.</p>
+
+<p>"It was a very hot day; there was no wind, and the
+sun burned down, so that no one could work. The
+lodge skins were raised, and all the people sat or lay in
+the shade, some smoking, some talking and others sleeping.
+Even the little children had stopped playing, and
+the camp was quiet. Suddenly, at the west end of the
+village, a great noise was heard, cries and screams, and
+wailing by women; and from all directions men and
+women and frightened children began running to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span>
+place, crying to each other, 'What has happened?
+Who is it that is suffering?' About two women who
+were seated on the ground a crowd had gathered.
+These women were mourning and crying and sobbing
+as they wailed, 'Our husband! our husband! a great
+bear seized him, and carried him away into the bushes.
+Oh, we shall never see him again.'</p>
+
+<p>"The chief talked to them; their relations and
+friends tried to help them, and little by little in
+broken words the women told what had happened.
+Early that morning, with their husband, they had
+gone up the river to pick berries. They had gone far,
+and the sun had reached the middle by the time they
+came to the bushes where the berries hung ripe and
+red. There were so many that it had taken but a
+little time for them to gather all they wished, and
+they had started toward home along the game trail
+which followed the stream. The women were walking
+ahead, their husband following, and were crossing a
+grassy opening between two points of trees, when
+suddenly the husband shouted to them, 'Run, run fast
+to the nearest trees; a bear is coming.'</p>
+
+<p>"Looking back, they had seen their husband running
+as fast as he could, and behind him a whitish
+colored bear, so large that it seemed almost as great
+as a full grown buffalo bull. Its mouth was wide
+open, and they could see its long white tusks as it
+raced over the grass with great jumps. The women
+dropped their berry sacks and ran as fast as they
+could. Their husband was now close behind them,
+and kept urging them on; but fast as they ran, the
+bear ran faster, and the husband, seeing that it would
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span>
+soon overtake them, had once more shouted to them
+to 'run fast,' and then had stopped to face the bear,
+calling out that he would try to save them. Just as
+they reached the trees they heard a fierce growl, and
+looking back saw that the husband had shot an arrow
+into the bear, but before he could shoot another, the
+beast was upon him, threw him down, and taking him
+by the shoulder dragged him to the timber near the
+river. The women had continued to run, and had
+come to the camp as fast as they could.</p>
+
+<p>"When they had told their story, a Kutenai woman,
+a captive, who had learned to speak Blackfoot, spoke
+and said, 'This bear is surely he whom my people
+have named Man-eater. He is a great traveler. One
+summer he may be living in the valley of the Beaverhead,
+and the next season perhaps he will be found on
+the Elk River of the north. The Kutenais, the
+Flatheads, and all the mountain people know him too
+well. He likes the flesh of human beings better than
+that of game, and has killed many of us. In vain the
+hunters have pierced his sides with their sharpest
+arrows. They cannot harm him, and we think that
+he possesses some strong medicine, and cannot be
+killed. Indeed, now they no longer try to kill him,
+but as soon as he appears, they move camp, and travel
+a long distance to some other place. Listen to my
+words: tear down your lodges now, pack the dogs,
+and move away at once, before he shall kill more of
+you.'</p>
+
+<p>"That night the chief and all his warriors talked
+together about all this, and after they had counciled
+for a long time, they said, 'We are not Kutenais, to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span>
+run away from a bear. We will go to hunt this
+animal, and avenge the death of our friend.' The
+next day they started, many brave warriors, and when
+they reached the park they placed some of the strongest
+and best bowmen at the upper end of the bottom,
+while the rest went through the timber to drive it
+toward them. They found the body of their friend,
+partly eaten, but there was no sign of the bear; he
+had disappeared. It seemed as if such a large and
+heavy animal must leave behind him a plain trail of
+weeds crushed down, grass flattened, deep marks of
+feet in soft and sandy places; but from where he had
+eaten that poor man no signs were seen.</p>
+
+<p>"Why did they not listen to the Kutenais woman's
+words! The very next day, almost at the edge of the
+camp the great bear killed two women and carried
+one of them away to feast upon, as he had before
+done with the man. In the camp the screams of
+the poor women were plainly heard, but before the
+men could arm themselves and rush to the place, they
+were dead.</p>
+
+<p>"Now the whole camp turned out, every man; and
+making a ring about the point of timber, they all
+drew toward its center. They moved slowly, carefully,
+each man with his arrow fixed on the string,
+and said to each other, 'Surely now this bear will not
+escape.'</p>
+
+<p>"A thicket of close-set willow stems grew beneath
+the great cottonwoods, and from a clump of these
+willows the bear sprang on one of the men, and
+crushed his head with a single blow of his paw.
+'Here he is,' cried those nearby, and they let fly their
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span>
+arrows into its sides, as the bear stood growling and
+tearing the dead person; but when the arrows struck
+him the bear sprang here and there among the men,
+turning like a whirlwind of fur, while his claws cut
+and his jaws snapped; and four more men fell to the
+ground dead or dying. The people all ran away.</p>
+
+<p>"Now there was great sorrow and mourning in the
+camp. After a little time some of the men ventured
+back into the timber, and brought away the bodies of
+their companions; and the women, wrapping them in
+robes, lashed them on scaffolds in the trees, as was
+the old way. Then at last they listened to the words
+of the Kutenai woman. The lodges were pulled
+down, everything was packed up, and the tribe moved
+southward, to the banks of the Big River. Six long
+days they were on the trail, and the man-eater did not
+trouble them again. Perhaps he did not wish to
+follow them; perhaps some one of the arrows shot
+into him had killed him. So the people talked; but
+the Kutenai woman laughed. 'You may be sure,' she
+said, 'that he is not dead. The arrow has not been
+made that will reach his heart. His medicine is
+strong.'</p>
+
+<p>"All through the winter the people talked of what
+had happened, and of the camping place under the
+cliffs of Two Medicine Lodge River. There was no
+place where it was so easy to kill meat as there, and
+when spring came they moved back there once more.
+The day after they had camped, the hunters went out,
+up and down the valley, and found the buffalo and
+elk and deer as plenty as ever; but they saw no sign
+of the great bear.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span>
+"The next day the chief's son went out with his
+mother and sister, to watch for them while they dug
+roots, and as they were going along, without any
+warning the great bear sprang from a thicket by the
+trail, struck the young man before he could draw an
+arrow, and carried him away without a glance at the
+women, who stood silent in their fear.</p>
+
+<p>"When the chief was told what had happened, he
+was almost crazy with anger and sorrow. He ordered
+all the men in the camp to go with him to the place.
+But not one of them would go. 'It is useless', they
+said; 'we are not fools to throw away our lives trying
+to kill an animal whose medicine is so strong that he
+cannot be killed with arrows.' The chief begged
+and threatened them, but no one would go with him
+to recover the body of his son. All feared the bear.
+That day camp was broken, and the people once more
+moved away from the place that they loved best of all
+their camping grounds. It was no longer theirs. The
+bear had driven them from it.</p>
+
+<p>"From that day the chief seemed different. Now
+he no longer laughed and made jokes and invited his
+friends to feast with him. Instead, he kept by himself,
+seldom speaking, eating little, often sitting alone
+in his lodge, and thinking always of the dear son who
+had been taken from him. One day he took his
+daughter by the hand, and went out to the center of
+the camp, and called all the people together. When
+all had come, he said to them, 'My children, look at
+this young woman standing by me. Many of you
+here have tried to marry this daughter, but she has
+always asked me to allow her to remain unmarried,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span>
+and I have always said that she should do as she
+wished. Listen: I am still mourning for the death
+of my son. Now, I call the Sun, who looks down
+upon us, and who hears what I am saying, to hear
+this: whichever one of all you men that shall go out
+and kill that bear, to him I will give my daughter for
+his wife.' Then he turned to the girl, and said to her
+'Have I spoken well, my daughter? Do you agree
+to my words?' The girl looked at him, and then said
+aloud, 'Since you wish it, I will marry the man who
+will kill that bear, and will thus wipe away our tears.'</p>
+
+<p>"Then the girl hurried back to her father's lodge.</p>
+
+<p>"All through the camp now the only thing talked
+about was the offer the chief had made, and the
+young men were trying to think how it might be
+possible to kill this bear; yet none of them said that
+he intended to try to marry the girl, for they all
+believed that the bear could not be killed.</p>
+
+<p>"There was one young man who, when he heard
+the words of the chief, was glad. Ravenhead was very
+poor, he had not a single relation, and as far back as
+he could remember he had lived as best he could.
+That means that he had been often hungry, and had
+worn poor clothing, and had often lain shivering
+through the winter nights; that he had run errands
+for every one, and had often been scolded. Now he
+was grown up; he had gone out to dream for power,
+and had become a warrior. His dream had been
+good to him, and in his sleep there had come to him
+a secret helper, who had promised to aid him in
+time of danger and of need. For a long time the
+young man had loved the daughter of the chief, but
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span>
+he knew that one so poor as he could never hope to
+marry her. Sometimes when he happened to pass
+her on the trail, as she was going for water or as she
+walked through the camp, she seemed to look at him
+kindly and as if she were asking him something; yet
+she never spoke to him, but hurried by, and he was
+always afraid to speak to her; yet sometimes he used
+to ask himself what her kind looks meant.</p>
+
+<p>"But now, since the chief had spoken, it seemed as
+if Ravenhead might hope. Those words had rolled
+away the clouds that hung over him, and if he could
+only kill the bear, he could marry the girl. He
+determined that he would kill the bear; some way
+could be found to do it, he felt sure. Now, for a little
+while Ravenhead kept by himself, praying, thinking,
+planning, trying to devise a way by which he might
+kill the bear, and yet himself not be hurt. Four days
+passed, and yet in all the camp no one had said that
+he intended to try to marry the girl. This made
+Ravenhead glad.</p>
+
+<p>"And there was another thing. For four nights he
+had dreamed the same dream. In his sleep he saw
+the picture of a great bear, painted as large as if alive,
+upon the side of a new lodge. It was painted in black;
+the long claws, and open jaws, with their great white
+tusks, showed plainly; and from the mouth ran back
+the life line, a green band passing from the mouth
+back to the heart, which was red. Ravenhead was
+sitting by the river, considering his dream reaching
+out dimly with his mind for its meaning when suddenly
+he sprang to his feet as if he had been stung,
+for all at once there had flashed upon him what
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span>
+seemed to be the way of success. The dream had
+shown it to him.</p>
+
+<p>"He turned toward the village, and there, only a
+step or two away, stood the chief's daughter, holding
+her water-skin, looking at him as she had looked
+before. Ravenhead stepped forward and stood near
+her. Twice he tried to speak, but the words would
+not come. Then he looked at her, and as she smiled
+at him, he said, 'I am going to hunt the great bear,
+and if I return I shall come to you.' The girl dropped
+the water-skin, and put her arms about his neck, as
+she said, 'I have tried to make you see, so far as a
+girl can, that I love you.' They kissed and clung to
+each other, there by the river; but soon the girl sent
+him from her, telling him to take courage; to go, and
+to return safe and successful. When he had gone
+she stood there by the river, and not able to see
+before her for the tears which filled her eyes, as she
+prayed to the Sun to protect the young man.</p>
+
+<p>"Ravenhead travelled for four days before he
+reached the old camp grounds, near the Two Medicine
+Lodge cliffs. He had left the village alone; no
+one but the girl had known his purpose. He came
+out into the valley, and looked up and down it, seeing
+nothing except the game, feeding peacefully, and,
+lashed on their platforms in the branches of the trees,
+the silent forms that the bear had killed. He wondered
+if he, too, was to become a prey of this medicine
+animal.</p>
+
+<p>"All that day Ravenhead walked about the valley,
+looking for the bear, keeping in the open timber or
+along its borders, where he could look over the parks
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span>
+and the slopes of the valley. He did not pass close to
+the thickets of brush, or to sloughs of tall grass,
+where the bear might lie hidden. On his back, in
+case and quiver, were his bow and his arrows; only
+three of these, for he had been too poor to trade for
+more, and he would not beg for any. He carried also
+a pouch of dried meat, that he had killed and roasted
+the day before, and a little bag of small stones.</p>
+
+<p>"Although he kept looking until dusk, he did not
+see the bear, and then, building a platform of poles
+in a tree, he lay down on it and slept. That night, in
+his dream, he again saw the picture of the bear; and
+as he was looking at it, his secret helper came to him,
+and pointing at it said, 'Thick fur, tough hide, hard
+muscle, and broad ribs may stop the sharpest arrow.
+The easy way to reach the heart is down through the
+throat.'</p>
+
+<p>"This was what had come to him so suddenly the
+day he sat thinking and planning by the riverside
+back of the village. He did not believe that this
+bear had powerful medicine, or that he could not be
+killed. If he only could shoot an arrow down its
+throat, he believed that he would be successful.</p>
+
+<p>"As soon as day had come, Ravenhead climbed
+down from the tree, and again began to search for
+the bear, hopefully now, yet constantly praying to
+the Sun to grant him success.</p>
+
+<p>"It was yet early in the morning when he saw the
+great bear, lazily walking across a little park toward
+the river, and stepping out from the shelter of the
+timber, Ravenhead shouted to attract its attention.
+The bear reared up at the sound; then Ravenhead
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span>
+first saw how great he was; and as the bear stood
+there on his broad hind feet, he turned his head
+slowly, this way, that way, smelling the air. Ravenhead
+waved his robe, and shouted again, calling the
+bear coward and other bad names; and presently the
+bear slowly dropped down on all fours and came
+toward him. The young man had gone out some
+little distance into the park, but now he began to go
+back toward the timber, and as he went faster, so did
+the bear, until both were running very fast, and the
+bear was gaining. To the young man, looking back,
+it seemed scarcely to touch the ground; and it drew
+nearer and nearer, though he was running as fast as he
+could. Presently, he could hear the bear pant, and
+just as he did so he reached the foot of the nearest
+tree. Almost in an instant he was up among the
+branches, but he was not too soon. The claws of the
+bear almost grazed his heels, and tore away a great
+piece of the bark. From the limb on which he sat,
+Ravenhead, panting for breath, looked down at the
+bear as it sat at the foot of the tree. The beast was
+huge, its head monstrous, its eyes little and mean,
+and from its mouth, in which the long white teeth
+showed, the foam dripped down over its neck and
+shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"The young man drew his bow from its case, and
+fitted an arrow to the string, and then taking a stone
+from his sack, threw it down, hitting the bear on the
+nose. The bear jumped up, growling with rage and
+pain, and then came a shower of stones, one after
+another, hitting him on the head, the body, and the
+paws, and each one hurting. He bit at the places
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span>
+where they struck, growled, and tore up the ground,
+and at last rushed to the tree, trying to drag it down,
+or to climb up it, reaching up as far as he could, in
+his attempt to seize his tormentor.</p>
+
+<p>"Here was the chance that Ravenhead had been
+planning for, praying for, waiting for. He bent far
+over toward the bear, and drawing the arrow to its
+head, drove it with all his might down the bear's gaping
+throat. The great jaws shut with a snap, the
+growl died away to a wheezing cough, and then, after
+a moment, while the blood streamed from his nose
+and his lips, the great bear sank back to the ground.
+His gasping breath came slower and slower, and then,
+with a long shudder which almost frightened Ravenhead,
+so strong was it, he died.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>"There was great excitement in the village; people
+running to and fro and calling to one another; women
+and children standing in groups and pointing to a
+young man who was entering the camp. Ravenhead
+had returned, weary, bloody, and dusty, and staggering
+under the weight of the head and part of the hide
+of the great bear. The people gathered about him,
+calling out his name and singing songs of what he
+had done, and followed him to the door of the chief's
+lodge, where he threw down the heavy burden. The
+chief came out, and put his arms about him, and led
+him inside, and gave him the seat at his left hand.
+The chief's daughter set food before him; she did not
+speak, but her face was happy. The young man told
+the chief how he had killed the bear, and while he
+was talking, the women hurried to make a sweat lodge
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span>
+for him, and when it was ready, with the chief and the
+medicine men, he entered it and took a sweat, purifying
+his body from the touch of the bear. Then, after
+the sweat had been taken, and the prayers said, and
+he had plunged in the river, they all returned to the
+lodge, just as the sun was setting. The chief pointed
+to a new lodge, set up near his own. 'There is your
+home, my son; may you live long and happily.' Ravenhead
+entered and saw his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Without, the people were dancing around the
+scalp of the bear. They were happy, for the death
+of the bear had wiped away the tears of those whose
+relations he had killed."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a splendid story, Joe," said Jack. "That's
+about the best story I ever heard. I wish I could
+remember it to tell it when I get back east, the way
+you tell it."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "that's a mighty good story, and
+mighty well told. Who did you hear it from, Joe?"</p>
+
+<p>"I heard it first from Four Bears, and then afterwards
+I heard my uncle tell it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "you told it mighty well, but I
+don't wonder much, for Four Bears is about the best
+story teller I ever heard. But you remember it
+mighty well, and tell it well. It's a right good story.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, boys," he added, "I think to-morrow we'll
+pack up and go a day or two further down the creek
+here, and then see what turns up. These horses of
+ours have filled themselves up pretty well now, and
+are able to go along all right, and we might as well go
+on a little further. So, say we pack up to-morrow
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said the boys, and they went to bed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII<br />
+JACK'S FIRST MOOSE</h2>
+
+<p>Travel down the stream next day was easy. The
+valley widened out, and the hills on either side grew
+lower. Twice during the march they came to broad
+meadows, partly overgrown with willows, old beaver
+meadows, Hugh said; and instead of going through
+them they went around close to the hills, so as to
+avoid any possible trouble from miry spots.</p>
+
+<p>After supper that night at camp Hugh said to the
+boys, "I reckon pretty quick we'll turn off south and
+follow up some creek, so as to get over to the Divide,
+and cross down onto Sweetwater. If I ain't mistaken,
+before we get much further along we'll strike a big
+stream coming in from the south, and when we do,
+we've got to turn and follow that up. I've heard tell
+of a little town off here to the south, but I don't
+know where it's at, and we don't want to go to it,
+anyhow."</p>
+
+<p>About noon next day they began to see a wide valley
+opening up to the south, and Hugh told them that
+this must be the creek he had been looking for.
+They did not follow the stream down to where the
+river from the south joined it, but cutting across
+southwest, climbed the hill, and journeyed through
+beautiful green timber in the direction in which they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span>
+wished to go. Several times they came on beautiful
+mountain lakes lying in the timber, and while passing
+one of these Hugh stopped and pointed to the ground,
+and when Jack came along he saw there a track which
+he knew must belong to a moose. He wished that he
+might get a shot at a moose, and kept his eyes wide
+open as they journeyed along, but saw nothing. Two
+or three times during the day they rode near enough
+to the river they were following up to hear its rushing,
+and the noise of water-falls, but they could not see
+them. Hugh did not seem to be following any
+road at all,&mdash;there was not even a game trail,&mdash;but he
+wound in and out among the timber, keeping in the
+general direction from which the river came. About
+the middle of the afternoon he turned to the left, and
+worked down into the valley of the stream, which,
+though often narrow, sometimes spread out and
+showed charming little park-like meadows, in one of
+which they stopped to camp. After camp had been
+made, the horses attended to, and supper eaten, Jack
+said to Hugh, "Are there many moose in this country,
+Hugh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I don't know exactly what
+you call many. There used to be plenty here, and
+I expect if a man was hunting he might run across
+one once in a while. Of course moose stick close to
+the timber and the brush, and you don't see them as
+easily as you do the elk, that feed on the bald hillsides
+or on the prairie."</p>
+
+<p>"I'd like mighty well to get a shot at one," said
+Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "it might be such a thing as
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span>
+you could do that, but you're not likely to, unless we
+stop for a day or two to hunt. We can do that most
+any time now, if we feel like it. We've got over the
+ridge, and there's no danger of any snow falling, to
+stop us, but of course it's getting cooler all the time.
+If you're going to kill an animal for meat you'd better
+kill a cow. On the other hand, if you want a big
+head, why of course you'll kill a bull; but the bulls
+are pretty poor eating now; they were better two
+weeks ago, just like the elk was. We've got quite
+a little way to go yet, and of course we've got to have
+meat to eat; but, on the other hand, we've got the
+hams of that sheep, and the piece of that little bear,
+and we're going through a good game country all the
+way, so that I wouldn't kill anything more until we
+need it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Hugh, we've had lots of hunting; let's not
+kill anything more until we need it. Maybe there'll
+be a show down on the Sweetwater to get a moose."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "maybe there will be; yet
+this is a better place than that. But we'll be in good
+moose country for quite a way yet, and maybe you'll
+get a chance to kill a moose, if you want to very bad."</p>
+
+<p>The stream that they were following up grew
+smaller and smaller, yet Hugh continued to follow it,
+and in the same southerly direction. He told the
+boys that this stream headed in the Divide, between
+Wind River and Sweetwater, and that when they came
+to the head of this creek it was only a short distance
+over to others running into some of the heads of the
+Sweetwater.</p>
+
+<p>"It ain't far, and it ain't a high climb," he continued,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span>
+"and after we strike the Sweetwater, it's a plain
+trail right down to the Platte, and then across that is
+home. I don't rightly know how far it is, but I reckon
+it's not far from two hundred miles."</p>
+
+<p>"That means ten days then, Hugh, does it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "you might call it ten days. Of
+course that means if we don't have any trouble. If
+we should get into any difficulties, or lose a horse or
+two, or something of that kind, it might take us
+longer."</p>
+
+<p>Three days later they had crossed over the Divide,
+between the Wind River and Sweetwater drainages,
+and were making their way through the timber down
+toward the Sweetwater. Camp had been made early.
+One of the pack horses had hurt its foot during the
+day, and had gone lame, and Hugh wanted to rest the
+animal for a day or two; otherwise it might become
+so lame that he would have to leave it behind. About
+the middle of the afternoon, Joe and Jack started out
+from camp to hunt, Joe taking the hills to the right of
+the camp, and Jack those to the left.</p>
+
+<p>It was pleasant going through the green timber so
+quietly as to make no sound, and watching constantly
+between the tree trunks, to see the motion of any living
+thing that might appear. There were a few birds
+in the upper branches of the trees, and now and then
+a grouse walked out of the way. Jack entered one of
+those level pieces of forest where the trees stand a little
+apart and the ground is covered with the pale green
+stems of the little mountain blueberry, which in fact
+is not blue in color, but red. This little fruit is very
+delicious, and a favorite food for birds and beasts.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span>
+Jack came to a patch where the berries were thick,
+and sitting down began to strip them from the stems
+and eat them. Now and then he could hear the
+whistle of a meat-hawk, the harsh grating cry of
+a Clark's crow, and the shrill scream of a hawk that
+soared far above the forest. Jack thought it most
+pleasant, and he liked to be there alone and just look
+about him, and see and listen. It seemed to him a
+place where at any moment some great animal might
+step into sight, and begin to feed or to go about any
+of the operations of its daily life, not knowing that
+he was there watching and enjoying it all.</p>
+
+<p>And just as these thoughts were passing through
+his mind, something of this sort happened. It was
+not a very large animal, but the sight was a pretty
+one, none the less. He saw the slender stems of the
+huckleberry bushes shake, thirty or forty yards from
+him, and the shaking came nearer and nearer, and
+presently he was able to distinguish that a dozen
+grouse were coming toward him, feeding on the berries.
+He sat still, hardly daring to breathe, and before
+very long the birds were close to him, and in a moment
+more were all about him. He could see the old
+hen, larger than all the rest, and with frayed and faded
+plumage, while the young birds, but little smaller,
+were much more highly colored,&mdash;bright brown
+and white and bluish. They seemed sociable little
+creatures, for they were talking all the time, calling
+to each other much as a flock of young turkeys would
+call, and seeming uneasy if they became separated.
+There was one bird that wandered off quite a little
+to one side, and as the cries of its fellows became
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span>
+fainter as they passed along, the bird stood very
+straight, with its head much higher than usual, and
+erected the feathers of its head and neck so that
+they stood on end, giving it a very odd appearance.
+As soon as it had located the brood, the bird
+smoothed down its feathers and ran quickly toward
+the others. When the group got to where Jack was
+sitting, they paid no attention to him whatever. One
+of them stopped immediately in front of him, and
+looked carefully at his face, but at once resumed its
+feeding; and passing on both sides of him, they
+went on.</p>
+
+<p>Jack did not wish to frighten them, and so turned
+his head and body very slowly to look after them, and
+he did it so carefully that the birds were not alarmed,
+but finally passed out of sight and hearing without
+being frightened.</p>
+
+<p>This small adventure gave Jack very great pleasure,
+and he felt as if he had already been well repaid for
+his walk. Keeping on through the forest, he went
+down a gentle slope, and presently found himself at
+the edge of a little meadow, surrounding a very
+pretty lake. Nothing was to be seen there, and he
+stepped out of the bushes to go down to the water.</p>
+
+<p>He was going along rather carelessly, holding his
+rifle in the hollow of his left arm, when from a bunch
+of willows just before him a huge black animal with
+horns rushed out, and trotted up the meadow toward
+the timber. Instantly Jack knew that it was a moose,
+and throwing his gun to his shoulder, he fired at the
+animal just before it reached the fringe of willows at
+the edge of the meadow. It seemed to him that the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span>
+creature flinched a little and then went faster, but he
+could not be sure. What was certain was that it did
+not fall. Taking up the track, he followed it for
+some distance through the timber&mdash;not a difficult task,
+for the moose was trotting rapidly and throwing up
+dirt at every stride. At length, however, he came to
+a piece of rocky ground, where the tracks were much
+harder to follow, and presently he lost them and had
+to circle two or three times to find them, and from
+that on the work of picking them out was slow.
+Soon, too, he noticed that it was growing darker, and
+looking at the sky he concluded that the sun had set.
+He had a mile or two to go, and as he did not wish to
+lie out during the night, he reluctantly left the moose
+track and started back for the camp. He hurried as
+fast as he could, and made good progress; but after it
+really got dark it was impossible to go very fast. He
+did not feel like firing his gun, because that would
+be as much as to say to the people in the camp that
+he was lost, and he did not wish to do this. He
+worked his way along, therefore, keeping toward camp
+as nearly as he could, but more by guess than anything
+else, because the trees stood so close that the
+stars could not be seen. However, the little light that
+still lingered in the west gave him some idea of direction.</p>
+
+<p>At last the ground began to slope in the direction
+in which he was going, and before long he saw in the
+sky the glare of a fire. He made sure that this was
+the camp, and hurrying along as fast as possible, frequently
+stumbling over rocks and sticks and occasionally
+running his face into the twigs of a dry spruce
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span>
+limb, he at last found himself near the bottom of the
+hill, and could see the gleam of the fire through the
+tree-trunks. Before long he was close to camp, and
+saw that Hugh and Joe had built quite a bonfire in
+front of the lodge. It was the reflection of this that
+he had seen in the sky.</p>
+
+<p>As he walked up to the fire, Hugh said, "Well, here
+you are, eh? We didn't know but you calculated to
+lie out all night."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "I didn't know but I'd have to
+do that; but I didn't want to, and so I kept going. I
+think perhaps I would have stopped and built a fire
+back in the timber if it hadn't been that I saw your
+fire, and kept coming."</p>
+
+<p>"What kept you?" said Joe.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Joe," said Jack, "I saw a moose, the first
+moose I ever saw; and I had a good shot at it, running
+nearly straight away from me, and I ought to
+have killed it, but I didn't. I think I must have
+hit it; anyhow, I thought I saw it flinch when I
+shot, and it went through the timber in great
+shape. I followed the tracks quite a long way; but
+then it got dark, and I had to give it up and come
+back.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd like to go out and look for it to-morrow, and
+I will, too, if we stay here."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "we'll stay here, all right
+enough. I want to rest up this horse's foot for a day
+or two. If I stay here and bathe that horse's foot,
+and keep him quiet, he's likely to be all right in two or
+three days. If we make him follow us over these hills
+now, he may get so that he can't use the foot at all.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span>
+"Pity you didn't kill your moose," he continued;
+"what do you think was the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Jack. "I had as good a chance
+as I ever had at a running animal, but I think maybe
+I wasn't careful enough, and didn't hold low enough.
+I wouldn't be a bit surprised if I shot high on him.
+That seems to be my trouble often."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "you'd like to go to-morrow
+and see if you could follow him up and find him. Of
+course he won't be good for anything if you do find
+him, but you'll have the satisfaction maybe of knowing
+that you killed him."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't be good for anything," said Jack; "how
+do you mean? You don't mean he'll spoil, just lying
+out for one night."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, son, didn't you know that? Is it possible
+you've travelled with me all these months and haven't
+learned that unless you dress an animal as soon as
+it's killed it's going to spoil? It don't make any
+difference whether the weather's cold or warm, but if
+you leave a critter with the entrails in for four or five
+hours it is no good; the meat gets tainted."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "That's news to me. I never
+heard that before."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," said Joe, "everybody knows that."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Jack, "everybody but me."</p>
+
+<p>After Jack had put his gun in the lodge, he brought
+out the coffee pot and frying pan, and ate some food,
+and then sat there by the fire, very melancholy,
+because he had not got his moose.</p>
+
+<p>"He had horns, Hugh," Jack said, "and if I should
+be able to find him to-morrow, I could bring those in,
+couldn't I?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span>
+"Yes," said Hugh, "the horns won't be spoiled.
+It's only that the meat wouldn't be good to eat. Were
+his horns big?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Jack, "I don't think they were very big;
+they stuck out on both sides. You see, I didn't get
+much of a look at him, except when he was running
+away. Then I could see his horns, but I wasn't looking
+at them; I was trying to pick out the place to
+shoot, and I didn't pick it out very well."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning Hugh told the boys that they
+had better go out and see whether they could find the
+moose, or another one, but warned them to watch the
+sky, and keep their direction, so that they would be
+sure to get back. He warned them also to notice
+carefully, and not get over the Divide. So long as
+they stayed on this side, the streams running down
+toward the Sweetwater would always help them to
+find camp; but if they crossed the Divide and got
+into the Wind River drainage, then the streams would
+only confuse them, especially as the timber was thick,
+and the sky could not be seen, and so the direction
+could not be told from that. Jack did not attempt
+to go back to the point where he had lost the moose
+tracks, but instead kept off to the south, in order to
+cross the tracks again, and pick them up where they
+were plain. He felt sure that he and Joe would have
+no trouble in following them up to the point where
+the darkness had obliged him to give them up.</p>
+
+<p>They soon found the tracks, and Jack, from his
+memory of the country passed over the night before,
+was able to follow them quite rapidly to the place
+where he had finally left them. Beyond here the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span>
+trail was not hard to follow. The timber was thick and
+the ground damp; there was much moss, and the great
+hoofs of the moose tore this up, so that the trail was
+plainly visible; and here Jack had the first confirmation
+of his belief that he had hit the moose, for Joe
+called attention to a bush against which the animal
+had rubbed, and showed on it a little smear of dried
+blood.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the moose had stopped trotting and
+was walking; and after a while they saw before them
+lying on the pale soil, among the tree-trunks, a dark
+object stretched out, which they presently recognized
+as the moose. He had lain down here and died as he
+lay. The body was rigid now and somewhat swollen.
+Although the moose was not a large one, to Jack he
+seemed enormous&mdash;much taller, longer, and deeper
+through than an elk, and with a huge ungainly head
+and a swollen upper lip.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Jack," said Joe, "what are you going to do
+now? You killed the moose, and you know it, but
+we can't take any of the meat. You might come up
+here and get the horns, if you want to pack them
+back with you, but it's no use to butcher the animal;
+you can see for yourself that the meat is spoiled."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Jack, "I suppose it is. I'm awfully sorry;
+I hate to see a great big lot of meat go to waste like
+this, but there's nothing to be done now. I ought to
+have shot better."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll tell you what let's do," said Joe: "let's
+go back to camp, and catch up our horses, and come
+up here and get those horns. In fact I guess we may
+as well bring a pack horse with us. Horns are awful
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span>
+unhandy things to carry on a saddle, but we can put
+the head on a pack so that it will ride well."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "we may as well do that, I
+think," and they rose to go.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll stick a knife in this carcass," said Joe, "and if
+I do that it will be pleasanter to work about when we
+get back."</p>
+
+<p>He plunged his knife into the animal's side and
+there was an outburst of gas; then the two boys
+went back to the camp.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX<br />
+WATCHING A BEAR BAIT</h2>
+
+<p>"Hello, Hugh," said Jack, as they walked up to
+the lodge; "we found the moose."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you've done pretty well," said Hugh. "I
+thought maybe he'd go so far, even if you'd hurt him
+bad, that you wouldn't find him at all."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Jack, "we found him easily enough.
+He didn't go very far beyond where I had to leave
+the trail last night. But it is just as you said; the
+meat is spoiled; he's no good to eat.</p>
+
+<p>"His horns are not very big, but Joe suggested that
+we should come back here and get our horses and a
+pack horse, and go up and bring in the head and
+horns."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sure," said Hugh; "why not do that? I
+expect you'd like to take it home, seeing it's the first
+moose you ever killed."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Jack, "I should like it."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I'll tell you what you do," said Hugh. "Do
+you remember how I cut off that sheep's head?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes," said Jack, "I remember that you cut
+it off close down to the shoulders, but I don't remember
+just how you cut the skin."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "look here now; I'll show you,"
+and sitting down on the ground he drew a little
+diagram with the stick, explaining to Jack that he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span>
+should stick the knife into the moose's head immediately
+behind the horns, split the skin down on the
+nape of the neck to the shoulders, then make a cut
+at right angles to the first one, running down outside
+of one shoulder, across under the chest, and up outside
+of the other shoulder. Then, by skinning away
+from the top of the neck, the hide of the whole neck
+could be drawn forward; the head cut from the neck
+where the first vertebrae joins the skull; and afterward,
+by cutting the skin from where the neck-cut
+began between the horns, out on each side to each
+horn and around its base, the whole skin of head and
+neck could be taken off, and the skull cleaned, with
+the horns attached to it. Afterwards in mounting, the
+skin could again be stretched over the skull, so that
+the head could be hung on the wall.</p>
+
+<p>It did not take the boys long to saddle up their
+riding horses and a pack animal, and when they were
+on horseback the distance to the moose was not great.
+When they reached it they tied their horses, and
+walked up to the carcass to begin the skinning. But
+before they did anything, Joe said, "Hold on, Jack!
+look a-here! There's been a bear here since we've
+been gone;" and sure enough, the tracks of a middle-sized
+bear were seen about the carcass, and the hole
+made by Joe's knife was wet around the edges, as if
+some animal had been licking it. Jack looked all
+around, but of course nothing living was to be seen
+now.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I tell you what," said Joe; "let's get this
+head off, and go away, and I wouldn't be surprised if
+we could come back here to-morrow and get a shot at
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span>
+a bear. You know, Hugh said we weren't going to
+move for two or three days, and if that's so, why
+shouldn't we come back here and watch."</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't a very good place for that, is it?" said Jack,
+"right in here among the timber; we'd have to be close
+to the moose, and likely enough a bear would see us
+or smell us, before we could see it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so," said Joe; "it's a pretty poor place, but
+before we go we'll look around and see if we can find
+any way to hide." The boys were somewhat excited
+at this prospect, and at once set to work to skin the
+moose head. A long slit was made down through
+the thick hair on the nape of the neck, back to the
+shoulders, and then a cross cut down to the moose's
+chest; then both the boys, getting hold of the head,
+tried to turn it over, but they were not strong enough
+to do that. Then they tried to lift the moose's head
+up in the air, in order to get under it, and to make
+the cross cut on the other side close to the ground.
+They did not succeed very well in this either; but
+finally, after raising the head as high as they could, Joe
+got a stick and propped it in this position. Then, getting
+a longer stick they tugged, strained, and kept raising
+the head higher and higher, until finally the fore
+part of the shoulder was pretty well exposed. They
+made the cross cut, but for six or eight inches it was
+quite ragged. However, they succeeded in completing
+the cut, and then worked more rapidly, and before
+very long had the skin off the whole neck and turned
+so far toward the head that the back of the skull could
+be seen. Then, Joe cutting down close to the skull
+so as to sever the ligament of the neck, they twisted
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span>
+the skull, disjointed the neck, and after that it was
+a mere matter of cutting through the flesh. After
+the head had been cut off it was pretty heavy, much
+more than one boy could lift, besides being unwieldy
+and hard to handle.</p>
+
+<p>They dragged the head a little way from the moose,
+and then stood looking at it, for both were a little
+tired.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, look here, Jack," said Joe, "what's the
+use of packing all this stuff back to camp; why not
+finish the job here, and take the skull back pretty
+clean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Jack, "it's a pretty long job, but we've
+got to do it either here or at the camp, and we might
+as well do it here. I guess we'd better use our jackknives
+to cut around these horns." Sitting down on
+the ground they did the work of making the crosscut
+to the horns, and then they cut round the horns,
+close up against the burr. The hide was thick and
+tough, and the blades of the knives were small; but,
+on the other hand, the knives were sharp, and before
+very long they had completed this. Then they both
+worked at skinning the hide down over the head, cutting
+through the gristle of the ears, and going very
+carefully about the eyes; and at last, after midday, the
+skin of the head was free from the skull and was
+dragged off to one side.</p>
+
+<p>"There," said Joe, "that's a good job, and now
+we'll cut off all the meat we can from the skull, and
+pack the horse, and go back to camp. I'm getting
+hungry. I don't believe this tongue is spoiled; we
+may as well take that with us." The remaining work
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span>
+was not long, and lashing the skull on the pack saddle,
+they set out for camp.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh hailed them, when they got in, with an expression
+of surprise, saying, "Why, you done the
+whole job, didn't you? I supposed I'd have an afternoon's
+work over that head, skinning it out, and cleaning
+the skull."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "Joe suggested that we should
+not make two bites of the cherry, so we did the work
+right there. But, say Hugh, a bear had been 'round
+that moose, between the time we left it and the time
+we got back, and Joe says maybe we can get a shot at
+him. What do you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I don't know," said Hugh; "maybe you
+could. What sort of a place is it to wait?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not very good," said Jack; "it's right in the thick
+timber, and there's no hill, and no hiding-place anywhere
+nearby. We looked when we were coming
+away. But I tell you what I think, Hugh; I believe
+we could go back there, and get up into a tree, and
+watch from there; then the bear won't be likely to
+smell us, and maybe we'll be able to get a good shot."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's so," said Hugh; "but there's one bad
+thing about getting up into a tree: it's awful noisy,
+and if you move much, the bear's pretty sure to hear
+you. When did you calculate to watch?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I don't know," said Jack; "we were going
+to ask you. It ought to be either early in the morning
+or late in the evening, I suppose. That's the time
+bears come out, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "that's the time; but in here
+where they're not much hunted, I suppose maybe
+they'd feed any time of day.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span>
+"I tell you what I believe I'd do," he continued,
+"we're going to stop here for a day or two more and
+see if that horse's foot will get better, and suppose
+you don't do anything now until along about the middle
+of the day to-morrow; then you can ride up there
+and see if the bears have been working at the carcass,
+and if they have, why you can wait there until about
+dark, and if you don't get a shot you can go back
+again the next day, right early in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, let's do that then," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said Hugh, "take your moose-head down
+to the creek and put it in there to soak and drain, and
+then this afternoon you can take the brains out and
+sort of scrape the skull, and after it soaks there for a
+couple of days it'll be in good shape to dry right up."
+The next day, a little before noon, they set out to
+inspect the bait. As they started out to catch their
+horses, Hugh told them to drive in old Baldy as
+well, and that he would ride up there with them and
+see how the prospect looked.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the moose they found a great
+hole torn in its side, and from the tracks around about,
+it seemed that several bears had been feeding there.
+The day, though bright at sunrise, had now become
+overcast and dull, and the air felt like rain or snow.
+Hugh surveyed the ground about the moose with
+some care, and finally said to the boys:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see anything for you to do except to
+climb up into a couple of these trees; and if I were
+you I'd watch this afternoon, and if you don't get a
+shot, quit pretty early, at least before it gets plumb
+dark, come back to camp, and then try it again early
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span>
+in the morning. I'll take your horses down here a half
+a mile, and tie them in that little open park that we
+passed, where they can feed, but where they'll be far
+enough away so as not to scare the game. If you don't
+get a shot, try to get to your horses before it's right
+dark, and then you can get back to camp all right."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh waited until the boys had climbed the two
+trees, one a little distance to the north of the moose,
+the other about as far to the south of the carcass.
+He told them to cut away all the twigs that were close
+to them and would rustle if they moved, and advised
+them that they must keep absolutely still, "for" he
+said, "there is no animal so shy as a bear, and none
+that's more careful in coming up to a bait. If a bear
+comes, don't try to shoot at it too soon, let it come on
+until it gets right close to you; then shoot as carefully
+as you know how, and try to kill it dead, for I
+don't want you to wound a bear, and then go following
+it through the thick timber and the brush; that's
+dangerous, and I think foolish."</p>
+
+<p>The hours, after Hugh departed, seemed pretty long
+to the boys as they sat on their perches. They could
+not see each other, and of course could not talk.
+Both were occupied in looking over the ground that
+they could cover with their eyes, and in listening for
+any noise. The weather grew colder, and toward the
+middle of the afternoon flakes of snow began to sift
+down through the tree-tops. Then they stopped;
+then began again. There was snow enough to see as
+it fell, but not enough to show upon the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Joe was glad when he saw the snow, for he believed
+it would bring the bears out soon; but Jack did not
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span>
+know this, and thought only of the discomfort of the
+cold. A little breeze was blowing from the south,
+and that gave Joe the unpleasant benefit of the odor
+of the decaying moose meat; but he thought little of
+that, and sat there and watched. For a long time
+nothing was seen. Then suddenly, from behind a
+dead log, fifty or sixty yards from Joe, he saw the
+head of a black bear rise, and the animal stood there
+screwing its nose in all directions and snuffing the
+wind. It remained there for a long time, and then
+the head drew back and disappeared. Joe's rifle was
+loaded and cocked. He had fixed himself in as good
+a position as possible for shooting, and he waited.
+For a long time nothing happened, and then suddenly
+the bear appeared, stepping out from behind a tree
+quite close to him,&mdash;not more than thirty or forty
+yards away&mdash;and stood there, looking at first toward
+the moose, and then slowly turning its head and looking
+in all directions. It was a black bear, not very large,
+and yet not by any means a cub. Joe thought the
+best thing he could do was to shoot it. It stood
+nearly facing him, and when it turned its head away
+to the right, he aimed for its chest, just to the right
+of the bear's left shoulder, and pulled the trigger.
+The animal gave half a dozen bounds, and then commenced
+to jump into the air and come down again,
+and to roll over, and turn somersaults; while Joe kept
+his eyes rolling in all directions, to see whether there
+were any others.</p>
+
+<p>The bear's position had been such that Jack had
+not seen it at all. He was cramped and stiff, cold,
+tired and hungry by this time; but at the shot he forgot
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span>
+all his discomforts, and sat watching to see what
+should happen. For a moment he saw and heard
+nothing, and then, off to his left, he heard a stick
+break, once or twice, as if some heavy animal were
+stepping on it, and then all became silent again.
+Presently Joe appeared, walking by the moose, and
+came and stood under the tree in which Jack sat.
+"Well, Jack," he said, "I've got a bear, and I don't
+suppose any more will come now. We may as well
+go over and skin it, and go back to camp."</p>
+
+<p>"How big is it, Joe?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Joe, "it's small. It looked pretty big
+to me when I first saw it looking out through the
+trees; but when I shot it, and saw it lying on the
+ground, it didn't seem very big."</p>
+
+<p>Jack scrambled down from the tree, and the two
+boys went over to the bear. It was not large, but, on
+the other hand, it was better than no bear at all, and
+its coat was quite good: not long, but full, and black
+and glossy, and quite worth having. Jack congratulated
+Joe, and they set to work to skin the bear.</p>
+
+<p>Joe's shot had been a good one; he had hit exactly
+in the right place, and the ball had cut the great
+artery of the heart, and the lungs, so that the bear
+died almost at once.</p>
+
+<p>The work of skinning the animal took some little
+time, but it was not nearly dark when Joe, with the
+skin on his back, and Jack, with one of the hams in
+his hand, started to go to the horses. The other ham
+they hung up in a tree. The horses took them
+speedily to the camp, and they greatly enjoyed their
+dinner that night. Both boys were tired and were
+glad to turn in at an early hour.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span>
+The next day the whole camp arose late. Hugh
+reported that the horse's leg was better, and that he
+thought they might as well move on the next day.
+"Now," he said, "do you boys want to go up and
+watch for bear again to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, Hugh," said Jack; "what do you
+think the chances are? Will any of them come back
+after one being killed last night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Hugh, "I think maybe they might.
+Of course you can't tell. Maybe they might come
+back now, or perhaps they'll leave the bait alone for
+three or four nights, and then come back."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, "I'd like to get a shot; but it's
+paying pretty dear for it to have to sit up in a tree
+for five or six hours, and pretty nearly freeze to
+death. I like to be doing something. I wouldn't
+mind trailing a bear or a deer or a sheep for half a
+day, but this sitting on a thin branch in the cold, and
+waiting for a bear to come to you, isn't what it's
+cracked up to be."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh, "you're right there. I don't
+think much of it. However, we might get on our
+horses about midday, and go up and see whether any
+bears came last night after you left. The carcass'll
+show that plain enough."</p>
+
+<p>When they looked at the carcass they found that a
+number of bears had evidently been there; and not
+only had they eaten a considerable part of the moose,
+but they had also partly eaten the bear that Joe had
+killed the night before.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "this seems to be a regular
+bear playground! I've a good mind to come up here
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span>
+myself to-night, and sit in one of these trees, and see
+if I can't get a shot. It's quite a while since I've
+killed a bear, and I sort of need a bear-skin to spread
+on my bed. What do you say boys, shall we all watch
+here to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Hugh, let's do that; that'll be great fun,&mdash;to
+see who gets the shot, or whether any bears come."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I'm no way certain they'll
+come; they're awful keen-nosed, and if they should
+smell that we've been around here during the day,
+they won't show themselves. Now, I'll tell you what
+we might do: suppose we go off down to where we're
+going to leave the horses, and stop there for two or
+three hours,&mdash;nothing will come here very much before
+sundown,&mdash;and then about three o'clock we'll come up
+here, and you two boys can ride your horses right
+under the trees you're going to get into, and just
+climb into them without touching the ground at all;
+and I'll take the horses back and come up afoot, and
+get up into my tree. In that way there'll be only one
+set of tracks for the bears to smell."</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, about three o'clock they rode back; the
+boys climbed from their horses directly into the tree;
+and then Hugh, taking the bridle reins, led the
+horses back and picketed them in the park. Then
+he returned, and choosing a tree about half way
+between the boys, clambered up into it, and they all
+sat there, patient and still.</p>
+
+<p>The boys watched and waited as carefully as the
+day before; but nothing happened until, just before
+sundown, the heavy report of Hugh's gun rang out
+on the silent air, and a moment later they heard the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span>
+branches crackle as he clambered down from the tree.
+"All right, boys," he called out: "come along."</p>
+
+<p>The boys descended from their branches, and
+joining Hugh, they all went forward a little way, to a
+small open spot where a brown bear lay stretched on
+the ground, with the blood flowing from its nostrils.</p>
+
+<p>"This fellow," said Hugh, "has been fussing 'round
+in sight for about twenty minutes. He wanted to
+come awful bad, and yet he was awful scared to. I
+thought one time that maybe he was going around
+Jack's way, and so I didn't bother with him; but presently
+he came back and commenced to go right toward
+the bait, making little runs forward and then little runs
+backward, but always getting closer, until finally I
+made up my mind that I'd have to kill him. Now,
+Joe," Hugh continued, "you help me skin him, and,
+Jack, you go and fetch the horses."</p>
+
+<p>Not long after Jack had returned, the skin was off
+the bear, rolled up and tied behind Hugh's saddle,
+and they returned to camp.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XX<br />
+A PUZZLING TRAIL</h2>
+
+<p>The next morning Hugh put a light load on the
+lame horse, and they started down the stream. The
+going was fairly good, through open timber, and at
+last they came to what Hugh said was the main river,
+and followed that down. There was a good game
+trail all the way, and they went pretty fast, but Hugh
+stopped early because he did not want to tire his
+cripple. The horse, however, was in good heart and
+fed eagerly, and Hugh said that it was all right.</p>
+
+<p>For several days their journey down the Sweetwater
+was without incident. They reached the open
+country, where there were many antelope, and saw
+two or three bunches of elk. Several times Jack
+tried fishing in the river, but without success, as Hugh
+had prophesied, saying: "You won't find any trout in
+this stream, nor in any other stream that runs into the
+North Platte, without they've been put there. There's
+lot's of trout in the South Platte, and just as soon as
+you strike the tiny little creeks that run from springs
+on the other side of the Divide you can catch from
+them all the small trout you want; but there are none
+in the North Platte."</p>
+
+<p>"But why is that?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"You can't prove it by me," said Hugh. "I don't
+know. I've heard tell that the trout in all the streams
+on this side of the mountains come from the other
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span>
+side;&mdash;that is, that they really belong on the west
+slope, but that somehow they got over on this side.
+Now, you take a place like Two Ocean Pass, that we
+heard about up in the Park, and other places that I
+have seen like that, where there's a low place on the
+Divide,&mdash;a place that often holds water, and from each
+end of which a little creek runs down, one going east,
+the other west. If the trout ran up the creek that
+goes west into this little pond on the Divide, why it
+might easy enough be that some of them would run
+down the creek that runs east. Anyhow, it's a sure
+thing that there are no trout in any of the North
+Platte waters that I ever saw, while in the South
+Platte, and in the Wind River, and the Bighorn, and
+the Yellowstone, and pretty much all the streams to
+the north, there are lots of trout. It always seemed
+queer to me that the North Platte don't have any."</p>
+
+<p>One night in camp, as they were sitting around the
+fire after supper, Jack said, "Hugh, tell me a bear
+story. We've seen a lot of bears this trip and killed
+quite a lot. Were you ever badly scared by a bear?
+Of course that old bear charged us the other day, but
+I don't suppose you were scared by it, and I wasn't;
+but I'd like to know if you were ever really scared by
+a bear."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I reckon I have been. I
+remember one time that a bear made me run pretty
+lively for a ways."</p>
+
+<p>"How was it?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "it wasn't so very long ago,
+and I was up on the mountains back of the ranch trying
+to kill some meat. I had left my horse and gone
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span>
+quite a way without seeing anything, when I came
+over a ridge and looked down into a piece of timber.
+About a hundred yards off, lying at the foot of two or
+three trees, just in the edge of the timber, I saw a
+kind of a black pile, and for a little while I could not
+make out what it was. I stopped and looked, and
+presently a part of the pile got up, and a bear began
+to walk around, and then another, and then a third
+got up, and they all walked around the others that
+were lying there, and looked as if they were snarling
+and wanted to fight. I saw in a minute that there
+were too many bears for me to tackle and was just
+about to back off over the hill and clear out, when one
+of them saw me and started running toward me as
+hard as he could. I knew then it was no use to run,
+and I sort of braced myself, and got a half a dozen
+cartridges in my hand, and waited until the bear got
+up within fifteen or twenty steps of me, and then fired
+at it, and turned and ran as hard as I could. I didn't
+hear anything following me, and presently looked
+over my shoulder, and saw that there was nothing in
+sight; but I kept on running until I got out of wind,
+and then I went to my horse as quickly as I could.
+When I had mounted I went back, went round a little
+way, and rode up over the hill in another place and
+looked down, and there was nothing alive in sight.
+I went pretty carefully along the ridge until I got to
+the place where I had stood, and then I went down to
+where the bear had been when I shot. There was
+plenty of blood there, but that was all. Then I went
+down to the tree and found that these bears&mdash;and
+there must have been a half-dozen of them&mdash;had dug
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span>
+down into the ground under the trees and had been
+lying there, as a dog sometimes digs in the dirt and
+lies there to get cool.</p>
+
+<p>"The bears had started off together, but it was hard
+to tell just what they had done. I followed them for
+quite a way, and some of them must have left the
+bunch, for when I got to a big snow-drift&mdash;it was
+toward the end of June, and there were plenty of big
+drifts that hadn't melted yet&mdash;there were only three
+of the bears together. The snow-drift was hard, and
+I walked along over it, leading my horse and following
+the tracks. The horse hardly sank in at all, and my
+feet made no impression on the snow; but the big
+bear,&mdash;the one that was bleeding,&mdash;sank in about six or
+eight inches every step, while the two others only sank
+in a half an inch. That must have been a big one. I
+followed them into the timber, and finally they went
+into a place where the spruces grew low and so thick
+that you could not see through them, and there I gave
+up the trail. I didn't want that bear bad enough to
+follow him into that place."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, of course you never knew anything more
+about it than you do now," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Hugh, "I never knew anything about it
+except what I learned from following the trail. The
+bear was hit somewhere in the breast or neck or head;
+he was bleeding from the front part of the body; and
+I expect the bullet must have knocked him down, or
+else he would have followed me and likely caught me.
+But it was about the longest and fastest run that I've
+made in many a year."</p>
+
+<p>For some days they travelled down the Sweetwater,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span>
+having an open easy road and making good progress.
+They passed the ca�on at the mouth of the river where
+it enters into the Platte, and now felt that they were
+getting near home.</p>
+
+<p>One morning as they were riding along, Jack noticed
+the trail of a big bunch of horses, driven fast, going
+the opposite way from themselves and turning off into
+the hills to the north. He asked Hugh who would
+be driving a bunch of horses through that country,
+and where they were going; but Hugh could not tell
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know anybody, son," he said, "who would
+be taking horses through here, and I don't know where
+they'd be taking them to, without it's up to some small
+town north, or up to the new railroad, and then I
+don't see why they should be coming this way, unless
+perhaps they wanted to get over on Powder River
+and follow that down. The railroad, I hear, is pushing
+west from the Missouri, and it may be that some
+contractor came down here to get horses. And yet
+that don't seem right either. These are not work
+horses,&mdash;you can see that from their tracks,&mdash;and
+besides that there are lots of colts with them. If it
+was a few years back, I should think that a bunch of
+Indians had gone through; but then there are no
+travois trails, and I don't know what it is. Might be
+horse thieves; it's been so the last few years that people
+are stealing stock some."</p>
+
+<p>The trail came from down the river, and they had
+followed it for some miles when a dark spot seen on
+the bottom showed a large animal lying down. Hugh
+rode over and found it to be a dead horse. He waved to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span>
+the boys, who followed him, and they sat there on
+their horses, looking down at it. The animal had been
+dead perhaps a day; it lay on its side, and the brand
+was plainly visible. As Jack looked at the brand he
+recognized it as his uncle's, and he looked at Hugh in
+perplexity to see what this could mean. For a time
+Hugh said nothing, and then getting down from his
+horse, he looked more closely at the brand, and then,
+re-mounting, said to the boys, "We'll camp right here;
+over in that bunch of timber."</p>
+
+<p>It was but little after midday, and Jack knew that
+something important must have happened, but he
+asked no questions, waiting for Hugh to speak.
+After they had unsaddled, and put up the lodge, Hugh
+told the boys to picket the three riding horses while
+he got dinner. Jack had told Joe about the brand,
+and both boys were a good deal excited, wondering
+what was coming next.</p>
+
+<p>After they had eaten, Hugh filled his pipe and said:
+"Now boys, I don't know what all this means, but to
+me it looks as if a gang of horse thieves had been
+riding our range and had driven off a bunch of horses,
+and among them some of ours.</p>
+
+<p>"I know that three-year-old filly lying over there
+perfectly well. She had her first colt this spring. It
+looks to me as if she had been run so hard that it
+killed her. Maybe she got a chance to fill herself up
+with water, somewhere back. But anyhow, there she
+is, and she came from the ranch, and what is more, she
+never was sold to anybody. She's been driven here, and
+driven so hard that it killed her. Now I am going to
+find out, if I can, what this means. I am going to see if
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span>
+I can find this bunch of horses, and see whose they are
+and who has got them. If they, or any part of them,
+belong to us, or came from our country, why we'll get
+them back if we can. Of course if we can't get them
+back, why they've got to go on. I don't think there
+are enough horses in Wyoming to pay for the life of
+either of you two boys; but if these horses have been
+stolen I reckon we can get them back, and I am
+mighty sure we'll try.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, presently, as soon as the horses have eaten,
+I am going off on the trail of this bunch. I want you
+boys to stop right here until I come back, and if I
+should not come back in the course of three days, I
+want you to go to the ranch and tell them what you've
+seen. It will be no trouble to get back home. You'll
+know when you get to Casper or to Fetterman, and
+you can cross the river most anywhere there, and then
+it's pretty nearly a straight shoot south. You and me
+have ridden enough around the country, Jack, so that
+you know the principal hills, and I'm sure you'll know
+Rattlesnake Mountain when you see it. You know
+where the ranch lies from there. You've got plenty
+of grub, and it's only a little more than two days hard
+ride to get home.</p>
+
+<p>"But I expect that you'll see me back here about
+day after to-morrow, in the morning, and then I'll
+have something to tell you:&mdash;either that I haven't
+found the stock, or else that I have: and what it is;
+and who it belongs to.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I want some grub&mdash;just some of that dried
+meat. I won't have a chance to kindle a fire while
+I'm gone, and I've got to ride pretty fast and can't
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span>
+carry much. One thing I must have though, and that
+is your glasses, son."</p>
+
+<p>Jack rose and went into the lodge and brought out
+his glasses and gave them to Hugh, who opened them,
+looked at the clasp of the case, and then, shutting it
+and seeing that the spring was in good order, tied a
+buckskin string around it. As the sun fell toward the
+west he sent one of the boys to bring in a horse and
+said to him, "Let old Baldy stay out there, and fetch
+the dun; he's stronger, and fatter, and tougher than
+any of the rest.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, boys," he said, after he had mounted, "this
+next two or three days will be business; you want to
+forget you're boys, and think that we may have to do
+something pretty hard and pretty active before long.
+Don't go off hunting; don't neglect your horses; stay
+'round camp, and keep a good lookout during the daytime.
+If you see anybody coming, get your horses
+in close and tie them among the trees. Keep your
+riding horses on picket all the time, and at night keep
+them pretty close to the lodge." Then he rode off.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack, as Hugh's form grew smaller and
+smaller in the distance, "what do you suppose this
+means, Joe?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Joe, "except what Hugh said.
+If he finds these horses belong to your uncle, why I
+expect maybe he'll come back, and we'll have to go
+up there and kill the man that stole them, and take
+them back."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, nonsense, Joe, Hugh didn't mean anything
+like that. Don't you know, he said there weren't
+horses enough in Wyoming to pay for our lives? That
+means that there isn't going to be any fighting."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span>
+"Well," said Joe, "maybe then if he finds they're
+your horses, we'll have to go up there and steal them,
+and take them back that way."</p>
+
+<p>Jack slapped his thigh with his hand, as he said,
+"That would be bully, wouldn't it? It would be real
+fun to steal horses, and have all the excitement of it,
+and yet know that you were not doing any harm,
+only getting back your own.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, anyway," he continued, "we've got to look
+out mighty sharp for things, for whatever Hugh said
+has got to be done. I remember one time when I
+failed to do as he told me, and I got the worst scare
+that I ever had in all my life. That was the time
+when Hezekiah and young Bear Chief caught me in
+swimming." Joe grinned appreciatively, as he said,
+"I heard about that a good many times."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose you have," said Jack; "that's always
+been a good joke on me."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XXI<br />
+HUGH GOES "ON DISCOVERY"</h2>
+
+<p>Meantime, Hugh was loping fast up the bottom
+of the Platte, on the trail of the horses. It seemed
+to him to have been made the day before; and this
+would agree very well with the length of time that
+the mare bearing Mr. Sturgis' brand seemed to have
+been dead. It was not easy to tell, out here in the
+open under the hot sun and in the dry wind, just
+when the tracks had been made.</p>
+
+<p>An hour or two of hard, fast riding brought him to
+the point where he had come upon the trail that
+morning, and he could see, looking ahead, that here it
+turned off and struck in toward the hills, apparently
+to go up one of two valleys. There was water in
+both,&mdash;not much down here on the dry bottom, but
+further back in the hills and among the timber he knew
+that these streams were running brooks, and that on
+both there were wide grassy meadows and places very
+likely to be chosen by people driving a bunch of horses,
+in which to stop and let them feed and rest. If he had
+been following Indians who had driven off a band of
+horses that they had stolen from an Indian camp, he
+would have gone carefully, for Indians would have
+left behind scouts who, from the top of some high
+hill, would have watched the back trail for at least a
+few hours; but he did not think that white men would
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span>
+do this. He had reason to think that if these were
+rustlers&mdash;horse thieves&mdash;they had gone over the
+range after the horse round-up was over, and gathering
+these horses, had driven them slowly, perhaps by
+night, until they had got beyond the last ranch, and
+then had hurried them along, hoping to get them out
+of the country without observation.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, these might not be horse thieves,
+but might be people who were driving their own stock
+in a legitimate way, for some purpose of their own;
+but he could not understand how this should be, and
+the presence in the bunch of an animal with Mr.
+Sturgis' brand made him feel that he must investigate.</p>
+
+<p>The trail led toward the westernmost of the two
+valleys, and Hugh followed it. The sun was almost
+down when he got well into the valley, but he could
+see that the horses were still going fast, and he hurried
+the dun along, for he was anxious if possible to find
+the herd that night. It grew dark rapidly, but still
+he rode on, galloping fast over the grassy bottom,
+and going more slowly only when he came to the
+crossings of streams, or to rocky ground, where his
+horse's hoofs made some noise. Of course the dun,
+like all the other horses, was unshod, so that there was
+no clink of iron against stone, to be heard at a distance.</p>
+
+<p>After he had ridden for three or four hours in the
+dark, he stopped, took off his saddle and bridle, and
+holding the rope which was about the dun's neck in
+his hand, let the animal walk about. It took a few
+bites of grass, and then lay down and rolled three or
+four times, and then getting up, shook itself. Then
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span>
+Hugh put the saddle on, re-mounted, and went forward.
+All the time he was looking and listening as hard as
+he could. He had gone but a little distance beyond
+this place, when suddenly he heard the whinney of a
+little colt, and stopped.</p>
+
+<p>Taking his horse by the bridle he walked forward,
+and before he had gone very far saw a horse standing
+near him, and then another, and presently a number
+of horses, and knew that he was in the midst of the
+bunch. He took a long look on every side. The
+valley here was wide, but on either side he could see
+the black mountains rising, and he did not know just
+how far the timber came down into the valley. Now
+he wanted to find where the camp was, and mounting
+his horse he took a long look up and down the stream
+on both sides, and there on his right, and not far off,
+he detected what he thought was the glow of a fire.</p>
+
+<p>Passing on north, until he had gone well above the
+place where he supposed the camp must be, he tied
+his horse to a little bush, and then walking over to the
+edge of the valley, close to the stream, he silently drew
+nearer to the camp. Before long he was close enough
+to see the dim light of the fire, and knew that some
+where near it must be lying the men who had the
+horses in charge. This was enough for him. He
+went back, got his horse, and going further up the
+stream, crossed it, and finding an open place sat down,
+holding his horse's rope in his hand until the animal
+had eaten its fill. Then, still on foot, he climbed the
+mountain, tied up his horse in a thick bunch of brush
+where it could not be seen, took off the saddle, and
+after eating some dried meat, went along the mountain
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span>
+side back to a point opposite the camp, and finding a
+smooth place, lay down, wrapped himself in his saddle
+blanket, and went to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>It was still dark when he awoke, but he sat up,
+stretched himself, and involuntarily felt in his pocket
+for his pipe, and then smiled a little as he recollected
+that now he could not smoke. He folded his blanket,
+and laid it behind the trunk of a tree, and then very
+slowly began to make his way down the mountain
+side toward the camp. Before he had gone far, he
+began to hear the calls of early waking birds, and to
+be conscious that in the little patches of sky that he
+saw from time to time the stars were growing paler.
+He went very slowly and carefully, feeling his way
+with hands and feet, never brushing against the
+branch of a tree, or stepping on a stick which might
+crack. The men in the camp below were probably
+fast asleep and would not notice the sounds that he
+might make, but the matter was too important for
+him to run any risks. After a time it grew lighter,
+and presently he could hear below him the rattle of
+the water as it flowed over the stones; and as it grew
+more and more light, the dim shadows of the horses
+in the open, and the dark outlines of the bushes on
+the stream were seen. The mountain side just over
+the camp was steep and thickly clothed with spruces,
+most of them of large size, but with many small ones
+growing among them. If he had himself chosen a
+place for these men to camp, he could not have
+selected one that would have been better suited to
+his purpose. As the light grew stronger, he worked
+down closer and closer to the camp, until he was as
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span>
+near it as he dared go. Then he began to look about
+for a place from which he could see it, for first of all
+he wished to discover who the men were who had the
+horses. It might be that this would at once explain
+the whole matter.</p>
+
+<p>After a little man&oelig;uvering he found a place where,
+through the thin branches of a young spruce, he could
+look directly down into the camp. There were the
+ashes of a fire, and not far from it, on the smooth dry
+grass, were three piles, two of them covered with
+canvas such as cow punchers commonly use to wrap
+their beds in, and the other with a gray blanket. He
+knew that he might now have to wait a long time, and
+was prepared to exercise patience. He had set his
+gun on the hillside, against a tree, where it would not
+fall down, and at the same time would be in easy
+reach of his hand if he should need it.</p>
+
+<p>He sat there for an hour, occasionally looking at the
+sleeping men, but for the most part studying through
+the glasses the horses that fed not far from him.</p>
+
+<p>After the light grew strong but a glance was needed
+to see that this was not a bunch of work horses, but
+was range stock, picked up anywhere. He could see
+the fresh brands on colts and yearlings, and could
+recognize some of them without his glasses. Through
+the glasses these fresh brands, many of which had as
+yet scarcely begun to peel, stood out very plainly, and
+in many cases the old brand could readily be distinguished.
+Besides this, there were many horses
+which he perfectly well knew, without seeing the
+brands,&mdash;animals that he recognized as occupying the
+range which he was accustomed to ride over. He
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span>
+chuckled to himself as he saw these, and thought,
+"My, my, wouldn't Mr. Sturgis and Powell and Joe
+be hot if they were here;" and then he thought, "I
+wish they were here, for if they were we could take in
+these three fellows mighty easy."</p>
+
+<p>From what he had already seen Hugh had made
+up his mind that this was a bunch of horses stolen
+from the range about the Swiftwater ranch, but he
+wished to wait a little longer in order to be sure who
+the men were who had them.</p>
+
+<p>After a while, one of the heaps that he was looking
+down upon stirred, and a few moments later the
+covering was thrown off, and a man sat up.</p>
+
+<p>He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and stretched and
+yawned, and finally put his hand under the edge of his
+blanket, pulled out his shoes, and then put them on
+and stood up. Hugh chuckled as he recognized Red
+McClusky, a man whom he well knew as living along
+the railroad. He was a cowboy who had come up
+from Texas and had worked at odd times on the
+range, but who spent most of his time in the town,
+consuming bad whiskey and occasionally disappeared
+for a few weeks, and then turned up again.</p>
+
+<p>McClusky filled his pipe and lighted it, and then
+going over to the fireplace, began to kindle a fire, at
+the same time calling out, "Here, get up, you lazy
+cusses; the sun's high, and we want to get breakfast."
+Soon after this the other two men sat up.
+One of them was Black Jack Dowling, another bad
+character along the railroad, well known to Hugh;
+but the third was a boy or young man, whom Hugh
+did not know, with a pleasant but rather weak face,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span>
+who seemed a little bit afraid of both his companions.</p>
+
+<p>Dowling seemed in rather bad temper, and as he
+walked toward the creek growled at McClusky, asking
+him why he hadn't let them sleep longer. "We've
+had an awful hard ride," he said, "and I feel as if I
+could sleep all day, and all to-morrow too."</p>
+
+<p>"Pshaw," said McClusky, "that's no ride; if you're
+goin' to let a little pleasure gallop like that tire you
+out, you'd better stick to holding up trains. I feel as
+fresh to-day as if I hadn't been in the saddle for a
+week; don't you, Pete?" he laughed, speaking to the
+young man.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Pete, "that wasn't no ride. I guess
+Jack here aint much used to the saddle."</p>
+
+<p>Dowling snarled out "Used to the saddle or not,
+you don't stir me out of this for two days more."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said McClusky, "it don't make much
+difference when we go on, but I want to get these
+horses up north before snow comes, and we've got
+quite a ways to go. We ought to leave here to-morrow,
+sure; anyhow, the day after to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>The fire was now burning, and operations for breakfast
+went on. The coffee-pot and frying pan were
+brought out from beneath the willows; Pete brought
+some water, and McClusky cooked, while the other
+two sat by the fire and smoked. Hugh had now seen
+enough, and began very slowly to work his way
+up the mountain. It was not long before he was out
+of sight and hearing of the camp, and taking up his
+blanket on the way, he went on up the stream.
+Gradually descending the hill, he at length reached
+the valley's level, and spent some time in the willow
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span>
+and alder bushes, studying the horses that were within
+sight. As nearly as he could figure, there were about
+a hundred head of horses, and most of them seemed
+pretty tired. After feeding for some time, they lay
+down and were seen resting all over the meadow.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to his horse, he led him for a long distance
+up the stream, to a point where the timber on
+both sides reached out well into the valley, and here
+crossing a little open spot, which was almost out of
+sight of the horses below, he turned down the stream,
+and keeping himself always well back from the valley
+in the timber, again stopped opposite the camp.
+From here, for a time he watched. The men loafed
+about the camp; but toward the middle of the morning
+the boy walked out among the horses, and catching
+one that was evidently picketed, took it back to
+camp, saddled it, and rode up the stream. He was not
+gone long, and indeed did not pass out of Hugh's sight.
+His only purpose was to round up the horses, driving
+those up stream down opposite the camp, and when
+he had done that he rode down stream and started
+the animals that were feeding there up to the others.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh could now make a close estimate of the
+number of the animals, and after having counted them
+a number of times, he made up his mind that there
+were between ninety and a hundred. Of these three
+seemed to be picketed, and he took careful note of
+their location, for he had already made up his mind
+what he intended to do.</p>
+
+<p>After the boy had rounded up the horses he caught
+A fresh horse, put it on picket and then riding back to
+the camp, unsaddled and turned loose the horse he
+had been riding.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII<br />
+STEALING FROM HORSE THIEVES</h2>
+
+<p>Hugh now knew all that he was likely to learn, and
+starting down stream, still well out of sight in the
+timber, he kept along the mountain side until the
+camp had been left two or three miles behind. Then
+mounting, he passed out into the open valley, and
+keeping close to its border, rode hard to the Platte
+River. It was but little after noon when he rode into
+the Platte bottom, and two hours more brought him
+in sight of his camp. The boys saw him while he was
+yet a long way off, and he could see them standing
+and watching him, and talking together as he approached.</p>
+
+<p>As he rode up to the lodge he said, "Well, boys,
+here I am. Now, I wish you two would go out and
+catch up old Baldy and your two riding horses, and
+bring them in and put them on picket. We've
+got to pack up, too, before very long, and get ready
+for a quick move and a long ride. When you get
+your horses we'll have something to eat, and I'll tell
+you what's happened."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh unsaddled, filled his pipe, started the fire, and
+began to cook some food, for by this time he was
+pretty hungry. While he was cooking, the boys came
+in and picketed the horses, and then Hugh said to
+them, "We'd better get our packs together, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span>
+pull down the lodge, and get everything ready for a
+move. I went up there and found the camp of these
+fellows. They're horse thieves, all right enough, and
+they've about a hundred head of horses, most of them
+Mr. Sturgis', but some are Powell's, and some belong
+to other neighbors of ours. Of course I could not see
+the brands on all the horses, but I saw the men that
+were driving them, and that's enough for me. I don't
+know, son, if you ever saw Red McClusky or Jack
+Dowling; but they're the men up there with the
+horses, with a boy not much older than you two, and
+I expect they've run 'em off and are going to take
+'em up north.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I figure that we can do one of two things.
+We can go up there and kill those fellows, and drive
+the horses back, or we can go up there and steal the
+horses from them, and leave them afoot, and just
+take the horses back on the range.</p>
+
+<p>"I feel some like killing the thieves, but I don't want
+you boys to be mixed up in anything of that kind; it
+might be bad for you. I reckon the best thing we
+can do will be to go up and steal the horses; steal
+'em all if we can, so as to leave them fellows afoot.
+But if they've got sand to follow us, why then we've
+got to fight; because I know mighty well that they've
+no right to this property."</p>
+
+<p>The boys said nothing for a time, but when Hugh
+spoke of stealing the horses they looked at each other
+and grinned, with a delight that they could not conceal.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you fellows laughing at?" said Hugh,
+when he saw them. "This ain't no joke; this is
+serious business."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span>
+"That's so, Hugh," said Jack, "but I guess we
+were both laughing because Joe suggested that if
+these were horse thieves, the best thing we could do
+would be to go and steal the horses."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I reckon that's what we've
+got to do; but I do hope that we can get 'em all.
+Now, to do that, we've each one of us got to do his
+part, and to do it the best way we know how. I'd
+rather have done it last night than do it to-night,
+because last night those fellows were tired, and to-night
+they'll sleep lighter; they may hear the horses
+walking off; but all the same, I don't believe they
+will. Now, you boys better saddle your horses, and
+we'll make up the packs and put 'em all together here,
+and put hobbles on the pack animals, so that there'll
+be no time lost in catching them, when we come back.
+You see, if we have to stop here it'll take quite a time
+to pack, and if we leave any horses up there for those
+fellows to ride, they may follow us for a way, and
+there's no saying what may happen. I don't want
+either of you boys to get shot, and I'm sure I don't
+want to get shot myself."</p>
+
+<p>After the meal was eaten, the packs were quickly
+made up, the pack horses were driven in, caught and
+hobbled, and the afternoon was not half gone when
+the three were riding back up the valley.</p>
+
+<p>Jack and Joe were somewhat impatient, but Hugh
+checked them. "There's no hurry," he said, "we
+can't do anything till the middle of the night. Those
+fellows may sit up round the fire for quite a while,
+and they might notice if the horses were moving
+much. I am in hopes that Joe and I can go up there
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span>
+afoot, and cut loose their riding horses, and then just
+slowly and quietly shove the whole bunch down until
+we get them well below the camp, and then we can start
+them at a good gait. There'll be no trouble about
+keeping them going fast, for we've got plenty of riding
+horses in the bunch there, and we can change often."</p>
+
+<p>The sun had not set when they entered the valley.
+They followed it up for what seemed to the boys a
+long distance, but at length Hugh stopped and dismounted,
+saying, "The camp is only about a mile
+above here."</p>
+
+<p>It was now dark night. Hugh sat down on the
+ground, holding his horse's bridle, and began to fill
+his pipe, and the boys sat close to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," he said, "I am going to take you boys up
+just where I came down this morning, and we'll get
+around these horses at the upper end of the valley,
+and work them down slowly on the other side from
+the camp. I'll go over and cut loose the horses that
+are picketed, and then we'll work on slowly until we
+get down well below this. Then we can go. I don't
+want either of you boys to shoot unless you have to;
+and if you have to, I'd rather have you shoot not to
+kill, but to cripple. If you get a chance, shoot at the
+man's shoulder, so he can't use his gun. On the
+other hand, I've heard that Dowling is handy with a
+gun in either hand. We've got to take some chances,
+of course. I don't expect we'll see anything of those
+fellows without we leave them a horse or two. If we
+do that, why then to-morrow morning they'll come
+on. You boys keep right close after me, and try to
+make as little noise as you can. Don't let your
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span>
+horses call. They may want to when they smell the
+others, but keep them from doing it if you can."</p>
+
+<p>Keeping well to the left, and close in under the timber,
+Hugh rode slowly along, and after a time they saw
+the light of the fire flickering on the other side of the
+valley, and occasionally could see shadows passing in
+front of it. As they moved along, they saw, from
+time to time, horses feeding, and once rode close to
+an old mare, whose little colt, not seeing them until
+they were near, gave a great bound into the air and
+rushed away for a few yards.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh kept on up the valley until it narrowed, going
+almost to the point where he had crossed in the morning.
+Then he stopped and said to the boys:</p>
+
+<p>"Now get off your horses and lead them. I reckon
+we're above all the horses, and now we'll go back down
+stream. Keep on the side away from the camp; keep
+spread out some; and when you come to any horses
+just walk toward them and get them to move along
+slowly. I'll keep out toward the middle until we get
+down near the camp; then, if the fire's gone down,
+I'll try to cut loose the horses, and I'll try to push
+them and all the others down the stream. It may
+take longer than we think, and you boys when you
+get down where we went into the timber, on the way
+up, get off your horses and lie down on the ground
+together and wait. See that you don't make any
+noise; see that you don't shoot me; keep your wits
+about you; and don't get excited or scared." The
+boys listened without a word.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," Hugh continued, "we'll start. Jack, you
+go over next to the timber, but keep fairly well out
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span>
+from the edge, and try to see all the time that you
+don't miss any of the horses. Joe, you keep out
+nearer the middle, and get all the horses you can, and
+both of you work as slow and careful as you know
+how."</p>
+
+<p>The three separated and set about their task. To
+Jack it seemed sort of shivery work, being off there
+alone. He wondered if anything would happen to
+Hugh or Joe; whether the thieves would find out
+what was being done, and would attack them;
+whether Hugh and Joe would meet him down at the
+end of the valley, and what in the world he would do
+if they did not. He had not much time for thoughts
+like these, however, for he had to watch the sky-line
+of the timber, and to figure how far he was from it;
+to look out for horses in front of him, and to travel
+along without stumbling, or running into little low
+bushes, or doing anything that would make a noise.</p>
+
+<p>Before long he saw his first horse, an old mare with
+a colt. He walked toward her, and as he approached,
+she began slowly to walk away. Then there were
+other horses off to his right and to his left, and he
+walked back and forward across the valley, sometimes
+seeing that the horses to his left were moving slowly
+along down the valley, which told him that Joe was
+doing his work, sometimes coming to a large bunch
+of brush, around which he had to pass in order to be
+sure that no horses were hidden there. All the time
+he kept a good lookout across the valley, to see if he
+could see the fire of the camp, and at length, after he
+had gone, as it seemed, a very long way, he recognized,
+under the opposite hills, a dim glow on the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span>
+bushes, which told him of a fire burned down. This
+he was glad to see, because it made him feel sure that
+the thieves had gone to bed and were asleep.</p>
+
+<p>By this time he had in front of him a good many
+horses, all going quietly and feeding as they went.
+Now and then two or three would lag behind, and he
+was obliged to cross over and walk behind them, but
+they at once started on, and Jack felt pretty sure
+that, so far as his side of the valley was concerned,
+the horses had all been gathered. As he approached
+the place where they had entered the timber he began
+to hope that before long he would see Joe; and it was
+not very long after that that he saw one horse lagging
+behind all the rest, and as he went over to drive it
+along, he saw that someone was walking by it, and
+knew that this must be Joe. He wanted to go over
+and speak to him, but remembering that he had his
+own horses to look after, he restrained himself and
+kept on down the valley. At the same time he was
+glad to be sure that Joe was close by. Now, if only
+Hugh would appear, he should feel that they were all
+right. Now the valley grew more and more narrow,
+and the boys were closer together, and presently, as
+the horses bunched up to pass through a narrow place
+between two points of timber, Jack and Joe were
+almost side by side.</p>
+
+<p>"Everything all right, Joe?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Joe. "We've got a good bunch
+of horses."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you seen anything of Hugh?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Joe, "I ain't seen Hugh, but the horses
+off to my left are moving along; I reckon he's there
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span>
+somewhere." The words were hardly spoken when
+suddenly, apparently from a horse that was walking
+just in front of them, Hugh's voice said:</p>
+
+<p>"All right, boys; I believe we've done the trick. I
+think we can mount now and go ahead. Don't start
+'em up yet, we'll go two or three miles further, and
+then we'll let 'em sail." Both boys were delighted
+to hear Hugh, and they mounted and crowded close
+to him.</p>
+
+<p>"O Hugh," said Jack, "do you think we got 'em
+all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I don't know about that,
+we've got the most of 'em. They may have riding
+horses cached in the brush somewhere. I was afraid
+to go right close to the camp, for fear some of 'em
+might be awake; but I got two picketed horses;
+there may be one hidden somewhere else; but I don't
+believe they've got horses enough to ride to-morrow,
+and I'm almighty sure they haven't got horses enough
+to catch us."</p>
+
+<p>"What time is it, Hugh, do you think?" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't know," said Hugh, "but it's considerable
+after the middle of the night. We've got
+plenty of time to get these horses down to camp, and
+pack, and start the whole outfit on before it gets day;
+and pretty soon I'm going to begin to hurry 'em. I
+want you two boys to drive the horses, and when we
+get out of the valley, I'm going to ride round them,
+and go ahead of them and lead them. Keep them
+going well until you hear me whoop; or if you can't
+hear me, until you see me. I shall ride pretty hard
+until we get near the camp, but we must stop the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span>
+horses before we get there; otherwise they'll frighten
+our pack animals, and we won't be able to catch them.
+Now," said Hugh, as they came to a little enlargement
+of the valley, "I'll go ahead, and you give me a
+few minutes to get around them, and then start them
+up. When I hear them beginning to gallop, I'll go
+just ahead of them, and they'll all follow me."</p>
+
+<p>The cavalcade proceeded at a walk for ten minutes
+more, and then Joe and Jack began to hurry the
+animals, and before long they were galloping at a
+good rate of speed down the valley. When they
+reached the Platte bottom the horses turned off, following
+the trail by which they had come up, and
+swung steadily along at a good gait. Now and then
+Jack recognized, even in the darkness, a place that
+they had passed before, but for the most part the
+country all looked strange to him. It seemed as if
+they had been going for a long time when he thought
+he heard a faint whoop from in front, and at the
+same moment Joe called out to him:</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on, Jack; drop back. Hugh called, and we
+must let the horses stop."</p>
+
+<p>They drew their horses into a walk, and before long
+the animals they were driving also slowed down.
+Then, after a little while they heard Hugh, not far in
+front of them, calling out:</p>
+
+<p>"Come round here, boys, and help catch the pack
+animals, and put the packs on."</p>
+
+<p>They rode through the horses, which had now
+stopped and begun to feed, and it took but a short
+time to catch their pack horses, and saddle and pack
+up. Then turning loose the packs, they all three rode
+round behind the herd, and started it on again.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIII<br />
+"DIED WITH HIS BOOTS ON"</h2>
+
+<p>It was now growing light, and they drove the
+horses hard. Hugh rode steadily behind the bunch,
+while the boys were out on either flank, keeping them
+straight, and not permitting any lagging. Once they
+stopped for a little while and caught three fresh
+horses which Hugh pointed out, put their saddles on
+them and turned loose their own horses.</p>
+
+<p>The morning passed, and it was now the middle of
+the afternoon. The boys had noticed that Hugh
+often turned about and looked back up the level valley,
+and they themselves were also watching the back
+trail to see whether there was any pursuit. The sun
+was getting low, when far back up the valley was seen
+a speck of dust, which gradually grew larger, and
+underneath it they could see a black spot that was
+constantly growing nearer and nearer. It was evidently
+a man on horseback. After they had watched
+it for some time, Hugh motioned both boys to come
+over toward him, and riding there side by side in the
+thick dust kicked up by the hurrying herd, Hugh said
+to them:</p>
+
+<p>"Boys, there's one man coming, and he's on a good
+horse, and we've got to kill him, I expect. Let these
+horses stop now, and catch up three other animals
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span>
+and change the packs onto them, and by that time
+this fellow will be close up to us, and we can see what
+he wants."</p>
+
+<p>They slowed down their horses, the willing herd
+stopped and began to feed.</p>
+
+<p>Jack and Joe rode through it, and one by one
+caught the pack horses, which they brought back to
+Hugh. Then Hugh, sitting on his horse, pointed out
+to them other animals to catch, and they roped them,
+brought them up, and one by one the packs were
+transferred to the new horses. The horses did not
+like it very much, and one or two of them bucked,
+and to Jack it seemed rather nervous work to be doing
+this when the approaching horseman kept growing
+larger and larger, and when, for all he knew,
+before long bullets would be flying. The work was
+finished before the horseman was near them, and then
+Hugh told the boys to start the herd on again. But
+Jack demurred, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on, Hugh; are you going to stay here and
+meet this man? I think we all ought to stay, because
+something may happen."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I don't like the idea of your
+stopping. I'd rather have you go on and start these
+horses. Nothing's going to happen to me; I feel
+pretty sure of that. I shall be on the ground, and have
+every advantage over this fellow, if he wants trouble."</p>
+
+<p>"Hugh," said Joe, "how will this do: suppose
+Jack gets off twenty steps one side of you and I get
+off twenty steps on the other, and we won't do
+anything unless it looks like you were going to get
+hurt; then we can shoot."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span>
+"All right," said Hugh, "if it will make you boys
+feel any easier; but I tell you nothing is going to
+happen. If that fellow don't stop when he gets within
+good rifle shot I'll stop him, and I won't hurt him
+either. If he's got so much sand that he won't know
+when a man's got the drop on him, I may have to hurt
+him, but I don't look to."</p>
+
+<p>The man came on; his horse was a great powerful
+beast and had been ridden hard, for it was covered
+with dust and foam. When he got within a hundred
+yards, Hugh dismounted, and stepping out in front of
+his horse, raised his rifle to his shoulder, and pointed
+it at the man. The man paid no attention to the
+motion, save to put his hand behind him and jerk
+from his holster a six-shooter. He called out something
+as he came on, but they could not distinguish
+what he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Hands up!" Hugh called; but the man paid no
+attention, and the distance between the party and the
+rider grew smaller.</p>
+
+<p>"Hands up!" Hugh shouted again, and then a
+third time; and still the man came on. Hugh fired,
+and the horse plunged forward on his knees throwing
+the rider far before him. It was Dowling.</p>
+
+<p>He struck on his head and hands and slid a little
+way along the earth, and then springing to his feet,
+with his left hand he pulled another six-shooter from
+his belt; but as he raised it, Hugh's rifle sounded
+again, and the man fell.</p>
+
+<div><a name="hands_up_hugh_called" id="hands_up_hugh_called"></a></div>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img class="mw" src="images/i003.jpg" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">
+<p>"'HANDS UP!' HUGH CALLED."&mdash;<cite>Page <a href="#Page_268">268</a></cite></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"Look out for him, boys! Don't go near him; he's
+like a grizzly bear; likely to be playing possum."
+Hugh watched the man with a wary eye, and was not
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">269</a></span>
+surprised to see him after a moment raise himself on
+one elbow and feel about over the ground, in the effort
+to recover the pistol which he had dropped. Hugh
+had seen it fall, and knowing the man's quickness with
+the pistol, watched him carefully. In a moment, however,
+the man sank back and seemed to be breathing
+hard, and Hugh called to the boys:</p>
+
+<p>"Watch him, now, and I'll step up to him and get
+that gun; I'll be ready for him if he moves."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh stepped carefully but quickly forward, with
+his gun ready, and had almost reached the man, when
+he moved slightly, and Hugh sprang swiftly to one
+side, as the pistol was discharged without being raised.
+In a moment Hugh was on the man, and had taken
+the arm from him and thrown it to one side.</p>
+
+<p>Dowling was badly wounded, and it was evident he
+could not live long. When his pistols had been secured
+they did what they could to make him comfortable.
+Joe went to the river and brought water in his hat,
+and after a little, Dowling opened his eyes and spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you've got me," he said; "I was in hopes
+I'd get you. I couldn't stand it to have those horses
+taken, but I wish you'd taken this one, instead of
+leaving it for me to ride. However, we made a good
+try to get the stock, and we would have got it if it
+hadn't been for you. Where did you come from?
+We never saw anything of you."</p>
+
+<p>"We were just travelling down the river," said
+Hugh, "and saw the tracks, and I knew there wasn't
+any reason for a bunch of horses to be driven through
+this country; so I went back to look up and see what
+it meant, and I found that you'd got our horses."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">270</a></span>
+"Well," said Dowling, "a fool for luck! Anybody
+else coming through the country wouldn't have paid
+any attention to that horse trail, but you just had to
+do it.</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon I've got it," he went on; "and I expect
+it's about time too, but I hate almightily to be
+downed by an old man. I'd a heap sight rather have
+had one of them young fellows kill me."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "I expect when a man's time
+comes, it don't make much difference how he gets
+killed."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Dowling, "I expect maybe it don't. I
+always allowed I die with my boots on, anyhow, and
+here I am."</p>
+
+<p>During the few moments that had elapsed since he
+had received his wound his voice had grown much
+weaker. He was not bleeding much, but Hugh shook
+his head as he looked at the wound.</p>
+
+<p>"Have some more water, Dowling?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, a little," said Dowling; but as Hugh raised
+him up to drink, he began to choke, and in a moment,
+after a shudder or two, lay dead.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, boys," said Hugh, "we've got to bury him,
+and then move along. Suppose you two go over onto
+the edge of that bluff and scrape away the clay, as
+much as you can with your knives, and I'll bring the
+body over, and put his saddle-blanket over him, and
+we'll cover him up."</p>
+
+<p>It had all happened so quickly, and there had been
+so much excitement about it, that Jack hardly understood
+or realized what had happened. He and Joe
+walked over to the bluff, and scraping away the soft
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">271</a></span>
+yellow clay, soon made a place six or eight feet long,
+and presently Hugh came over, carrying the man on
+his shoulder, and they laid him in his shallow grave.
+Hugh took off his belt, and looked through his pockets
+to see if he had any papers by which he might be
+identified, but found none. They covered him with
+the earth, and brought flat stones that had fallen
+down from the top of the bluff, and piled them upon
+the grave, to protect it from the wolves.</p>
+
+<p>Then Hugh went back, and picking up the two pistols
+that Dowling had dropped, shoved them in the
+holsters, and holding out the belt to Jack, he said,
+"You want to wear this, son?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes, Hugh, I'd like to have it to remember
+this day by, though there are some things that I
+don't much care to remember."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Hugh, "this is the way things used to
+be in the far west, but I thought we'd about got
+through with it by this time. However, some of the
+old spirit seems to crop out now and then."</p>
+
+<p>They mounted, and started the herd along again.
+They had not gone far before Hugh said, "I want you
+boys to drive these animals on three or four miles
+down the creek, and leave them there; but cut out
+the pack horses, and we'll camp right here."</p>
+
+<p>Camp was made in a bunch of cottonwood brush,
+but the lodge was not put up. The pack horses were
+hobbled, and then the boys drove the loose horses
+some distance further down the stream, and returning
+found the camp dark, but supper ready.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought," said Hugh, "that there was just a
+chance that those two other fellows might follow us
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">272</a></span>
+down and try to take some of the horses back again;
+so we had better stop here, without any fire, and with
+the horses kept close, and make an early start in the
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>Hugh had them up long before day. They built no
+fire, but ate some dried meat, and started on. The
+tired horses were found just where they had been left,
+were pushed along at a good gait all day and crossed
+the Platte; and the next night they drove them into
+Mr. Sturgis' ranch to the great astonishment of all
+there, and later of Powell, and the other men from
+whom horses had been stolen.</p>
+
+<p>Great was the credit received by all three of those
+who had brought back the stolen horses. Mr. Sturgis
+gave to Jack and Joe each three good riding animals;
+and to this day Jack talks of the only horse stealing
+expedition he was ever on.</p>
+
+<hr class="c25" />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Jack in the Rockies, by George Bird Grinnell
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-03-03 18:33:40 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-03-03 18:33:40 -0800
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parent	ad854792902b020ab2fce6d0696956bfb7112645 (diff)