Hunting -- West (U.S.); Outdoor life; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
We were travelling in Mr. A.'s pack train across the Shoshones from Idaho
to Wyoming. It was the first of October, and by then, in that region,
winter is shaking hands with you--pleasant hands to be sure, but a bit
cool. The night before we had made a picturesque camp on the lee side of
a rock cliff which was honeycombed with caves. A blazing camp fire was
built at the mouth of one of these and we lounged on the rock ledges
inside, thoroughly protected from the wind and cold. A storm was brewing.
We could hear the pine trees whistle and shriek as they were lashed about
in the forest across the brook. The lurid light of the fire showed us
ourselves in distorted shadows. The whole place seemed wild and wicked,
like a robber camp, and under its spell one thought things and felt
things that would have been impossible in the sun shine, where everything
is revealed. It began to snow, but we laughed at that. What did it matter
in the shelter of the cave? For the first time in days I was thoroughly
toasted on all sides at once. We had changed abruptly from the
steam-heated Pullman to camping in snow, and it takes a few days to get
used to such a shock. We told tales as weird as the scene, until far into
the night. The next morning the sun was bright, but the cook had to cut a
hole in the ice blanket over the brook to get water. We dared not linger
at our robber camp, for at any time a big snowstorm might come that would
cover the Wind River Divide, which we had to cross, with snow too deep
for the horses to travel.
Two days later, the weather still promising well, we decided to camp for
a few days on the Upper Wiggin's Fork to hunt. It was a lovely spot; one
of those little grassy parks which but for the uprising masses of
mountains and towering trees might have surrounded your country home.
That first night as we sat around the camp fire there came out of the
blackness behind us a faint greeting--_Wheres Who_--_Wheres Who_--from a
denizen of this mountain park, the great horned owl. The next morning we
packed biscuits into our saddle-bags and separated for the day into two
parties, Nimrod and the Horsewrangler, the Host and myself, leaving the
Cook to take care of camp. We were hunting for elk, mountain lion, or
bear. Nimrod had his camera, as well as his gun, a combination which the
Horsewrangler eyed with scant tolerance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account