It was late in the afternoon. The sun was fast disappearing behind the western hills. I hesitated for a moment whether to take a long route by way of the narrow prairie to our camp, or to go down the brush-covered mountain sides and thus cut off at least a mile of the distance. The side of the mountain down which I determined to go, was said to be infested with grizzly. I examined my rifle and pistol, to see if they were in order and then with rapid strides commenced the descent. When about half way down I heard a rustling in the brush to my left; I turned and looked in that direction, and saw two large grizzlies on their haunches attentively surveying me. My first thought was to shoot; but as my rifle was a muzzle loader, I concluded that discretion was the better part of valor, inasmuch as there were two of them--hence I stood quiet till they dropped out of sight in the brush. I did not allow the grass to grow much under my feet, as I dodged through the chapparal brush to reach the prairie beyond. I am convinced that I could have killed one of them, but what to do with his enraged mate, was the question. I remember the answer of a young man, who, while hunting, came across a grizzly probably in her own jungle, in about the same way. He was asked why he did not shoot; his answer was, that it would be some honor for a man to kill a full grown grizzly, but a far greater honor for a grizzly to kill a man. This great basin--circular in form and some eight miles in diameter--has been visited by me in connection with hunting parties many times since. It is, or was in former years the hunter's paradise; but I am informed that the cattle men--the pre-emptor, and the homesteaders, and timber monopolizers--have extended their dominion over the luxuriant grass-producing prairies and the magnificent forests of pine, fir, hemlock and larch, and have driven the game far back into the fastnesses of the mountains. The Indian kills only to satisfy his wants and with only imperfect instruments of destruction; he did not menace the entire extinction of the beasts of the field and forest, hence game of every kind existed and multiplied all around him; but to the white man, armed with a repeating rifle, and fired with a devouring avarice their doom is fixed. Nothing but the intervention of the strong arm of the law can avert the decree of annihilation. Having alluded to this matter once before in these sketches I will not pursue it further here. Black-tail deer were abundant on this mountain plateau, and it did not take long for a party of good shots to obtain all the venison desired. We did not kill for the mere love of slaughter, but for food and for the attendant excitement and recreation of hunting.