The mountain sheep, as I said, bears a great likeness to the ibex. The ram has enormous curved horns, with the points turned slightly outwards, as thick as one's arm close to the head, and surrounded with rings. Its hair is more like that of a goat than a sheep, of a brownish gray colour, and with a dense coat of underwool. The female has also horns, but they are smaller, and not turned outwards at the point. They bear two lambs, which, while still very small, follow them on their dangerous paths in the mountains. At night the mountain sheep descend to the lowlands, and are there easily killed by the hunters who lay in wait for them, while following them day by day in the mountains is most fatiguing, dangerous, and generally unsuccessful. The skins of these animals are greatly sought by the Indians to make clothes of, as they furnish a handsome, soft leather; their meat is fat and agreeable. They live in large flocks, and may be seen by day in the Rocky Mountains standing about the highest peaks, at spots which it appears impossible for a quadruped to reach. We had no lack of game, but saw to our great regret our supply of salt running out, for the greater part of it was lost with unlucky Sam. Our clothes, too, were beginning to get defective, especially our linen, as we had lost our changes on the same occasion. We mended our shirts as well as we could, and cut off from the tails to repair the damage higher up; but for all that they were speedily wearing out. Our stock of tobacco was all but expended, but this article was the easiest to supply, as the leaves of the wild sumach represent it very well. We were provided with the essentials, however, especially powder and ball, as these were distributed among the animals, and we had enough to last us a year. A great privation was impended over us when our salt was consumed, and we so restricted its use that it would last for some months, in the hopes of obtaining a fresh supply at one of the forts of the fur companies, which are in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. Our good spirits did not desert us, however, but enabled us to endure all the fatigues of this mountain tour. We passed two nights on fields of snow, where we could hardly find sufficient firing to prepare our supper. At length our route descended to lower hills, and we reached at their base a plain, which, as it seemed was enclosed by even loftier mountains, whose saddles still bore the signs of winter, while on the streams in this elevated valley, which our Indians called Salade Park, May was flaunting in her spring garb. Although the vegetation that surrounded us here could not be called luxuriant, it did our cattle a deal of good. For a long time past we saw for the first time herds of wandering buffaloes, among which we produced great destruction, as we had long been yearning for their marrow-bones and tongues.