rnero cimmaron (ovis montana_)--
or, "Bighorn" of the hunters--maybe seen, in bold outline against the
sky; and crawling through the rocky ravines is encountered the grizzly
bear--the most fierce and formidable of American _carnivora_. The red
couguar and brown wolverene crouch along the edges of the thicket, to
contest with jackal and wolf the possession of the carcass, where some
stray quadruped has fallen a victim to the hungry troop; while black
vultures wheeling aloft, await the issue of the conflict. Birds of
fairer fame add animation to the scene. The magnificent _meleagris_,
shining in metallic lustre, with spread wings and tail, offers a
tempting aim to the hunter's rifle--as it promises to afford him a rich
repast; and the _coq de prairie_, and its gigantic congener the "sage
grouse," whirr up at intervals along the path. The waters have their
denizens, in the grey Canada and white-fronted geese--ducks of numerous
species--the stupid pelican and shy loon--gulls, cormorants, and the
noble swan; while the groves of _alamo_ ring with the music of numerous
bright-winged songsters, scarcely known to the ornithologist.

But no land of peace is this fair region of the Rocky Mountains. There
are parks, but no palaces--there are fertile fields, but none to till
them--for it is even dangerous to traverse them in the open light of
day. The trapper skulks silently along the creek--scarcely trusting
himself to whisper to his companion--and watching warily as he renews
the bait of _castoreum_. The hunter glides with stealthy tread from
copse to copse--dreading the echo of his own rifle. Even the
red-skinned rover goes not here alone, but only with a large band of his
kindred--a "hunting" or "war-party." The ground is neutral, as it is
hostile--claimed by many tribes and owned by none. All enter it to hunt
or make war, but none to settle or colonise. From every quarter of the
compass come the warrior and hunter; and of almost as many tribes as
there are points upon the card. From the north, the Crow and Sioux;
from the south, the Kiowa, the Comanche, the Jicarilla-Apache--and even
at times the tame Taosa. From the east penetrate, the Cheyenne, the
Pawnee, and Arapaho; while through the western gates of this hunters'
paradise, pour the warlike bands of the Utah and Shoshonee. All these
tribes are in mutual enmity or amity amongst themselves, of greater or
less strength; but between some of them exists a hostility