ies,
however. In my opinion, they are _not wild sheep at all_, but true
antelopes, as much so as the chamois of the Alps, or the prong-horns of
the prairie. Indeed, to say that our common sheep sprung from the
argali seems a very absurd theory. There is but little resemblance
between the two animals, except about the head and horns of the rams;
and, I think, no circumstances could have caused such a difference as
there exists between them in other respects. I should say, then, that
the big-horns are not sheep, but antelopes--_mountain_ _antelopes_, you
might call them, to distinguish them from their prong-horned cousins,
who prefer to range over the plains, while they, on the contrary, spend
most of their time among the steep and craggy cliffs."

An exclamation from Basil, who was walking a few paces in advance, at
this moment summoned the attention of his brothers, and put an end to
this conversation. They had arrived at the eastern end of the butte,
which on that side presented a different appearance from either of the
others. There was a deep ravine that indented the cliff, and along its
channel a sloping path appeared to lead up to the top. This channel was
filled with large loose rocks, surrounded by an underwood of cacti and
acacia thorns; and it seemed as though the slope was sufficiently easy
to be ascended by a person on foot. Near the bottom of the ravine were
very large boulders; and a spring, more copious than the one where the
hunters had encamped, ran out from among them, and flowed south-eastward
through a fringe of grass and willows.

As the boys came up to the spring branch, some tracks in the soft mud
drew their attention. They were of an oblong shape, and larger than the
footprints of a man; but the deep holes made by five great claws at the
end of each told what animal had made them. They were the tracks of the
grizzly bear. There could be no doubt of this, for there were the
prints of the long plantigrade feet, the tubercules of the toes, and the
holes where the curving claws had sunk several inches into the mud. No
other animal could have made such marks--not even the black or brown
bear, whose claws are short in comparison with those of the grizzly
monster of the mountains.

For some moments our hunters hesitated under feelings of alarm; but, as
the animal that had made the tracks was not in sight, their fears
gradually subsided to some extent, and they began to consider what was
be