If there were grizzly bears in the neighbourhood--and this seemed very certain--the ravine was the most likely place to find them in.

Its thick underwood, with the numerous crevices that, like caverns, appeared among the rocks on each side, were just such places as grizzly bears delight in.

Their lair might be in this very ravine, and it would be a dangerous business to stumble upon it in passing up.

But our young hunters were full of courage.

They had a keen desire to ascend the butte--partly out of curiosity, and partly to get a shot at the big-horns--and this desire triumphed over prudence.