BILL CROSS AND HIS BEAR. 87

mies of all wild beasts; because all wild
beasts devoured their young.

When fat and saucy, in warm summer
weather, these cattle would hover along
the foothills in bands, hiding in the hol-
lows, and would begin to bellow whenever
they saw a bear or a wolf, or even a man
or boy, if on foot, crossing the wide valley
of grass and blue camas blossoms. Then
there would be music! They would start
up, with heads and tails in the air, and,
broadening out, left and right, they would
draw along bent line, completely shutting
off their victim from all approach to the
foothills. If the unfortunate victim were
aman or boy on foot, he generally made
escape up one of the small ash trees that
dotted the valley in groves here and there,
and the cattle would then soon give up the
chase. But if it were a wolf or any other —
_ wild beast that could not get up a
tree, the case was different. Far away,
on the other side of the valley, where
dense woods lined the banks of the wind-