CHAPTER XV 



CAMP-FIRE TALES 



Charlie Smith's Story — An Outlaw in Camp — A Silent Death Sentence 

 — The Pursuers of Tom Savage Find Him — His Fate — John 

 Norboe Introduces Old John Campbell — Trying to be Chased by 

 a Grizzly — The Bear that Fell into the Fire. 



Who is there who does not love a good story, told 

 to eager and sympathetic listeners beside a generous 

 camp-fire! Show me a man who does not, and I will 

 show you a man whose heart is not right, whose red 

 corpuscles are green, and whose milk of human-kindness 

 has turned to whey. 



There are chums and chums; and guides and guides. 

 I have camped with several kinds of men, — ^white, red, 

 yellow, brown and black. In the lot there have been 

 some of the best of men, and some bad ones. One was 

 a murderer, out of a job; and another was a donkey with 

 a human head, freshly retired from a great army for 

 being a fool. 



I have already insinuated, however, that the compo- 

 sition of our party of seven, — counting Kaiser, — left me 

 absolutely nothing to desire. And it was in our ideal 

 camp, in the head of Avalanche Valley, that the spirit 

 moved most upon the company, and the best stories were 

 told. The surroundings were so satisfactory that as we 



