the early stages ; or it may be that we served as a 

 useful screen for his movements, making it difficult 

 for any one else to follow his line and watch him. 

 Anyway, he joined us in the way of those days : that 

 is, we travelled together and as a rule we grubbed 

 together ; yet each cooked for himself and used his 

 own stores, and in principle we maintained our separate 

 establishments. The bag alone was common ; each 

 man brought what game he got and threw it into the 

 common stock. 



The secret of agreement in the veld is com- 

 plete independence ! Points of contact are points of 

 friction nowhere more so ; and the safest plan 

 is, each man his own outfit and each free to feed or 

 sleep or trek as and when he chooses. I have known 

 partners and friends who would from time to time 

 move a trek apart, or a day apart, and always 

 camp apart when they rejoined ; and so remain 

 friends. 



Rocky in full, Rocky Mountain Jack had another 

 name, but it was known to few besides the Mining 

 Commissioner's clerk who registered his licences from 

 time to time. "In the Rockies whar I was raised" 

 is about the only remark having deliberate reference 

 to his personal history which he was known to have 

 made ; but it was enough on which to found the name 

 by which we knew him. 



What struck me first about him was the long Colt's 

 revolver, carried on his hip ; and for two days this 

 ' gun,' as he called it, conjured up visions of Poker 

 Flat and Roaring Camp, Jack Hamlin and Yuba 



28 



