142 The Wilderness Hunter. 



of the mountains, we were much bothered by swarms of 

 gnats ; they worried us greatly, usually attacking us at a 

 time when we had to go fast in order to reach camp before 

 dark, while the roughness of the ground forced us to use 

 both hands in climbing, and thus forbade us to shield our 

 faces from our tiny tormentors. Our chief luxury was, at 

 the end of the day, when footsore and weary, to cast aside 

 our sweat-drenched clothes and plunge into the icy moun- 

 tain torrent for a moment's bath that freshened us as if by 

 magic. The nights were generally pleasant, and we slept 

 soundly on our beds of balsam boughs, but once or twice 

 there were sharp frosts, and it was so cold that the hunter 

 and I huddled together for warmth and kept the fires 

 going till morning. One day, when we were on the 

 march, it rained heavily, and we were soaked through, and 

 stiff and chilly when we pitched camp ; but we speedily 

 built a great brush lean-to, made a roaring fire in front, 

 and grew once more to warmth and comfort as we sat 

 under our steaming shelter. The only discomfort we 

 really minded was an occasional night in wet blankets. 



In the evening the Indian and the white hunter played 

 interminable games of seven-up with a greasy pack of 

 cards. In the course of his varied life the hunter had 

 been a professional gambler ; and he could have easily 

 won all the Indian's money, the more speedily inasmuch 

 as the untutored red man was always attempting to cheat, 

 and was thus giving his far more skilful opponent a cer- 

 tain right to try some similar deviltry in return. How- 

 ever, it was distinctly understood that there should be no 

 gambling, for I did not wish Ammal to lose all his wages 



