A Mountain Fraud 



several critical occasions. As to game, he 

 had fairly wallowed in the gore of bears and 

 lions, and he promised to escort me to my 

 first encounter with a silvertip, the death of 

 which was to be brought about by my open- 

 ing fire on him at 600 yards and keeping it 

 up during the ensuing charge, Lanahan 

 standing by peacefully until the bear rose to 

 embrace me, when he would give him the 

 toup de grace with "Old Nance," as he fondly 

 called his rifle. He also announced his in- 

 tention of shooting any Indians who might 

 come to our camp, if they did not promptly 

 leave at his bidding. 



Next morning Mason and Lanahan began 

 packing, and Lanahan showed by the hu- 

 mility with which he endured the deserved 

 abuse of Mason that he was as ignorant of 

 the art as we afterward found him of every 

 other, except that of dissimulation. Mason 

 was finally obliged to substitute our cook as 

 helper, and Lanahan, in order to recover his 

 prestige, spoke of the dangerous character 

 of the horse-thieves of Jackson's Hole, and 

 showed a map of the country made by old 

 Jackson himself, then languishing in Boise 



273 



18 



