CHAPTEE XII 

 ROUNDING THE SOUTH END 



FKOM Tierra Blanca we moved to Donahue Canyon, 

 our southernmost camping place, and a few miles 

 only from the Gila Forest boundary line. The range 

 dropped off quite sharply here. We were but little 

 higher, in fact, than we had been at Kingston. No 

 tents were erected. We had stopped near an old 

 cabin which would serve for shelter in case an unex- 

 pected storm came up, for the rainy season was due 

 to start at any time now. 



The cabin belonged to a miner named McGee whose 

 present habitation was but a short distance off. He 

 came over after supper, ostensibly to borrow coffee, 

 in reality to talk. 



"I'm glad to meet a bunch of guv'ment men," he 

 announced, after introducing himself. "Becuz I'm 

 for ye. There's them that's agin' the guv'ment an' 

 the National Forests an' the rangers, but ye '11 usu- 

 ally find it's becuz they can't inflooence ye to some 

 devilment, like they maybe could some private 

 pa-arty. Thin they raise a howl about conservation 

 bein' the ruination of th' country, starvin' out the 

 poor man an' drivin' capital away. That's humour 

 for ye. Drivin' poor timid capital away; capital 

 that's so scairt of takin' a chance it'll only commit 



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