122 THE LOG OF A TIMBER CRUISER 



Later, as we neared the bottom and were begin- 

 ning to breathe more freely, Whitey, who carried the 

 dufflebags belonging to X)onway and myself, slipped 

 and went down hill end over end for a distance of 

 some sixty yards, bringing up with a sheer drop of 

 at least thirty feet. He landed on his back with a 

 tremendous thump, the pack between himself and 

 the creek bed, and lay there wedged between two 

 rocks, waving his feet in the air and unable to turn 

 over until we arrived at the bottom. 



" There goes our * snake bite cure/ " groaned Con- 

 way, as we witnessed Whitey 's catastrophe. For 

 each of us kept a flask in his bag against emer- 

 gencies and it certainly seemed as if nothing break- 

 able could have withstood the disintegrating force 

 of that whirlwind descent. Strange to say, however, 

 everything was found in good shape, including the 

 whiskey and Whitey himself, who trotted off when 

 released with no apparent injuries. 



This ended our chapter of accidents and the worst 

 leg of the move. The rest was comparatively easy. 

 The canyon soon widened and we struck a very fair 

 trail that led us about five o'clock to a first rate 

 camping ground. 



