OH, SHOOT! 



had become so dexterous with the pincers 

 that we could feed each other soup with them, 

 so we were not long in getting back to bed. 



The next day it rained. It rains every day 

 in this country, but nobody minds it. In 

 fact, the residents declare they don't like sun- 

 shiny weather, asserting that it cracks their 

 feet. One Cordovan had undertaken to keep 

 a record of the sunshine, on the summer pre- 

 vious, but had failed because he had no stop- 

 watch. 



Before setting out Fred called my attention 

 to Joe's rifle. 



"It looks like an air gun," said he. "It 

 wouldn't kill a duck." 



Joe yielded the weapon up cheerfully for 

 examination, and it did indeed look like a toy. 

 Its bore was the size of a lady's lead pencil, it 

 was weather-beaten and rusty, and the stock 

 looked as if it had been used to split kindling. 



"She's kind of dirty now," the owner apolo- 

 gized, "but I'll set her out in the rain to-night, 

 and that will clean her up." 



My experience with Alaskan grizzlies has 

 shown me that they are hard to kill and will 

 carry much lead, hence in close quarters a 

 bullet with great shocking power is more 



48 



