72 Hunting the Grizzly 



carrying in firewood on one occasion, he threw 

 a piece on his own foot, and while he made 

 the air blue with his profanity, with the ax 

 in his hand he made a vicious strike at the piece 

 of wood that caused his injury. The ax sim- 

 ply grazing it, the piece of wood flew around 

 in a circle, coming narrowly close to injuring 

 me; then he went to put the wood in the fire, 

 in the blindness of his conduct touching a pail 

 of boiling water. The next thing I knew he 

 had hit the pail with the stick, knocking it 

 many feet and its contents in all directions, 

 thus effectually putting back our meal. After 

 that he walked over to the pail, picked it up, 

 filled it with fresh water, and put it back on the 

 fire quietly enough. His temper had run its 

 course. His most constant occupation was 

 that of trapping beaver, marten, and other fur- 

 bearing animals during winter. In the fall he 

 would go into the bush with provisions and 

 stay in all winter, coming out in the spring 

 with his catch. It is writ that it is not good 

 for man to live alone ; probably the penalty of 

 his solitariness was his morose, inconsiderate 

 temper; and out of the precarious returns and 



