434 WALL STREET AND THE WILDS 



which could add to the triumph of my return to 

 camp. 



It added to my rejoicing that I found Owen 

 Wister's Harvard party at our camp on my re- 

 turn. It was the first of the Western trips in 

 which he collected material for his splendid novel, 

 "The Virginian." 



We camped beside one another a number of 

 times and his genial personality so pleasantly 

 impressed me that I was glad to continue through 

 correspondence the friendship begun on the crest 

 of the continent. His last letter to me was from 

 Paris and contained this gem: — 



"It is pleasant in Paris, but I have not forgot- 

 ten those days in the mountains and on the plains 

 and I often think, 'Better fifty years of sage 

 brush than a cycle of cafe' " 



Ward's ambition was fired by my success and 

 we scattered elk bait the country round, while he 

 followed bear trails through the snow and wher- 

 ever the Indian could lead him for davs at a time 

 in vain. Fate seemed to sport with him for one 

 day when we had hunted together until both of 



