196 CAMP FIRE REMINISCENCES 
peaks. Ridges covered with heavy timber ran 
down into the valley, where there were numerous 
small hills, also timber grown. I climbed down to 
some water which was almost directly below me 
and found it was a beaver dam, but I saw no evi- 
dence of recent occupation. <A regular little lake 
had been formed in which stood many dead trees. 
All around this dam the place was tramped up by 
elk; there must have been a big herd there a short 
time before. In a marshy place near by I found 
a great number of buffalo skulls; whether they had 
died there of disease or been slaughtered by the 
hide hunter, I could not tell. As the elk tracks 
were so numerous, in my keenness I forgot how far 
I had wandered from camp and had some difficulty 
in getting over to Beaver Creek before dark and a 
great deal of difficulty pushing my way along the 
creek to camp afterwards. C. had not arrived, but 
we were not uneasy about him as he was a most ex- 
perienced sportsman, and Jackson was with him. 
The calm after the storm made camp delightful 
and at night our fire was worth looking at. We 
kept it bright for the sake of the wanderers, who 
turned up very late, having been delayed by the 
difficulty in finding a way for their horses. At 
supper we heard how they had missed a difficult 
shot at a fine bull and how they too had found evi- © 
dences of the neighbourhood having been recently 
hunted. We decided to start early in the morning 
and to cross over to the other side of the basin— 
passing Fayler’s so that we could pick him up. 
We retired early and there was no trouble about 
