AN OPEN SEASON 223 



than those in company; and a broad-leafed 

 cottonwood say more likely than a pine, simply 

 because it has little or no pitch and is a better 

 conductor than the pitch-blooded pine. And a 

 tree rooted in wet soil is a better conductor for 

 the juice than a tree rooted in a dry spot. But 

 as I said, any tree may get struck. 



Lightning, I had heard, never struck a beech 

 tree. But in more than one state where I have 

 seen beeches, old trees showed that they had been 

 hit hard, and a few had been whacked twice. 



Then, too, lightning does strike more than 

 once in the same place. I have seen many trees 

 with three or more lightning marks on them, 

 and a pine one mile from my cabin was struck 

 fourteen times in about twenty-two years, and 

 these shocks did not kill it. 



Lightning may strike high peaks, but it is 

 more likely to strike in lowlands. Often a thun- 

 der storm is down on the side of the mountain 

 with the high peaks sticking up through the 

 clouds in the sunlight. So there is no sense in 

 being more frightened about lightning on a 

 mountain top than elsewhere; for, on the whole, 

 there is less danger on a 14,000 foot peak than in 

 the Mississippi Valley. 



All over the continent I went camping with- 

 out any lightning rod sticking up over me, and 

 never expected to be struck. I was often told 



