232 THE ADVENTURES OF A NATURE GUIDE 



gether, and yet one species kept on the warmer, 

 drier side of the canon and the other on the cooler, 

 moister slope, while the firs grew only along the 

 stream. 



We saw a number of chipmunks eating the scar- 

 let berries of the low-growing kinnikinick. They 

 allowed us to ride close to them, and appeared so 

 tame that Harriet asked: 



" If we had time to stop would they let me play 

 with them like the chipmunks around your cabin?" 



The night before had been stormy on the upper 

 mountain slopes. Harriet was surprised that there 

 were a few inches of snow here and none down 

 below. She was riding ahead that she might better 

 see the fresh tracks of the birds and animals in the 

 trail. There were many rabbit tracks clean-cut 

 and splashed. It looked as though they had had 

 a game. Suddenly my pony bumped into Har- 

 riet's who had stopped and turned to ask: 



"Have some bare-footed children and their 

 mother been up the trail this morning ?" 



A line of big tracks came out of the woods on the 

 left and followed the trail up the mountain,. How 

 strangely like the tracks of bare-footed children 

 and an old person; the tracks of a mother bear and 

 two cubs! Slowly, quietly, not even whispering, 

 we rode up the mountain hoping to see them. We 

 were scolded by a pine squirrel for moving so 

 cautiously. We saw where the bears had eaten 

 blueberries in the snow; but there were no bears. 



