(preface 



LTHOUGH I have been alone by a camp-fire 

 in every State and Territory in the Union, 

 with the exception of Rhode Island, the matter 

 in this book is drawn almost entirely from my 

 experiences in the Rocky Mountain region. 



Some of the chapters have already appeared 

 in magazines, and I am indebted to The Curtis 

 Publishing Company, Doubleday, Page and 

 Company, ''Suburban Life,'* and " Recreation" 

 for allowing me to reprint the papers which 

 they have published. " Country Life in Ame- 

 rica" published "Racing an Avalanche," 

 " Alone with a Landslide," and "A Rainy 

 Day at the Stream's Source," -the two last 

 under the titles of " Alone with a Crumbling 

 Mountain" and "At the Stream's Source." The 

 "Saturday Evening Post" published "Little 

 Conservationists," " Mountain-Top Weather," 

 "The Forest Fire," " Insects in the Forest," 

 "Doctor Woodpecker," and "The Fate of a 



vii 



