of 



With his nearness and impolite stare I found it 

 very embarrassing to eat alone. However, two 

 days of fasting had prepared me for this primi- 

 tive feast; and, knowing that bears were better 

 than their reputation, I kept him waiting until 

 I was served. On arising to go, I said, "Come, 

 you may have the remainder; there is plenty of 

 it." 



The fire was followed by clear weather, and 

 for days the light ash lay deep and undisturbed 

 over the burn. One morning conditions changed 

 and after a few preliminary whirlwinds a gusty 

 gale set in. In a few minutes I felt and appeared 

 as though just from an ash-barrel. The ashen 

 dust-storm was blinding and choking, and I fled 

 for the unburned heights. So blinding was the 

 flying ash that I was unable to see; and, to make 

 matters worse, the trees with fire-weakened 

 foundations and limbs almost severed by flames 

 commenced falling. The limbs were flung about 

 in a perfectly reckless manner, while the falling 

 trees took a fiendish delight in crashing down 

 alongside me at the very moment that the storm 

 was most blinding. Being without nerves and 



150 



