48 THE GEYSERS OF PLUTON RIVER, 
delicious eating. A bath followed our repast, after 
which we rolled ourselves up in our blankets and lay 
down for the night. The novelties of the day occupied 
our attention for an hour, when we quietly dropped off, 
and slept as soundly under the protection of the 
spreading oak as beneath a tent or in the most luxurious 
chamber. These were the first nights I spent in the 
open air, on the bare ground, since I was taken sick near 
Ures; and I felt a little uneasiness at being so exposed. 
But I neither took cold nor suffered any other incon- 
venience from it, although in the month of March. 
One soon becomes habituated to this mode of life, and 
is less liable to colds and illness than when sleeping 
under a roof with the addition of comfortable fires. 
I learned from the hunters who were with us the 
first night that this region abounds in game, particu- 
larly bears, elk, and deer. They had been here but 
‘three days before our arrival, and in that time they 
had seen no less than thirty-two bears, most of them 
of the grizzly species; the others of the brown and 
black varieties. Of these they had killed and obtained 
two; three they had wounded and lost. Of deer they 
had also killed many. The bear’s sense.of smelling is 
so good, that they soon found out our proximity, and 
gave us a wide berth. Deer were seen all around us. 
March 24th. Our excellent guide and hunter, 
MacDonald, called us to breakfast at daylight; soor 
after taking which we mounted our animals and began 
the ascent of the mountain, whose summit we speedily 
attained. On looking at the valley beyond, we found 
it completely buried in a fog, the tops of the moun- 
tains alone being visible. These appeared like islands 
