AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



At that Cal raised his head, looked at the 

 stranger inquiringly and asked unsteadily, " Are 

 you Fuller ? " 



" Yes," said the man. 



" Well," said Cal, with a benign smile, " if 

 you 're fuller 'n I am, God help you ! " 



I think Jim Brown could, and would, drink 

 more strong liquor than any man I ever saw, 

 and, no matter how much he took, it never 

 seemed to affect him in the slightest degree, in 

 looks, in gait, or in speech. I never had Jim 

 for a guide, but there were few in the region with 

 wider knowledge of the habits of fish and game. 

 He studied the wind, the weather, and the sea- 

 son, and the sum of them all sent him to a certain 

 spot at a certain hour, and he always got fish. If 

 you supplied him freely with strong drink, you 

 could get the best there was in him, otherwise 

 not. Once starting for a week's camping trip, 

 the sportsman turned over to Jim a gallon of 

 whiskey, informing him that this was his allow- 

 ance for the week. Before nightfall Jim had 

 taken every drop of the liquor, and left the 

 empty jug beside the trail. Yet all day Jim 

 kept up steadily with the party, with seventy 

 pounds of luggage on his back. Once when in 



46 



