THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 379 



bled its sweet music in our willing ears; our tent was 

 pitched, and in it soft beds of fir-boughs awaited us; our 

 fire burned brightly, and we had been successful in our 

 afternoon's hunt. What remained to complete our happi- 

 ness? 



Speaking for the half-breed, nothing. He lay on his 

 stomach and gazed complacently into the fire, saying noth- 

 ing save when spoken to, and then usually answering in 

 monosyllables and grunts. He was good-natured and will- 

 ing, but inherited the moroseness of his maternal ancestors, 

 and on this night, as was his custom, went to bed soon after 

 supper. 



But, speaking for myself, I lacked a companion, or half 

 a dozen of them, for that matter. If I had had a good, 

 genial friend there — one who could keep his end of the 

 whippletree up, or even one who would have listened 

 gracefully — I could have poured forth a string of yarns, 

 reminiscences, and the like, that would have reached far 

 into the night. I was in a mood to talk, but had ■ no one 

 worth a continental to talk to; or, I could have listened 

 most eloquently had there been someone to talk to me. I 

 wanted somebody to commune with; but this communing 

 is not Charley's forte. I could even have been happy 

 alone. I have spent many days and nights in the mount- 

 ains entirely alone, and never felt lonely, for then I could 

 commune with Nature and my own thoughts; but in poor 

 company I am always lonely. 



Besides, I am of a generous nature, and if I have a good 

 thing, and there is more of it than I can use, I like to pass 

 it around. Here I had a large stock of camp comfort, of 

 enthusiasm, of vitality, of wood, food, water, and game, and 

 no one to unload them on. I simply had to bottle up my 

 sociability and save it for some future occasion. I hope to 

 corral a dozen or so of my friends in just such a place as 

 this, some night, surrounded by just such pleasant condi- 

 tions as we were surrounded with there, and then ask them 

 if they are not glad they enlisted. 



