102 SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FUR-BEARERS 



arrival in the afternoon seemed to have spread 

 rapidly among them. They probably had 

 scented me. After resting awhile I set out to 

 look up the spring, and met a porcupine on his 

 way toward my camp. He turned out in the 

 grass, and then, as I paused, came back into the 

 path and passed directly over my feet. He evi- 

 dently felt that he had as good a right to the 

 road as I had ; he had traveled it many times 

 before me. When I charged upon him with a 

 stick in my hand, he slowly climbed a small bal- 

 sam fir. 



I soon found the place of the spring, and, 

 having dredged it and cleaned it, I sat down 

 upon a rock and waited for the water slowly to 

 seep in. Presently I heard something in the 

 near bushes, and in a moment a large porcupine 

 came into view. I thought that he, too, was 

 looking for water ; but no, he was evidently on 

 his way to my camp. He, also, had heard the 

 latest rumor on the mountain-top. It was highly 

 amusing to watch his movements. He came tee- 

 tering along in the most aimless, idiotic way. 

 Now he drifted off a little to the right, then a 

 little to the left • his blunt nose seemed vaguely 

 to be feeling the air; he fumbled over the 

 ground, tossed about by loose boulders and little 

 hillocks ; his eyes wandered stupidly about ; I 



