10 



RECREATION. 



I said, 



"Yes, just open the sack and dump 

 him out." 



Ben seemed to have his mind al- 

 ready on the price of his supper, for 

 when the old fellow dumped him out 

 on the slope of a hill, Ben turned per- 

 haps 20 somersaults before he un- 

 curled. The old prospector laughed 

 until he almost broke his suspenders. 



One day after Ben had grown to be 

 about 2 months old, we were crossing 

 a bad washout when Pard and an- 

 other horse fell and lay with their 

 feet upward. Of course there was 

 the usual commotion and anxiety to 

 save the horses and the packs. We 

 all jumped for the 2 unfortunates, 

 loosened the cinches, got the horses 

 on their feet as soon as possible, and 



LOOKING OVER THE CAMP GROUND. 



then commenced to dig out the packs. 



Up to that time no one had thought 

 of Ben, but when Pard's last pack was 

 rescued from the mud, Spencer said, 



"Here's poor little Ben" ; and tak- 

 ing him by the hind feet, pulled him 

 out, covered with mud, and looking as 

 thoroughly disreputable as any cub 

 ever could look, but really none the 

 worse for his adventure. 



Ben kept on growing, of course, 



and within a few weeks he could 

 reach the cinch which held Pard's load 

 on. When that time arrived, he would 

 no longer wait to be helped up, but 

 when he found the load was about 

 completed, he would stand up, place 

 his left foot on the horse's forelegs, 

 grab the cinch with the right, and then 

 climb to the top of the pack. 



Ben could beat any watch dog I 

 ever saw at seeing, scenting or hear- 

 ing people. 



If one of us was away from camp, 

 and was returning, those in camp 

 were always warned of the approach 

 by Ben, long before the men could 

 hear a sound. No matter how busy 

 he might be, eating or playing or 

 howling for food, all at once he would 

 stop and stand like a graven image 

 for a few seconds, listening, looking 

 and pointing his ears in some certain 

 direction. Then he would stand up 

 on his hind feet and look and listen. 

 By and by he would conclude that 

 the danger was too great for him to 

 risk his precious body any longer in 

 sight, would go for his moosehide 

 tent, grab one end and shoot under 

 it. Perhaps 5 or 10 minutes later we 

 would see or hear some member of 

 our party, or possibly some stranger, 

 coming up the trail. 



Frequently when we had all been 

 away from camp, Spencer and I would 

 try to sneak to camp and surprise 

 Ben. We were both old hunters and 

 are vain enough to imagine we are 

 good stalkers, but never, in the course 

 of the entire summer, were we able 

 to get in sight of the camp without 

 Ben's knowing of our approach long 

 before he could see us. We have 

 crawled on our hands and knees, in 

 the stealthiest manner possible to 

 the top of the nearest ledge, or behind 

 some big log or rock that concealed 

 us entirely from the camp, perhaps 

 200 yards away. When we reached 

 our final hiding place, and raised our 

 heads carefully, we would see one of 

 Ben's ears poked out at us from be- 

 hind a tree, or from under the edge of 



