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RECREATION, 



A PIPE DR'EAM. 



H. S. PETERSEN. 



In the fall of '69 me and Jim Pardee, 

 my partner, were camped in a shack on the 

 West fork of Clark's fork of the Columbia. 

 I had just cut my wisdom teeth and was 

 as spry as a weasel, and as springy as a 

 steel trap. I could follow a track through 

 the brush as slick as a hound, and pull the 

 tail feathers out of a cock grouse at every 

 jump. 



Jim was an old Hudson Bay trapper. 

 He stood 6 feet in his moosehide moccasins 

 and had a wart on his nose, which he 

 used as a tang sight along the gleam of his 

 old Kentucky rifle. That rifle was the 

 masterpiece of a son of a gunsmith, and 

 the pride of Jim's heart. Its barrel was 

 convertible into a crowbar to pry a boat 

 over sandbars. It carried a 10 to the pound 

 soft nose slug, and when Jim drew a fine 

 bead over that wart he couM hit the cen- 

 ter of a goat at 400 yards. 



We were waiting to lift out a pack of 

 peltries over the rise of the Bitter Root 

 before the sleet flew. We made a right 

 smart catch in the start and were kept go- 

 ing on the line. Jim worked the high 

 ground for sign of fox, lynx and marten, 

 while I picked the trail of the otter to his 

 den or slide. 



When, as often ' happened, we were 

 caught out on the line, we would cut browse, 

 and camp. A good trapper has not much 

 use for a gun. He packs an ax, traps, 

 spindles for snares, bait bag, knife and 

 matches. Then, if he catches anything, he 

 is in trim for a good load. Not a thing 

 wears hair or sheds feathers that I can not 

 get, 3 to 1, with the man with a gun. Be- 

 tween me and Jim, we have boned the tails 

 of thousands of critters ; but never more 

 did we take than was necessary for the day 

 thereof. 



One morning in the late fall, the sky 

 10 the East, over the rise of the Rockies, 

 was overcast with catspaws, which, with 

 other signs, told of the approach of a storm. 



"Let's slick up camp and get on the spurs 

 for home," said I. 



So Jim struck out to bunch our ponies, 

 which were grazing down by the bottoms 

 of the lower Missoula, 20 miles away. I 

 took over a low divide to a place we called 

 the Crotch. It was the turning point of 

 onr line of traps and about 15 miles from 

 our home shanty. I calculated to make the 

 swing before noon the next day; so I went 

 along not minding any sign until I was 

 half way to the Crotch. There I set out a 

 few snares in a hazel thicket to catch 

 my dinner, and lay by. I fell asleep, but 

 soon awakened with a start. The wind 

 had risen and the air was smoky from 

 a blaze somewhere on the mountain. I 

 struck out, forgetting my snares, until near 

 the Crotch. 



Had I had a gun I could have killed slath- 

 ers of game ; elk and deer by the score had 

 crossed my trail, and the snarl and grunt 

 of panthers and bears wer§ beard ia the 

 |hort hills ab^tj 



On nearing the Crotch I looked for fresh 

 sign and was not long in finding it. There, 

 on the point, below our temporary camp, 

 was the crown of a Qualpry moccasin. I 

 commenced some tall sneaking, having heard 

 before of the whelps, who were a small ■ 

 band of the lower Flatheads. The sign 

 bore North and was about 2 days old; and ? 

 our camp was picked as clean as a whistle; 



Night fell, with a lurid glare from the 

 fire on the mountain. I sat down in the old 

 camp and chewed on a good big chunk of 

 grin-and-bear-it. I was madder than a wet 

 cat and as hungry as a bear. I crawled to - 

 the bluff, determined to stuff my grub box ; 

 with something or other. I struck elk sign. 

 One of the tracks was as large as that of 

 a 3 year old steer and by the glint of the 

 moon I could see that the elk's frog was .' 

 flat and his hoof worn down, so I knew 

 he was an old bull, perhaps the leader of . 

 a band. Presently I came on a band of 

 about 300 elks, among them this old bull. 

 They were all lying down like cattle in a . 

 barn yard. 



I swung to the windward of the band 

 and came out abreast of the old bull. In 

 less time than it takes to tell I was 

 astride of him. He jumped up with a snort ; 

 and before I could wink, the whole band 

 was milling about us. I saw my mistake, 

 but it was too late. I dug my knife into 

 his short ribs and it broke off at the heeL 

 The bull turned and we were off, with the 1 

 whole band cavorting behind us. I was 

 scared, but I took a good hold of his ears 

 to get protection from his horns as we 

 flew through thickets of bull pine and hazel. 

 Toward morning I noticed the bull was a 

 little fagged. Just then we came out of 

 the timber on to a prairie and in shifting 

 my hold I dropped my coonskin cap, which 

 caused the band of 700 elk behind us to 

 split. I took advantage of that and slid off 

 on the nigh side among a lot of buck brush. 

 I lay there kind of numb like, I do not know 

 how long. At last I recognized the crack : , 

 of Jim's rifle. Not more than 200 yards 

 away stood our shanty with Jim coming up 

 from the meadow leading our pack stock. 



We met at the door and Jim, seeing the 

 trouble in my phiz, led me without a word 

 to the jug and the beanpot. 



Metol-quinol developer in 2 solutions, to 

 keep a long time and for short exposures 

 is made as follows : 



Metol 50 grains, 10 grams 



Quinol 40 grains, 8 grams 



Potassium metabisulphite, 



y 2 ounce, 50 grams 

 Distilled water, 



To 10 ounces, 1,000 cubic centimeters 



Sodium carbonate 2 ounces, 100 grams 



Distilled water, 



To 10 ounces, 1,000 cubic centimeters 



•>;** , 



*For use, mix in equal parts. Bromide 



should not be used for short exposures. If 



required, add Vi grain to every ounce of the 



-The FtiQtQ-Amerigain, 



