86 RECREATION. 
with characteristic masculine obsti- 
nacy forced his horse to the brink, and 
luckily got down without mishap. It 
did not take more than half an hour 
to pitch our camp, and we were com- 
fortably established in our tents, hard- 
ly realizing that we were settled for 
some time. Mr, Wright's contrivances 
to promote our comfort were a con- 
stant source of agreeable surprise to 
us. Our large tent took on an air of 
home which can not be appreciated by 
anyone who has not camped out in a 
howling wilderness, miles from any 
human habitation. 
Another factor to make our stay 
pleasant was our good cook, Casteel. 
He was a prize. How he concocted 
the many tempting dishes he served 
us, with the material at hand, was a 
never ending wonder to us, and right 
well did we enjoy our meals. 
Our first night in camp was rather 
startling, owing to the neighborliness 
of the porcupines which inhabit that 
country. A delegation of them waited 
on us in the small hours of the morn- 
ing, evidently bent on investigating 
our social status. None of my lady 
acquaintances was ever so inquisitive 
as these porcupines. Nothing belong- 
ing to us was overlooked, and as we 
had failed to leave the tent flaps open, 
our visitors gnawed holes in the sides 
of the tent. Attempts to drive these 
creatures off by shouting were use- 
less, and were taken simply as an invi- 
tation to closer intimacy. One big fel- 
low managed to effect an entrance, 
and the Doctor swore he would have 
his blood for such trespass. Grabbing 
a 22 caliber Winchester rifle, the Doc- 
tor gave an exhibition of marksman- 
ship most wonderful to behold, not- 
withstanding my constant encourage- 
ment and suggestions. The only im- 
pression on the porcupine was to make 
the animal sneeze, and I have since 
come to the conclusion that it was the 
brute’s way of expressing his opinion 
of that shooting. Exasperated, and 
at his wit’s end, the Doctor turned the 
gun around and clubbed Mr. Quilly 
on the head. There my brave de- 
fender’s aim proved more satisfactory, 
and the invader of our happy home 
was ejected as a corpse without fur- 
ther ceremony. Two fox terriers, 
which accompanied us, and which 
kindly consented to share our tents 
and beds, did their best thereafter to 
keep porcupines at a respectful dis- 
tance. Their efforts. were met by 
a blank refusal to keep off. When 
the dogs tried to back their arguments 
by attacking the unwelcome visitors, 
they got their hides full of quills, and 
it was my daily as well as nightly duty 
to extract the barbed torments from 
the faces, chests and flanks of our 
faithful canines. 
The second day Mr. Wright started 
on an exploring trip, and on his return 
late in the afternoon reported that he 
had seen a number of fresh bear signs 
and workings. He also brought in 
the cheering news that he had met a 
large number of porcupines, all headed 
for our camp. Not having more than 
a case of ammunition on hand, the 
Doctor concluded to try clubbing the 
invaders, and during a 2 weeks’ stay 
27 victims were thus dispatched. 
There seems to be no other way, un- 
less one is willing to have all his be- 
longings chewed up. We were told 
the adventure of one hunter who had 
the brim of his hat chewed off by a 
porcupine while taking an afternoon 
nap in the sun. This tale we might 
have taken with a grain of salt had 
not our own experience convinced us 
of its probability. 
During the next few days we saw 
several small groups of mountain 
goats near the crests of the surround- 
ing mountains, and it was decided that 
we should try our luck on them. Ac- 
cordingly we started one fine morning, 
shortly after breakfast. Our estimat- 
ing of the distance which we would 
have to go and the time in which we 
thought we could do it elicited a know- 
ing wink between Mr. Wright and 
Casteel; and the climb took about 3 
times as long as we had expected. It 
