33& 



RECREATION. 



Breakfast over, we stored our pockets 

 with juicy apples, and with the pleasant 

 goodby of our friends ringing in our 

 ears we were soon playing with the inter- 

 vening miles at a pace which wanned 

 Spider, with his 2 hundred pounds, into 

 "This gait is killinr; a noble German!" 

 Spider's protest, coupled with the cool 

 shade we had reached, tempted us to ride 

 at an easier pace. About 9 a. m. we 

 reached our camp, an old abandoned cabin 

 nestled among heavy masses of climbing 

 vines and evergreens, on the banks of a 

 small creek 300 yards from Fern lake. 

 There we found our driver and parapher- 

 nalia already in waiting. We soon un- 

 packed. Spider and Ed straightened up 

 camp, while Dick and I went up stream. 

 After an hour's casting we returned with 

 1 r trout, which were soon humming a 

 pleasant tune as they spluttered and 

 browned for our first dinner in camp. 



Casting off the cares of the city in this 

 the campers' haven of delight, how could 

 we have otherwise than a royal time! Day 

 after day we breathed the pure mountain 

 air, fished, hunted and took an occasional 

 climb up Old Pilot mountain. After sup- 

 per we were lulled from care with songs, 

 stories and pipes, intermingled with the 

 strange, weird note of some distant coyote 

 as we lounged around the blazing camp 

 fire, which threw dancing shadows on the 

 cabin wall; while from near by camps 



"Melting music steals upon the sky, 

 And softened sounds along the water die." 



These are joys with which campers alone 

 are familiar. 



Our last day in camp Ed proposed our 

 farewell climb up Old Pilot. We all 

 agreed except Spider, who complained of 

 the heat, promising to have a red hot sup- 

 per awaiting our return. It was near sun- 

 set when we returned, with ravenous ap- 

 petites. Finding neither supper nor Spider 

 in sight we drifted up toward "Wanderers' 

 Camp," a lively party of 6 ladies and gen- 

 tlemen, from Coeur D'Alene. There we 

 learned that Spider had been seen making 

 for the lake a short time before. Taking 

 a covered route we were soon in sight of 

 Spider, who was floating about 50 yards 

 from shore. With an idea of vengeance 

 predominating we wormed our way down 

 behind cover of a friendly huckleberry bush 

 and at an opportune moment we nastily 

 gathered up all of poor unsuspecting Spi- 

 der's apparel, with the exception of his 

 shoes ar 1 cap. Getting back into safe 

 hiding we then awaited developments. 



After a short wait Spider came out, and, 

 seeing his shoes directly in his path, put 

 them on first without looking for his other 

 raiment. Then as he discovered nothing 

 left but his cap and a glove which, unfor- 

 tunately, Dick had dropped in his hurry, 



the fun commenced. The air became heavy 

 with sulphurous words, some of which 

 sounded like "Damp pirates!" "Em no 

 damp South Sea islander!'' To us, all of 

 this was like strains of sweet music. Spi- 

 der finally got astride a log, apparently in 

 deep thought. 



We were just on the verge of relenting 

 and returning all when Spider arose and 

 approached an old rickety flour barrel, left 

 by some former campers. With a few 

 blows he knocked out the bottom, ham- 

 mered down the nails, slipped the barrel 

 over his head down to his hips as a sort of 

 hoop skirt, and started cautiously for camp. 

 Our surprise was great; but the picture 

 he presented with his long, fat legs pro- 



A MODERN HOOP SKIRT. 



truding through the barrel, and his little 

 cap perched on the back of his head, was 

 so ludicrous that it would have brought 

 a grin to the face of the most stoical In- 

 dian. 



Wishing to be in at the finish, we crawled 

 and stooped along in the undergrowth, 40 

 yards to his left, until he was in the clear- 

 ing within 30 yards of Wanderers' camp, 

 when he stumbled over a fallen limb and 

 came down with just enough force to shat- 

 ter the barrel. Even at this hour I smile 

 as I recall Spider raising himself, pausing, 



