148 



RECREATION 



the camp fire burned brightly, while 

 the deer and elk went to their evening 

 browsing ranges. 



The drapery of night settled about us 

 while the odor of frying trout mingled 

 with the evening air, and the voices 

 of the nocturnal wanderers disturbed 

 the evening calm with their calls. 



The last night among the everlast- 

 ing hills was one to be remembered. 

 While we had not gone to the moun- 

 tains merely to slaughter we did have 

 the satisfaction of killing cougars and 

 wildcats, not so much for the joy of 

 killing them, but rather to prevent them 

 from destroying game ; and then we 

 only killed enough deer to meet our 

 actual needs. 



The roseate dawn on the far-away 

 peaks and the morning blue made us 

 wish for more time ; but as we ascend- 



ed the zigzag way through the gorge, 

 thoughts of home and the miles of in- 

 spiring beauty to be traversed, added 

 zest to every homeward step. And to 

 the westward the angry flames of a 

 forest fire were creeping madly up the 

 mountainside and changing the virgin 

 forest of green to a blackened waste ; 

 and the balsamic smoke hanging over 

 the charred tree trunks like a dark 

 cloud made the western view look 

 gloomy. 



Even as we journeyed homeward 

 the denizens of the wilderness were in 

 evidence, and their fearlessness made us 

 almost feel that we would be welcome to 

 their grand dominion again, so long as 

 we should leave them unharmed and be 

 contented with the reviving and uplift- 

 ing influences of their ever charming 

 realm. 



HELD FAST 

 Photo by Clarence Braymer 



