FOREST AND STREAM 
[Jan. 3, 1903. 
— ^ — 
A Lone Man's Thanksgiving. 
Aftek I had ordered my tlirkej^ from the prim waiter 
[ sat back and said to myself,' "What have I to be 
thankful for? T am alone, far from any relative, and if 
not a wanderer, at least I have no place that I can call 
home." I then fell to thinking of the past, for, if we 
have nothing in the past to be thankful for we are in- 
deed bereft. I thought of the one Thr;iksgiving that 
left nothing to be desired, and then of tue summer and 
fall preceding it. 
I could see the gay friends as they pelted a blushing 
but happy couple with rice and old shoes as they 
boarded a train bound for Bangor and the woods. 
That was before you had to hire a guide whether you 
wanted to or not. Well, in course of time, we arrived 
at our station, and the next day started up the old 
Penobscot with our fishing rods, rifles and the rest of 
our outfit packed in a light canoe. Our hearts were 
as light as the foams on the river, with never a care 
to bother UvS, it seemed, indeed, that life "was one 
grand, sweet song"; and as we went up the river each 
day seemed to be more perfect tlian the one before. 
We caught what fish we wanted, and if it rained what 
cared we? We would throw back the front flaps of 
the tent and laugh at the weather. Hardly a day 
passed that we did not see deer; and now and then a 
moose would show his great, homely sliape as we 
would round a bend in the river; and it did seem as 
though they knew that they were safe for two weeks 
more. 
We, or rather I. had made Little Spring Brook our 
destination, and after we had been there a few days 
and had the camp made comfortable for a long stay, 
the game season was on, and we had venison added to 
our bill of fare, the first deer falling to her rifle. It 
was a clean kill, thus saving her the only disagreeable 
part of hunting, that of looking at a wounded deer's 
eye. 
Many a pleasant hunt did we have over and around 
those hills; and on one ol them, as we walked down an 
old wood road, we had an adventure that for an in- 
stant gave me the worst start I ever had, and showed 
that at least one woman had nerve. She was three or 
four steps in the lead, when with a growl that started 
my hair, a great bear plunged into the path not twenty 
feet ahead. Qin'ck as a flash her rifle came to her 
.shoulder and she fired, and hit him, too, as we found 
out later. As soon as the first start was over, we saw 
that the bear was fast in a trap, and the clng had 
caught in the thick brush so he could not move more 
than the length of the chain. He had dragged that 
great clog until he was worn to skin and bones. After 
we had put him out of his misery, we found the owner's 
name on the trap, and months afterward he got paid 
for a bear he never saw, and was told where he could 
find his trap. 
And so my thoughts followed that outing to its 
close — how we drifted down the river after three weeks 
at Spring Brook, and then to our own little home, 
and how on that Thanksgiving we had sat down to a 
game dinner, the result of a short trip after birds; and 
when I asked her what she had to be thankful for she 
looked up from her plate with that look that we never 
see. in but one woman's eyes, and said, "A good deal." 
1 thought, "So have I," for I could not know that it 
was the only Thanksgiving that she would be spared 
to me, and that the next summer's trip was never to 
be enjoyed — I felt a touch on my shoulder, and "your 
dinner is getting cold, sir," brought me back, and with 
a sigh I said "A good deal." Al. 
Recollections of the Rockies. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
An article in Dec. 6 Forest and Stream, "One Way 
to Burst a Gun," reminded me of an experience of my 
ow-n which was most unaccountably and seemingly 
incredible. 
It was early in the fall of 1891 that a party of six of 
us started out for a little pleasure trip over the con- 
tinental divide of the Rockies. We had with us three 
saddle horses and a team and wagon, and planned to 
drive as far as we could, then pack our outfit on the 
two work horses and go where our inclination led us, 
the principal object being to have some trout fishing 
in the Elk River, on the western slope of the divide, 
and incidently to traverse some unexplored country 
(unexplored so far as our knowledge went, at least). 
The first day we stopped about 3 o'clock in the after- 
noon at a favorite camp ground in a beautiful glade 
along the creek which bears the not very musical 
name of Damfino, which was surrounded for many 
miles on all sides by heavily timbered mountains in 
all their wild and rugged grandeur. We took a very 
scanty supply of grub with us, and depended chiefly 
upon fish and game for our diet. 
As we had not yet reached the land of trout, they 
not being found on the eastern slope of the divide, we 
went out to try and get a deer to supply us imtil we 
should cross the divide. We all returned at dark with- 
out meat. T had two shots at deer when near camp, 
but it was getting so dark that I missed. After sup- 
per was over, T proceeded to clean my rifle by drawing 
a rag through the barrel with a strap which I carried 
with" me for that purpose. 1 did just what many an- 
other unlucky fellow has done — got my rag too large, 
and by sfn-ting it in at the breech where it is larger. 
It started in all right, but got tight. Believing the 
strap to be stronger than it was, I kept on pulling to 
force it through, when the strap broke dowm in the 
barrel, leaving^ the rag sticking about ;in inch and a 
half from the breech end of the barrel. I next cut 
.sticks about six inches long, and made them just t^he 
size to fit the barrel loosely, believing that by filling 
the barrel with them I could drive the rag back. By 
so doing, the sticks became Avedged in, probablv by 
the piece of strap in the barrel, and every effort made 
matters worse. I got to the point of desperation 
where I was willing to take equal chances of blowing 
the contents out -with powder or bursting the gun; but 
the rag was too near the end of the barrel to admit a 
cartridge, it being a .40-82 Winchester. 
I drew a bullet out of a shell, and by much perse- 
verance and hard work, managed to cut a shell in 
two, so that it would go in. It would then hold about 
forty grains of powder. This I put in, then fixed the 
gun inside of a little log shed or cabin that had been 
built there by some trappers, which was closed 011 
three sides, with a roof, the front being left open. 
Tying a string to the trigger, and getting outside of 
the cabin, I pulled the trigger, but the hammer 
snapped, and nothing more. 
1 cocked and tried it twice more, with the same re- 
snlt; then I took the gun out to investigate, and Avhat 
wa.s my surprise to find the barrel warm, and on ex- 
amining it found the powder to be burnt and the rag 
moved forward about three inches. Then with tlu' 
satisfaction of a ticnd awaiting an opportunity for re- 
venge, 1 put in a full cartridge, bullet and all, and said 
to ray audience. "Now, I'll blow it out or burst the 
gun!" Fixing the gun again inside the cabin, I pi\lled 
the trigger with the string, and the hammer snapped 
down a.s before; and a repetition brought the same 
result. I took the gun out and the barrel was so hot 
i could scarcely hold it. The powder had exploded 
and driven the bullet, with all the packing in the bar- 
rel, about nine inches from the breech without the 
least attdible sound, except the snap c>f the hammer. 
There was not the least recoil or jar of any kind to 
indicate that any force was at work inside; and con- 
sidering that eighty-two grains of powder was burnt, 
it seemed altogether incredible, and had there not been 
live reliable witnesses on the spot, I would have been 
loth to have told it, for it does not look reasonable, 
but it ticcurred as related, as L. W. McNulty, of Sara- 
toga. W'yo., and G. O. Elmes, of Pearl, Colo,, can 
testify. The present address of the others of the party 
I do not know. This, then, might be called "one way 
that you can't burst a gun." 
Our trip was continued the next day, and 3 o'clock 
in the afternoon found us as far as we could go with 
the wagon, and near the foot of the Continental Di- 
vide. Some of the party went out for a little evening 
hunt, but nc) one found anything, except a young doc- 
tor from the East, principally for whose benefit the 
trip was made. Fie found "camp" after being about 
the worst lost and worst scared fellow that 1 ever saw. 
There was a very heavy rain during the evening, 
making everything very wet. He had been lost per- 
haps two hours, and luckily crossed the wagon tracks 
where we had driven in to where we camped (we had 
driven two or three miles from the road, where no 
wa.gon had ever been). 
It was getting dark when we saw ^.fm coming on 
our trail, dashing through creeks and wet willows as 
if he had no regard for wet, and we thought something 
must be wrong. He came right on, with a rush, not 
slacking speed even when within hailing distance, and 
when he came among us at camp, some jokes were 
passed about his reckless manner of. going through 
the wet; but it was soon seen it was no joking mat- 
ter with him. 
His face had not the color of blood in it, and he 
had such a wild vacant stare as to cause some alarm. 
As he came up to the fire and sat down on a log he 
said, "I'm lost, and lost bad!"' 
From the remark and the awful horror depicted on 
his face, he did not seem to realize that he was safe 
in camp, and all fun was suspended for the time. When 
he became more composed he tried to give us some 
account of where he had been. 
He saw some deer, and in his efforts to get a shot, 
he lost all idea of direction, and did just as nearly all 
inexperienced people do who get lost — started on a 
m.ad rush, without trying to form any idea of direc- 
tion, simply trying to get away from where he was. 
Never did I realize the awful mental condition of a 
lost person until I saw him. 
Dark found us all in camp except the Elder, an old 
Presbyterian minister, and a few shots from camp 
directed him in. The next morning we packed every- 
thing we couldn't get along without on the two work 
1-orses and started over the divide. Three of us had to 
walk, and I let the Elder ride my horse, while I took 
his rifle and took a circle to try for a deer, as our 
.grub pile was running low. I had not gone 200 yards 
from the party until 1 saw and killed a deer. While 
the narty halted one of the boys came over and helped 
to skin the hindquarters, when he took them and went 
on with the outfit, while I finished taking off the hide, 
cut off all the meat from the carcass I could get and 
followed the trail, not overtaking them until they had 
reached a good sized stream of water and were pre- 
paring to camp. We all believed we must be on the 
Elk River, but no one could find any fish, and after 
spending the night there we naoved on south and 
traveled all day, and camped that evening on what we 
believed to be a tributary of the Snake River. When 
starting out on the trip, I only purposed being with 
them four days, having an engagement back at the 
ranch on the morning of the sixth daj'. 
It being necessary for me to make the trip home in 
a day. T desired to learn just where we were located, 
that [ might lose no time the next day. For that 
purpose 1 started about two hours before sundown for 
the top of a very high mountain peak, perhaps two 
miles from camp. I took no gun, as we did not need 
meat, and my trip was full of interest from start to 
return. 1 had only gone a short distance when 1 saw 
a deer, and I sat on a log watching it while it came 
quite close to me and went on by without, knowing of 
my presence. A short time before reaching the top 
of" the mountain T heard a racket, and looking up the 
side of the mountain, saw six fine bull elk coming 
down the mountain side, walking single file. They 
were 100 yards away, and a fine opportunity was af- 
forded to watch them as they filed past; and 1 did not 
move until they were out of sight. They all had 
antlers of exactly the same size, as nearly as I could 
tell, fine, large, and the sight was worth a long trip to 
see. I reached the top of the mountain just as the sun 
Vv^as setting. The mountain was bare of all green tim- 
ber for quite a distance down all sides, having been 
burnt over some years before, and as it rose far above 
all the surrounding country, a better point could not 
have been chosen from which to get the lay of the 
country. 
Had some gifted "pencil pusher" been there just 
then, who had a talent for expanding on glorious 
sunsets and grand scenery, he might have "had an 
nispiration such as only comes occasionally. In all 
directions the country could be seen for wonderful 
distances, and in some directions it could be seen for 
a hundred miles or more — nothing but mountains, 
mountains, look where you liked; all wiid, uninhabited 
by man and silent. But a glance at the ground showed 
that it was not a deserted place. Scarcely a rod could 
be traversed in any direction without crossing deer 
and elk tracks. 
The ground was loose and soft, and all footprints 
showed as plainly as if on snow, and there one could 
read nature's diary, written by its four-footed inhabi- 
tants, of all that had taken place on the old mountain 
dunng the pa.st few weeks. It is a pleasure to take a 
gun and hunt and kill game, but somehow when one 
is not after blood, there is realized a kind of silent, 
undelinable gratification and lasting satisfaction in 
wandering around far from the haunts of man, with- 
out a gun, and watching the wild creatures as they 
live and move in their native element, when not aware 
of the presence of enemies. 
When hunting game to kill it, all the senses are cen- 
tered on the one object of seeing the game, while most 
of the surrounding grandeur is overlooked. So, too, 
when game is sighted; everything interesting about 
the animal is overlooked in the eagerness to get a suc- 
cessful shot, and there is no time nor opportunity^ 
while watching thein to note the graceful movement, 
the ever-watchful eye and shifting ear to catch the 
slightest move or sound that might mean danger, and 
to think of the constant danger lurking on every side 
of them, which serves to sharpen their instinct of 
sel f-pr es crva ti on . 
As I went back to camp in the gathering darkness 
of the evening, I disturbed a number of deer, one of 
which made that queer snorting noise sometimes made 
by deer when startled by something, and they can- 
not determine what it is. This was tne first time T 
had ever heard or known of anything of the kind. 
After giving the others of the party the directions of 
different points, as they could be observed from my 
outlook, so as to enable them to determine in what 
direction to continue their journey, I mounted my 
horse at an early hour the next morning, and took a 
direct course for home, straight over moutitains and 
anything that might come in my way. All day long 
f rode through wild country without seeing any mark 
or evidence of man, and wnthout any trail other than 
that made by elk and deer, at one time riding past 
two deer within 75 yards, which stood and looked at 
me as long as I was in sight, probably never before 
having seen such a combination of biped and quadru- 
ped. Night found me safely at home. The others of 
the partj'- continued their journey several days, find- 
ing good trout fishing in the Elk River and seeing 
great quantities of game, having seen at one time over 
fifty elk in one band, all being within gunshot; but no 
one fired a shot, although some of them had never 
killed an elk and had a great desire to do so; but they 
could not use or take care of the meat, and were 
"men" enough to refrain from shooting. Excuse me, 
liut I have become so animated in living over again 
as 1 have been writing, the pleasant days of the past, 
that 1 nearly forgot about the gun I started to tell 
about. If you go back where we left the wagon, you 
will find the gun hidden under a log near the wagon. 
It was sent to a gunsmith at Laramie, Wyo., and 
relieved of its congested condition, but was never of 
much account afterward. Emerson Carney. 
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. 
Major. 
When I was a small boy, in the spring of 1851, a 
man, who kept a grocery store in our neighborhood, 
had a Newfoundland pup about three months old that 
had taken the distemper. 
This man, calling me into his store one day, handed 
me a dime and said, "Carry that pup to the canal or 
river and drown him; he is in my road here." The 
pup lay on the floor and every one coming in would 
tramp over him and start him howling. 
I picked the pup up, then asked, "Can't I take him 
home and keep him, sir?' 
"No, he has the distemper; you could not cure him; 
go and drown him." 
I carried him down to an old doctor who kept a drug 
store, and asked him to look at the pup, telling hint 
how I had got him and that I wanted to cure him. 
"You can cure him," he tc^ld me. "if vm choose to 
take the trouble to do it. I vyould not drown him. 
He is a full Newfoundland. Raise him and in a year 
you can get ten dollars for him." 
The doctor gave me a box oT salve an 1 a big piece 
of brown castile soap and a package of sulphur, tell- 
ing me that he would not charge me for these; he 
wanted to see the pup saved. 
He told me to wash the pup's face in warm water 
and use plenty of this soap in it, then rub the salve 
in with my fingers, warning me not to touch my eyes 
with my hands when washing around the pup. Then 
he filled a small vial of some red colored stuff that 
stood on his shelf, I never knew what it was, and 
handing it to me said, "Give the pup half a pint of 
warm milk with a few drops of this and as much sul- 
phur as will lie on a dime in it. He won't want to 
drink it, but make him. Don't let him have anything 
else, and he will." 
I carried out the doctors orders faithfully for ten 
days, and by that time the pup was nearly well, and 
I took him to the doctor again. 
"H[e is all right, now," the doctor told me, "he will 
make you a fine dog. Keep him. Don't let that man 
you got him from have him again. A man who would 
drown a pup of that kind should not have one." 
That man, when he saw that I had cured the pup. 
