X 
THE BEAR 
401 
after this I never thought of food throughout the 
day, until my return in the evening, which was 
generally at five or six o’clock. 
My people were never ready in the morning, 
but were invariably squatted in front of the frying- 
pan, frizzling bacon, when I was prepared to start. 
Jem Bourne was a chronic grumbler because we 
hunted far away from camp, instead of returning 
at mid-day to luncheon. Excellent fresh bread 
was baked daily, and I insisted upon the people 
supplying themselves with sufficient food packed 
upon their saddles, if they were not hardy enough 
for a day’s work after a good breakfast. 
I observed that my friends Big Bill and. Bob 
Stewart were also provided with a large supply of 
bacon, although they left the fattest animals rotting 
in the forest, simply because they hunted for the 
hides. 
In the same manner I remarked the extreme 
fastidiousness of these otherwise hardy people in 
rejecting food which we should have considered 
delicious. I have seen them repeatedly throw away 
the sage-hens that I have shot; these were birds 
which we prized. On one occasion, as we were 
travelling when moving camp, I shot a jackass 
rabbit from the saddle, with my *577 rifle. It gave 
me considerable trouble to dismount and open this 
animal, which would have gained a prize for fat ; 
having cleaned it most carefully, I stuffed the inside 
with grass, and attached it to the saddle. 
We never had an opportunity of eating this 
VOL. I 
2 D 
