An excciting place to sleep—on a Glacier which moves about ten feet a day—it is cracking, bursting exploding, trembling, groaning and together with the Glacier Bears and howling dogs, and Siberian wolves, and rolling around to keep from freezing is very soothing. Now I have fought buffalo flies in Michigan, Bed Bugs in Wisconsin, Lice in Wyoming, Rattlesnakes in Colorado, Coyotes in North Dakota, Rats in Australia, Spiders in South America,—But Glaciers are of all places I ever attempted the most exciting and difficult to get a little sleep.
The Glacier is moved forward by the compressed air which gets into the crevices behind the glaciers when it is split open by frost—then it freezes again and explodes which moves the great mountain into the river. The Glaciers not only furnish the water supply for the world—but also keep it fresh.
The term Mushing has been used in the book that means to walk.
The term Pan, means one dollar, Bum Pan means a half dollar. Hit means five dollars.
A great manny hunters have severe accidents with their guns—often they burst when they are fired off—this is caused by dirt accidently getting into the end of the barrel which so many inexperienced hunters unconscouusly do. I have known an explosion caused by snow in the end of the muzzle.
There was a very bad bear in Wyoming known as "Old Three points" There was an Irishman crossing over his territory and while sitting on a rock he looked up and saw "Old Three Points" coming toward him evidently on his track—for he was putting his noose to the ground seemingly in every track—"The Irishman said" Oh! its tracks ye want—then be gorry I'll make ye some" and he did. as many have done.
I was employed by a Ranchman to kill Three Points—so named because he had a nail torn off and left but three points to his track with his right paw. I took two of the best marksman I had and we rode over into his territory—after we had cooked our meat partly because we were hungry, and partly to draw the old fellow on by the scent—and before we had time to eat our meal the old plough hove in sight—
He was certainly in fighting trim, he came down over the hill—like a Newbraska cyclone—every log he came to he would knock clean out of his road the stones were flying right and left, he would knock rotton logs all to pieces, he would not turn aside for anything, he had been in a fight his hair was ruffled up, he was all covered with blood, and had been wounded several times, all at once we opened up on his with three bullets in his pelt driven there by guns which struck thirty eight hundred pound apiece—he just groaned and staggered a little, and made for us, We split up and gave him dope from three quarters which was more than old Three points had expected; and before he could claw any of our meat he lost his appetite because we had fed him too much lead.
Black Beaver—knows how to live outdoors better than we know how to live indoors. He never catches cold, he positively knows every time just where to sleep, he never sleeps on his back if the ground is cold or damp—always upon his stomache.
He could teach the U.S. Army something worth knowing—about living out doors.