Takahashi passed from concern to grief over what he considered my bad luck:  “My goodnish!  No see bear to-day?...  Maybe more better luck to-morrow.”  If I could have had some of Takahashi’s luck I would scarcely have needed to leave camp.  He borrowed Nielsen’s 30-40 rifle and went hunting without ever having shot it.  He rode the little buckskin mustang, that, remarkable to state, had not yet thrown him or kicked him.  And on that occasion he led the mustang back to camp with a fine two-point buck on the saddle.  “Camp need fresh meat,” said the Jap, with his broad smile.  “I go hunt.  Ride along old road.  Soon nice fat deer walk out from bush.  Twenty steps away—­maybe.  I get off.  I no want kill deer so close, so I walk on him.  Deer he no scared.  He jump off few steps—­stick up his ears—­look at horse all same like he thought him deer too.  I no aim gun from shoulder.  I just shoot.  No good.  Deer he run.  I aim then—­way front of him—­shoot—­deer he drop right down dead....  Aw, easy to get deer!”

I would have given a great deal to have been able to describe Haught’s face when the Jap finished his story of killing that deer.  But such feat was beyond human ingenuity.  “Wal,” ejaculated the hunter, “in all my days raslin’ round with fools packin’ guns I never seen the likes of thet.  No wonder the Japs licked the Russians!” This achievement of Takahashi’s led me to suggest his hunting bear with us.  “Aw sure—­I kill bear too,” he said.  Takahashi outwalked and outclimbed us all.  He never made detours.  He climbed straight up or descended straight down.  Copple and Edd were compelled to see him take the lead and keep it.  What a wonderful climber!  What a picture the sturdy little brown man made, carrying a rifle longer than himself, agile and sure-footed as a goat, perfectly at home in the depths or on the heights!  I took occasion to ask Takahashi if he had been used to mountain climbing in Japan.  “Aw sure.  I have father own whole mountain more bigger here.  I climb high—­saw wood.  Leetle boy so big.”  And he held his hand about a foot from the ground.  Thus for me every day brought out some further interesting or humorous or remarkable feature pertaining to Takahashi.

The next day added to the discouragement of my party.  We drove Verde Canyon and ran the dogs into a nest of steel-traps.  Big Foot was caught in one, and only the remarkable size and strength of his leg saved it from being broken.  Nielsen found a poor, miserable, little fox in a trap, where it had been for days, and was nearly dead.  Edd found a dead skunk in another.  He had to call the hounds in.  We returned to camp.  That night was really the only cheerless one the men spent around the fire.  They did not know what to do.  Manifestly with trappers in a locality there could be no more bear chasing.  Disappointment perched upon the countenances of the Haughts and Copple and Nielsen.  I let them all have their say.  Finally Haught spoke up: