back of it
in a land where the path to one's door may be a warpath.

If you are armed, as a hunter, do not fail to remove the cartridges from
the gun, in your host's presence, before you set foot on his porch. Then
give him the weapon or stand it in a corner or hang it up in plain view.
Even our sheriff, when he stopped with us, would lay his revolver on the
mantel-shelf and leave it there until he went his way. If you think a
moment you can see the courtesy of such an act. It proves that the
guest puts implicit trust in the honor of his host and in his ability to
protect all within his house. There never has been a case in which such
trust was violated.

I knew a traveler who, spending the night in a one-room cabin, was fool
enough (I can use no milder term) to thrust a loaded revolver under his
pillow when he went to bed. In the morning his weapon was still there,
but empty, and its cartridges lay conspicuously on a table across the
room. Nobody said a word about the incident: the hint was left to soak
in.

The only real danger that one may encounter from the native people, so
long as he behaves himself, is when he comes upon a man who is wild with
liquor and cannot sidestep him. In such case, give him the glad word and
move on at once. I have had a drunken "ball-hooter" (log-roller) from
the lumber camps fire five shots around my head as a _feu-de-joie_, and
then stand tantalizingly, with hammer cocked over the sixth cartridge,
to see what I would do about it. As it chanced, I did not mind his
fireworks, for my head was a-swim with the rising fever of erysipelas
and I had come dragging my heels many an irk mile down from the
mountains to find a doctor. So I merely smiled at the fellow and asked
if he was having a good time. He grinned sheepishly and let me pass
unharmed.

The chief drawback to travel in this region, aside from the roads, is
not the character of the people, but the quality of bed and board. Of
course there are good hotels at most of the summer resorts, but these
are few and scattering, at present, for a territory so immense. In most
regions where there is noble scenery, unspoiled forest, and good
fishing, the accommodations are extremely rude. Many of the village inns
are dirty, and their tables a shock and a despair to the hungry pilgrim.
There are blessed exceptions, to be sure, but on the other hand the
traveler sometimes will encounter a cuisine that is neither edible nor
speakable, and will