f one's
household. I suspected that if in a perfectly wild state he had been
prompted to seek human companionship and the comforts of civilized life,
in a domestic atmosphere he would want to sit at the table and sleep
with somebody. I did not believe Eddie's affection would survive these
familiarities. I knew how surprised and annoyed he might be some night
to roll over suddenly on the piggypine and then have to sit up the rest
of the night while a surgeon removed the quills. I said that I did not
believe in taming wild creatures, and I think the guides were with me in
this opinion. I think so because they recited two instances while we
were at breakfast. Del's story was of some pet gulls he once owned. He
told it in that serious way which convinced me of its truth. Certain
phases of the narrative may have impressed me as being humorous, but it
was clear they were not so regarded by Del. His manner was that of one
who records history. He said:

"One of the children caught two young gulls once, in the lake, and
brought them to the house and said they were going to tame them. I
didn't think they would live, but they did. You couldn't have killed
them without an ax. They got tame right away, and they were all over the
house, under foot and into everything, making all kinds of trouble. But
that wasn't the worst--the worst was feeding them. It wasn't so bad
when they were little, but they grew to beat anything. Then it began to
keep us moving to get enough for them to eat. They lived on fish,
mostly, and at first the children thought it fun to feed them. They used
to bait a little dip net and catch minnows for the gulls, and the gulls
got so they would follow anybody that started out with that dip net,
calling and squealing like a pair of pigs. But they were worse than
pigs. You can fill up a pig and he will go to sleep, but you never could
fill up those gulls. By and by the children got tired of trying to do it
and gave me the job. I made a big dip net and kept it set day and night,
and every few minutes all day and the last thing before bedtime I'd go
down and lift out about a pailful of fish for those gulls, and they'd
eat until the fish tails stuck out of their mouths, and I wouldn't more
than have my back turned before they'd be standing on the shore of the
lake, looking down into that dip net and hollering for more. I got so I
couldn't do anything but catch fish for those gulls. It was a busy
season, too, and besides