A Life Lesson From Enos A. Mills
Enos A. Mills (1870-1922) was a naturalist, homesteader and author of 19 books. He was an early advocate of wild places and educating the public, especially regarding areas around Rocky Mountain National Park. If you ever visit Estes Park, Colorado, which lies just outside of RMNP, you will find little signs dedicated to him here and there. I don’t know why these little signs caught my eye, but they did, and on my last trip to Estes Park, I stopped in a local bookshop and picked up a copy of Wild Life on the Rockies by Mills.
I wasn’t expecting much, but I quickly feel in love. If you want romantic accounts of what life was like around Estes Park before it was covered with buildings and tourists, Enos is your man. His tales of trekking the mountains and surveying animals, snow pack, weather patterns, and general reflections wilderness ecology have captured my imagination. One of the things that stands out to me most is his commitment to not take firearms with him out into the wilderness. Mind you, Enos wasn’t going for jolly little walks wearing his Sunday best. He would spend time totally alone in the back country.
One morning he awoke, having propped himself up against a tree for support the night before, and after shaking off his sleepiness, noticed that there were animal prints in the snow directly on the other side of the tree. He followed those tracks for a while and came to realize that a mountain lion had been tracking him for much of the previous night. And then when he settled down to camp, the mountain lion nestled in behind him, enjoying his companionship and the warmth of the fire.
Enos noted that simply carrying a firearm into the wild places changed how he experienced nature. Coyotes’ howls were omens of death, bears were flesh-hungry monsters, and wolves were lethal ghosts in the shadows. But after one time deciding not to take a gun with him, he was so struck by the goodness and wonder of nature that he resolved to never take a gun with him into the wilderness again. Because of this choice, he had many close calls with various animals which, if he had a gun on him, would have instantly been seen as a threat. However, since he was unarmed, save for a small hatchet, he was forced to simply be present, and that produced some amazing stories.
Here is an excerpt from Enos’ essay The Wilds Without Firearms:
Out in the wilds with nature is one of the safest and most sanitary of places. Bears are not seeking to devour, and the death list from lions, wolves, snakes, and all other bug-bears combined does not equal the death list from fire, automobiles, street-cars, or banquets. Being afraid of nature or a rainstorm is like being afraid of the dark.
Reading about Enos’ adventures makes me reflect on my own life and the metaphor of carrying guns. What “guns” (or protections) do I take with me everywhere I go? Maybe anxiety, dread, anger, pessimism, criticism, doubt, perfectionism, fear? How are these things coloring my own adventures? Are they truly helping me or are they robbing me of the joy of living? And do my “guns” cause me to see threats that really aren’t there?
I think it’s time to head into the unknown without my firearms. You’re welcome to join me if you like. I think we might encounter wonders in places we expected to find dangers.
Happy to be in your corner,
Tom Page, LCPC
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