The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-05

.L DLH
l asg 1er f1 z1tlas hs Md nan
hda.to eidt a. N oompetAly mySStfne8
Noa aNlRa Tpw ,enQ4 well oat int0 tha
lako ard K6alT him OF On the nf1t point
below. Holdsths caAos quIot just out1ids
tbs lily padG y grSspihg q few tough
STEMS and cit low. lThls time the big object
catches Mooween's eye ~ he rounds the
point, and you have only to cit 6tt1 TO zee
him 90 through the aaIne little comedy.
once, however, be varied his programme
and gave me q terrible start, letting me
know for q moment just how It feels TO be
hunted, at the same time showing with
what marvellous stiffness he can glide
through the thiciEest cover.
II Va early evening on o forest lake.
The water lay like q great mirror, with
the sunset splendor stil upon It. The hush
Of twilight was over the Wilderness. Only
the hermit thrushes sang Wild and sweet
from . hundred spruce tops.
was drifting about, partly in the hope
OF meeting Mooween, whose tracks were
very numerous at the lower end Of the lake,
when I heard him walking In the shallow
water, Through the glass ] made him out
against the shore, % he plodded along
In my direction.
had long been curious to know how
q bear would come to q man, in plain sight,
without recognizing him. Here was an
opportunity. The wind at gunRet had been
In my favor, now there was not the faintest
breath stirring.
Hiding the canoe I SAT down on the shore
ct q point where dense bushes grew down
70 within . few fest Of the waters edge.
Head and shoulders were in plain sight
above the water grass. Ny intentions
werS wholly poaoeable, Notwithstanding
the rife that lay across my knees. 1t
was near the mating season when Moo
ween's temper 10 sometimes meddlesome,
and one felt moro perfectly comfortable
for the experiment with the chill Of the cold
iron in his hands.
Mooween came rapidly along the shore
meanwhile; evidently anxious to reach the
other end Of the lake. In the mating season
bears use the margins Of lakes and treams
as natural highways. As he drew nearer
and nearer / gazed with q kind Of fascina-
at the big unconscious brute. He
carried his head low and stepped with a
heavy splash into the shallow water.
At twenty yards he stopped Gs II struck,
head up, nose tvitching and shifting sus-
piciously. Even then he did not notice
me, though only the open shore lay between
u.s. He did not use his eyes at all, but laid
his great head back oil his shoulders and
shifted in every direction, rocking his brown
muSzle up and down the while, so as to take
In every atom from the tainted air.
A few slow, careful steps forward and
he stopped again, looked straight into my
eyes, then beyond me toward the lake,
all the while emitting. / was still only part
Of the shore. Yet he was 30 near that /
caught the CLEAN OF bis eyes, and saw
the nostrils swell and the muzzle working
.nervously.
Another step or two and he planted
his forefeet firmly. The long hairs began
to rise along his spine, and under his wrinkled
chops was q fash Of white teeth.
Still he had no suspicion of the notion
less object there in the grass, before his
very eyes. All his mighty energy was
still, and all sensation and whatever
thoughts he had seemed concentrated In
the tip Of his nose, which was questioning
every atom of air, while the big brute
waited for Its decision. Then he glided
silently into the brush, and was lost to
sight and hearing.
He was 30 close that 1 scarcely dared
breathe az / waited, expecting him to
u further away, down the shore.
Five minutes passed without the slightest
sound to indicate his whereabouts, though
l was listening intently In the dead hush
that was on the lake. All the while I
him strongly. One can smell q
bear almost as far as he can a deer. though
the scent does not cling 90 long to the
A bush swayed slightly, below where he
had disappeared. / was Watching it closely,
when some subtle warning-I know not
what, for / did not hear, but only felt it.
made me turn my head quickly.
There, not six feet away, q huge head
and shoulders were thrust out Of the bushes
on the bank, and a pair Of cleaning eyes
were peering intently down upon me in
the grass. He had probably been watch
Ing me, at arms length, for two OF three
Had / moved O muscle in all that time,
or had he been able to strain his courage
up another notch, / have no doubt that he
would have jumped upon me. As it was, |
who can say what was passing behind that |
half puzzled, half savage CLEAN
his eyesf
He drew quickly back, rs a sudden
movement on my part drew the rife into
A few minutes later l heard
he faint snap OF q. twig some distance
lway. Not another sound told Of his
whereabouts till he broke put upon the !
'hore, some fifty yards above, and went
on his way up the lake.
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