Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-08-27

Kootenai Lake, having
with me as companions,
EHsulUAG John Willis and an i'm
HSfHESlSH passive looking Indian
named Animal. Coming
across through the dense coniferous
forests of northern Idaho we had
struck the Kootenai River. Then we
went down with the current as it
wound in half circles through n long
alluvial valley of mixed marsh and
woodland, hemmed in by lofty noun
tains. The lake itself, when we reach
ed it, stretched straight away like a
great ford, hundred miles long and
about three in breadth. The frowning
and rugged Selkirks came down sheer
to the waters edge. So straight were
the rock walls that 1t was difficult for
us to land with our batteau, save al
the places where the rapid mountain
torrents entered the lake.
We had come down from a weeks
fruitless hunting in the mountains; a
week of excessive toll, in a country
where we saw no game-for in our ig-
norance we had wasted time, not GO
ing straight back to the high ranges,
from which the game had not yet de
scended. After three or four days OF
rest, and of feasting on trout-a wei
come relief to the monotony of frying
pan bread and coarsey salt pork-we
were ready for another trial; and early
one morning we made the start. Hav-
ing to pack everything for fortnight's
use on our backs, through an excess.
lively rough country we of course
Travelled as light as possible leaving
almost all we had with the tent and
boat
We walked in single file, as is nee
essary in thick woods. The white
hunter led, and | followed, each with
rifle on shoulder and pack on back
Animal, the Indian, pigeon toed along
behind, carrying his pack, not as we
did ours, but by help of a forehead
band, which he sometimes shifted
across his breast. The travelling
through the tangled, brush choked for
est and along the bowlder strewn and
precipitous mountain sides, was incon-
ceivably rough and difficult
were travelling as usual, in Indian
file, beside the stream, through an
open wood of great hemlock trees.
There was no breeze, and we made no
sound as we marched for our feet
sunk noiselessly into the deep moss.
Suddenly the hunter, who was lead
ing. dropped down in his tracks, point
ing upward; and some fifty feet be-
yOnd l saw the head and shoulders of
bear as he rose to make a sweep at
some berries. He was in a hollow
where tall, rank, prickly plant, with
broad leaves, grew luxuriantly; and he
was gathering its red berries. rising
on his hind legs and sweeping them
down into his mouth with his paw,
and was much too intent on his work
to notice US, for his head was pointed
the other way. The moment he rose
again l fired, meaning to shoot through
the shoulders, but instead, in the hur-
ry, taking him in the neck. Down he
went, but whether hurt or not we
could not see, for the second he was
on all fourS he was no longer visible.
Rather to my surprise he uttered no
sound-for bear when hit or when
charging often make a great noise-so
| raced toward the edge of the hollow,
the hunter close behind me, while Am
NAL danced about in the rear very
much excited, as Indians always are
in the presence Of big game. The in
slant we reached the hollow and look
ed down into it from the low bank on
which we stood we saw by the sway
ing of the tall plants that the bear
was coming our way. The hunter was
standing somS ten feet distant, n hem
lock trunk being between US; and the
next moment the bear sprang clean up
the bank the other side of the hem
lock, and almost within arms length
Of my companion. / do not think he
had intended to charge; he was prob
ably confused by the bullet through
his neck, and had by chance blundered
out of the hollow in our direction; but
when he saw the hunter so close he
turned for him, his hair bristling and
his teeth showing. The man had no
cartridge in his weapon. ald with his
pack on could not have dsed it any
how; and for a moment At looked as if
he stood a fair chance of being hurt.
As the beast sprang out of the hollow
he poised for a second on the edge of
the bank to recover his balance, giving
me a beautiful shot. as he stood side
ways TO me; the bullet struck between
the eye and ear, and he fell as if hit
with a pole axe.
Our prize was n large black bear,
with two curious brown streaks down
his back, one on each side the spine.
We skinned him and camped by the
carcass, as it was growing late. To
take the chill off the evening air we
built huge fire, the logs roaring and
cracking. To one side of it we made
our beds of balsam and hemlock
boughs: we did not build brush lean.
to, because the night seemed likely to
be clear. Then we supped on sugar
less tea, frying-pan bread, and quanti-
ties of bear meat, fried or roasted
and how very good 1t tasted only