Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-01-07

4 slight tCtiStLe brought him to Il NI,tIid
on the ground, while the gray weather
BODIED a storm. My camp was in
bleak, wind-swept valley, high among
the mountains which form the divide
between the head-waters of the Salmon
and Clarke's Fork of the Columbia.
At dawn | rose and shook myself free
of the buffalo robe, coated with hoar-
frost. The ashes of the fire were life
less; in the dim morning the air was
bitter cold. | did not linger Il moment.
but snatched up my rifle, pulled on my
fur cap and gloves, and strobe off up
n side ravine; as l walked l ate some
mouthfuls of venison. left over from
supper.
Two hours of toll up the steep noun
tain brought me TO the top of Il spur
The sun had risen but was hidden he
hind a bank of sulen clouds On the
divide | halted, and Ga2ed out Over u
vast landscape inconceivably wild and
dismal. For two hours / walked on
wards across the ridges and va. vs.
Then among some scattered sprU"cS
where the snow lay to the dept of
half a foot, / suddenly came on the
fresh, broad trail of n griS!y. The
brute was evidently roaming restlc.sly
about in search of winter den but
willing. in passing to pick up any
food that lay handy, At once ] took
he trail. travelling above and 70 one
,iGr. and keeping a Sh2ru lon,.pat
ahead The bear was going a.rass
wind, and this made my task easy. |
walked rapidly. though cautiously
At last. peering cautiously over Il
ridge crowned with broken rocks.
saw my quarry. Il big burly bear. with
silvered fur. He had halted on an
open hillside. and was busily digging
up the caches of some rock gophers on
squirrels He seemed absorbed In his
work. and the stalk was easy Sl.l,
ping quietly back. | ran towards the
end Of the spur. and in ten minutes
struck n ravine. of which one branch
ran past within seventy yards OF whore
the bear was working. In this raviae
was a rather close growth of stuurcd
evergreens, affording good cover NJ
though in one or two places l had To
lie down and rawl through the snow
When / reached the point for which
was aiming. the bear had just finished
roofing, and was starting off. A slight
whistle brought him to standstill
and ! drew a bead behind his shoulder
and low down. resting the rifle across
the crooked branch Of dwarf spruce
At the crack he ran off at speed. ma,.-
ing no sound but the thick spatter oc
blood splashcs showing clear on Ito
w'itc snow. betrayed the mortal u3-
ture of the wound. For some minus
l followed the trail: and then. tonp. =
ridge. | saw the dark bulk lviv-
m"tionlcss in snow drift Mt the fa,t
OF low rocli-wall down which he n a
tu.rlled.
one day while camped near the Bit
ter Root Mountains in Montana | fouAd
that n bear had been feeding on the
carcass OF n moose which lay some five
miles from the little open glade in
which my tent was pitched. and
made up my mind to try to get a shot
at it that afternoon. | stayed in camp
till about three o'clock, lying azily
VAN oh tne peu VI SWeeI-SmelllnS ever
s.~-A coughs, watching the pack po-
MES as they stood under the pines on
the edge Of the open, stamping now
and then, and switching their tails
The air was still, the sky a glorious
blue; at that hour in the afternoon
even the Septembe sun was hot
When the shadows began to length
en-. shouldered my rifle and plunged
into the woods. At first my route lay
along a mountain side; then for half
mile over n windfalI, the dead timber
piled about In crazy confusion. After
that went up the bottom of a valley
oy a little brook. the ground being
carpeted with a sponge of soaked