228 A Bear Hunt in the Adirondacks. 



nerallj 7 shot in traps in which they have been caught; or, 

 when accidentally met with, shot on sight if the hunter 

 happen to be prepared. 



"When we discovered the trail, we immediately aban- 

 doned all thoughts of deer hunting and commenced the 

 pursuit of the bear. Sturgis was armed with a Ballard 

 breech-loading carbine, I carried a Spencer repeating rifle 

 [with seven shots in the magazine and one in the barrel] 

 besides bowie-knife and revolver. 



I will not tire you with the details of the first days 

 chase; but will merely remark that the bear would go out 

 of his road to walk the prostrate trees, and when approach- 

 ing a stream, which had a precipitous bank, he would 

 make directly towards it for a quarter of a mile to the only 

 log spanning it. He did not hunt wood or deer-mice or 

 other small game, which he could easily have taken, and 

 which swarmed in some localities ; but where beech-nuts 

 were found, he turned up the deep snow and the earth in 

 search of them. He did not descend to the valleys to re- 

 ascend the mountains, but continued along the ridges, from 

 mountain to mountain, in a south-easterly direction with an 

 evident and' reasoning purpose which was surprising. He 

 waded into spring-holes, and followed in their beds the little 

 slush and snow-filled streams; whereby I judged him to 

 be fat and heated by traveling, for he loved to wallow 

 like a pig, and came out on the snow dripping with muddy 

 water. In this he resembled the racoon, another planti- 

 grade, whose generic name of lotor is obtaiued from his 

 habit of playing in the water, even though it be icy cold. 



The course taken by the bear was such as to return us 

 toward the settlements, and to bring us by evening to a 

 road, by following which for two miles the hotel of Mr. 

 Stur-is could be reached. Before arriving at the road I 

 had the misfortune, while sliding down hill on snow shoes, 

 to be precipitated from the edge of a little cliff some ten 



