Grizzly Gourmets 71 



about half-way up the riffle and struggling in its efforts to 

 make the ascent. Then he will make a quick dash, and, 

 with one sweep of his huge paw, will send a shower of 

 water ten feet into the air, in the midst of which will be 

 seen a salmon sailing toward the creek bank and landing, 

 many times, ten or twenty feet beyond. Then the bear 

 hurriedly makes for the shore and, if hungry, eats the 

 fish. If he has already had his fill, he will kill it, lay it 

 down, and, returning, wait for another. I have seen one 

 bear catch seventeen salmon in this manner before stop- 

 ping, and he then carefully piled them together and 

 buried them for future use. 



Sometimes a bear will sit on a log jam and watch for 

 the fish to swim out from under the logs. When one 

 comes he will, with a sweep of his paw, send it flying to 

 the bank. I have often seen them fishing in this way, 

 lying on a log with one paw hanging in the water, and it 

 is wonderful how many salmon they will fling out. Once 

 I saw five old grizzlies fishing from one log jam. Indeed, 

 I have watched for hours along these streams, and some 

 of the pleasantest moments of my hunting trips have been 

 so spent; but while I could have killed many a bear in 

 this way, I have never killed but three. 



When I first began to hunt, I thought that the salmon 

 run would be a good opportunity to make a fine score in 

 bears, and accordingly, on one of my trips, having found 

 a place that was all tracked and worn by grizzlies, and 

 where there were large piles of decayed, ill-smelling 

 salmon, I stationed myself a little above the riffle and 

 waited. About three o'clock in the afternoon an old bear 

 came solemnly out of the thicket to the edge of the stream, 



