226 CAMP-FIRES IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES 



" The first trouble was in gettin' across the creek, 

 where we got badly mixed up in a willow muskeg, and 

 nearly bogged down. After fightin' the brush and mud 

 for an awful long time, and gettin' mighty hot about it, 

 we finally got over, and started for the slide. When we 

 reached an opening we looked up, but the b'ars were 

 gone. 



" After considerable loud talk, and plenty o' plannin', 

 we started on up. We hadn't gone far when we found 

 from the noise that the old gents had winded us, and 

 rolled their tails off into the brush at one side of the slide. 

 But they had stopped, and although we could hear 'em 

 snortin' and snappin' their teeth, we just couldn't see hide 

 nor hair of 'em, and couldn't get any sort of a shot. At 

 last I did manage to glimpse 'em two or three times, but 

 soon after that they hauled ofif into heavy timber. 



" The b'ars started climbin' up, and having nothing 

 else to do, we climbed after them. Finally we all got 

 plumb tired, and concluded it would pay just as well to 

 sit down easy like, and watch. Unfortunately, darkness 

 was almost onto us. It wasn't long before old Blucher 

 poked his head outen the edge of the timber, where I 

 could see him. I says to Mr. Phillips, ' Don't you see 

 him?' He says, 'No, I can't. It's too dark.' I was 

 plumb anxious for the ball to open, so I says, ' John, may 

 I shoot? ' ' Yes! Bust him! ' says John. Bang! 



" Down went old man Blucher, hollerin' and bawlin', 

 ' I'm shot! ' And then Mr. Phillips caught sight of the 

 Duke, and passed him one. He hollered, ' So am I! ' and 

 away the two of 'em went, rollin' and tearin' down the 



