60 JOURNAL OP THE TRINIDAD 



camp one fine morning we saw on the top of a bare hill, some 

 distance off, a dark brown spot, moving about. By the aid of 

 our field glasses we discovered it was a large, brown bear, 

 feeding on the blue berries, or as we call them in Scotland, 

 blae berries, which were plentiful. I at once started oft' with one 

 of our party to try and stalk him. After a long climb we sighted 

 him feeding quietly some -100 to 500 yards oft*. I was greatly 

 tempted to have a shot even at that uncertain range ; but there 

 was a most tempting dry ravine in front of me, which, if I could 

 only negotiate 't silently and successfully, would bring me within 

 150 yards, and the wind was the right direction. I tried it, and 

 my companion stopped and lay down in the bush to watch. I 

 crept quietly through the ravine after taking my bearings (no pun 

 meant !) carefully avoiding every little branch that could crackle, 

 under my foot (mocassins of course and no boots) but when I 

 reached the brow of the hill, no bear was to be seen. My com- 

 panion joined me and we got on the bear's tracks and found he 

 had gone clean away, and pretty fast too ; and my companion 

 told me it was simply marvellous the way in which he had disap- 

 peared. He suddenly raised his head and looked for a second in 

 our direction, slipped behind a little bush, and never showed 

 again, though my companion was steadily watching, and, you 

 would have thought, there was not sufficient cover on the hill to 

 screen a rabbit. 



Many a time I have tracked and been equally close to a bear, 

 and thought myself quite certain of getting at least a shot, but I 

 never did, and I have always regretted that I did not take that 

 400 to 500 yards chance. 



lam not quite sure whether these Bears are the Ursus arctos 

 or the Ursus americanus, but I think the latter is correct. 



We got a couple of them when quite small cubs, and kept 

 them chained up at Government House, Fredericton, but after a 

 time, as they grew up, they became quite dangerous, and we had 

 to shoot them. They were most comical little scamps — with as 

 much humour as a monkey — but their play turned by degrees 

 into " horse play " and they would suddenly and like lightning 

 make a grab at your neck with their powerful fore paws, which 

 was anything but fun. 



As I have before said, in these canoe voyages we used to 

 camp in one place for two or three days sometimes, to trap, fish 

 and shoot. Trapping to me was most interesting work — you had 

 to learn to track and " read signs ; ' as only an Indian can ; and to 

 learn all the ways and habits of the various animals which you 

 were going to trap, and which were chiefly beaver, lucifee, 

 musquash, mink, fox, marten, erimine, otter &c. 



We always carried a few steel traps, something like rat traps, 



