ENROUTE TO THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



in the interior, I feel certain that none of the 

 big brown bears are found in the Upper Copper 

 River country nor on the White River. That, of 

 course, would be the natural supposition without 

 even visiting that section, as these animals, so 

 far, have only been found on the islands and 

 coastal strips of that region. However, as I 

 write, a rumor has come to me of the presence of 

 big brown bears in the vicinity of the Alaska 

 range, near Mt. McKinley. All naturalists will 

 await with interest a verification of this report — 

 and if it is verified a few of us may entertain a 

 suspicion that the big browns are hybridizing 

 with the grizzlies. While black bears inhabit 

 the country hunted by us and that contiguous 

 to the Copper River as well, of course we know, 

 but from evidence noted on this trip I do not be- 

 lieve they are nearly so numerous as the grizzly. 



Asked how many bears he had killed in his 

 time. Dr. Council said he didn't know. "How- 

 ever," said he, "yc>u can imagine how plentiful 

 they are around here when I tell you that out of 

 a certain string of seven trips for them from Cor- 

 dova I killed a bear the first day on each of six 

 of these trips; on the seventh I got my bear, but 

 it took longer than one day. 



Before we left Denver I received a letter from 

 Caleb Corser, superintendent of the Copper 

 River & Northwestern Railway, advising me 

 that he would gladly give our party the use of 

 his private car from Cordova to McCarthy. 



25 



