Hunting in Many Lands 



reaching his destination, however, he stopped and squat- 

 ted on his haunches, calmly surveying the scene before 

 him. The reason why he stopped became at once ap- 

 parent. From the same hill down which the black bear 

 had come we saw another grizzly, larger than the first, 

 moving toward us at a rapid gait, in fact, on a lope, 

 while the first grizzly regarded him with a look not 

 altogether friendly or cordial. The second bear did not 

 stop an instant until he reached the swill heap, where he 

 proceeded to devour everything in sight, without any re- 

 gard to us or to his fellow squatted near by. The latter 

 apparently had had some experience on a former occa- 

 sion which he was not desirous of repeating. 



Three men coming through the timber toward us made 

 a considerable racket, and the two bears moved off at no 

 rapid gait in opposite directions ; but they went only a 

 short way. Until we left the spot we could see them on 

 the edge of the timber, looking toward us, and, no doubt, 

 waiting for more quiet before partaking of the delights 

 before them. It was not easy to realize the scene before 

 us was actual. The dim twilight, the huge forms of the 

 bears pacing to and fro through the whitened dead tim- 

 ber, made it appear the creation of a disordered fancy. 

 It did not seem natural to be in close proximity with 

 animals esteemed so ferocious, at liberty in their native 

 wilds, with no desire to attack them and with no disposi- 

 tion on their part to attack us. When the three men 

 joined us and were talking about the bears, one of them 

 shouted, "Here come two more," and before we could 

 realize it we saw two good-sized cinnamons at the feast. 

 They paid no attention whatever to us, but were entirely 

 absorbed in finishing up what the other bears had left. 



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