American Big Game in its Haunts 



Numerous stretchers told of their success with 

 bear; but the remains of an old fire in the very 

 heart of our shooting grounds warned us that in 

 this section the bears might have been disturbed; 

 for the Alaskan bear is very wary, and is quick to 

 take alarm at any unusual scent. We came back 

 to our camp on the beach by ten o'clock, and had 

 our first substantial meal of the day; for we had 

 now adopted the Aleutian habit of taking simply a 

 cup of tea and a piece of bread in order to make 

 the earliest of starts each morning. 



After our mid-day breakfast, we usually took a 

 nap until afternoon ; but this day I was not sleepy, 

 and so read for a while, then I loaded my rifle, 

 which I always kept within arm's reach, and was 

 just settling my rugs to turn in, when Stereke gave 

 a sharp bark, and Blake shouted, "Bear." Seiz- 

 ing my rifle I looked up, and walking toward us 

 on the beach, just no yards away, was a good 

 sized bull bear. My dog at once made for him, 

 while Blake jumped for his rifle. The bear was 

 just turning when I fired. He bit for the wound, 

 but uttered no sound, and was just disappearing 

 in the brush when I fired a hasty second. Blake 

 and I followed into the thick alders after the dog, 

 which was savagely attacking the bear. His bark- 

 ing told us where the bear was, and I arrived just 



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