American Big Game in its Haunts 



We cautiously landed behind some big rocks, and 

 quickly removing our boots my hunter and I were 

 soon on shore and noiselessly peering through the 

 brush to the place where we had last seen the bear; 

 but he had disappeared. 



The wind was favorable, and we knew that he 

 had not been alarmed. It took us some time to 

 hit off his trail, for he had wandered in all direc- 

 tions before leaving this place; but after it was 

 once found, his footprints in the thick moss made 

 tracking easy, and we moved rapidly on. We had 

 not expected a long stalk, and our feet were badly 

 punished by the devil clubs which were here most 

 abundant. We could see by the tracks that the 

 bear had not been alarmed, and knew that we 

 should soon come up with him. After a mile or so 

 the trail led in the direction of a low marsh where 

 the coast line makes a big bend inward, so ap- 

 parently we had crossed a long point into a bay 

 beyond. 



I at once felt sure that the bear was near, hav- 

 ing probably come to this beach to feed, and as 

 Nikolai looked at me and smiled I knew he, too, 

 felt that we were on a warm trail. 



We had just begun to descend toward the shore 

 when I thought I heard a slight noise ahead. 

 Keeping my eyes fixed in that direction, I whis- 



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