78 Hunting the Grisly 



whether in the sand, on the edge of a rapid 

 plains river, on the muddy margin of a pond, 

 or in the oozy moss of a clear, cold mountain 

 spring. One hot August afternoon, as I was 

 clambering down a steep mountain-side near 

 Pend Oreille Lake, I heard a crash some dis 

 tance below, which showed that a large beast 

 was afoot. On making my way toward the 

 spot, I found I had disturbed a big bear as it 

 w^as lolling at ease in its bath ; the discolored 

 water showed where it had scrambled hastily 

 out and galloped off as I approached. The 

 spring welled out at the base of a high granite 

 rock, forming a small pool of shimmering 

 broken crystal. The soaked moss lay in a deep 

 wet cushion round about, and jutted over the 

 edges of the pool like a floating shelf. Grace 

 ful, water-loving ferns swayed to and fro. 

 Above, the great conifers spread their mur 

 muring branches, dimming the light, and 

 keeping out the heat; their brown boles sprang 

 from the ground like buttressed columns. On 

 the barren mountain-side beyond the heat was 

 oppressive. It was small wonder that Bruin 

 should have sought the spot to cool his gross 

 carcass in the fresh spring water. 



The bear is a solitary beast, and although 

 many may assemble together, in what looks 



