94 Hunting the Grisly 



with black, ice-skimmed tarns; and the dark 

 spruces clustered also in the higher gorges, 

 and were scattered thinly along the moun 

 tain sides. The snow which had fallen lay 

 in drifts and streaks, while where the wind 

 had scope it was blown off, and the ground 

 left bare. 



For two hours I walked onward across the 

 ridges and valleys. Then among some scat 

 tered spruces, where the snow lay to the depth 

 of half a foot, I suddenly came on the fresh, 

 broad trail of a grisly. The brute was evi 

 dently roaming restlessly about in search of a 

 winter den, but willing, in passing, to pick up 

 any food that lay handy. At once I took the 

 trail, traveling above and to one side, and 

 keeping a sharp lookout ahead. The bear was 

 going across wind, and this made my task 

 easy. I walked rapidly, though cautiously; 

 and it was only in crossing the large patches 

 of bare ground that I Had to fear making a 

 noise. Elsewhere the snow muffled my foot 

 steps, and made the trail so plain that T scarce 

 ly had to waste a glance upon it, bending my 

 eyes always to the front. 



At last, peering cautiously over a ridge 

 crowned with broken rocks, I saw my quarry, 

 a big, burly bear, with silvered fur. He had 



