78 A SPORTSMAN'S EDEN. 



the Similkameen district when I was there last 

 year, two Indians having been killed in the 

 neighbourhood by grizzlies within the month. 

 There was near Alison's one noted bear-hunter, 

 whom I was very anxious to obtain as a guide, 

 but unfortunately he was away. This man had 

 lost two brothers, killed by bears, and pursued a 

 regular vendetta against the whole family of 

 grizzly in consequence. It is not every Indian 

 hunter who hunts bears, and those who do make 

 a business of it, and they only, have any idea 

 where to look for bruin, who is about as difficult 

 to find, except by chance, as any beast of the 

 chase I know. After all, old S.'s bear-story was 

 the best I heard ; I don't vouch for its truth. 

 Let the responsibility rest on the old man's 

 shoulders. He and (let us say) Seth Davis were 

 packing together in spring through the Hope 

 mountains. It was very early morning, and the 

 horses had strayed. Seth and the old man were 

 out looking for them. The horses they had lost 

 were eleven in number, and by-and-by Seth made 

 them out in the gray dawn, feeding on the slope 

 of a hill half a mile away. To get to this the 

 two men had to cross a canon and scramble up 

 a very steep bank immediately overlooking the 

 place where the horses were feeding. Very 

 much out of breath and out of temper, the two 



