Old Ephraim. 3" 



owls hooted dismally from the tops of the tall trees, and 

 two or three times a harsh wailing cry, probably the voice 

 of some lynx or wolverine, arose from the depths of the 

 woods. At last, as we were rising to leave, we heard the 

 sound of the breaking of a dead stick, from the spot 

 where we knew the carcass lay. It was a sharp, sudden 

 noise, perfectly distinct from the natural creaking and 

 snapping of the branches ; just such a sound as would be 

 made by the tread of some heavy creature. " Old Ephra- 

 im " had come back to the carcass. A minute afterward, 

 listening with strained ears, we heard him brush by some 

 dry twigs. It was entirely too dark to go in after him ; 

 but we made up our minds that on the morrow he should 

 be ours. 



Early next morning we were over at the elk carcass, 

 and, as we expected, found that the bear had eaten his fill 

 at it during the night. His tracks showed him to be an 

 immense fellow, and were so fresh that we doubted if he 

 had left long before we arrived ; and we made up our 

 minds to follow him up and try to find his lair. The 

 bears that lived on these mountains had evidently been 

 little disturbed ; indeed, the Indians and most of the 

 white hunters are rather chary of meddling with " Old 

 Ephraim," as the mountain men style the grizzly, unless 

 they get him at a disadvantage ; for the sport is fraught 

 with some danger and but small profit. The bears thus 

 seemed to have very little fear of harm, and we thought 

 it likely that the bed of the one who had fed on the elk 

 would not be far away. 



My companion was a skilful tracker, and we took up 



