234 ADVENTURES OF DR. ALLEN. 



Presently we came to anotner lake, and here we sepa- 

 rated. I started on a trail up the mountain, and was soon 

 far from the lake. While resting, I was surprised to see a 

 large silver-tip bear rushing up the trail on which I had just 

 come. Suddenly it raised on its haunches to look below, 

 and this was my opportunity. I leveled my rifle, took a bead 

 on the top of its head and fired. 



I shall never forget the report of the gun, nor the scream 

 of the bear, which burst forth together. The echoes of the 

 shot finally died away in the distance, but the roars did not 

 cease. The ball had struck the bear just below the ear and 

 cut an artery, and the blood spurted at every jump he gave. 

 He went nearly to the lake, where my comrade found him 

 dead. He was a large male and as fat as a seal. We decided 

 to leave him where he was until we had explored the moun- 

 tain top. 



Our trip up the mountain was resumed and the higher 

 we went, the colder it became. After about three hours we 

 reached the top, and a blast of wind struck us. But we were 

 richly paid for the ascent. It seemed as though the earth 

 were all beneath us and that we stood like Moses of old, upon 

 the summit of the world. All other mountains looked like 

 mere foothills. We stood between earth and sky, overlook- 

 ing a thousand valleys and winding streams. The foliage, 

 far below, was grand beyond description and of all colors 

 and tints. No life existed on the summit save our own, 

 but down on the rugged sides among the lakes and springs 

 and vegetation, thousands of elks, deer and sheep had their 

 haunts. The wind seemed fairly to pierce our bodies,, but 

 we took the sheltered side of the mountain and descended 

 as fast as we could. 



We soon came in sight of our bear, and, to our great sur- 

 prise, found another of his kind eating the one we had killed. 



