MY LAST HUNT ON THE KINZUA. 85 



fire against. First we would build the fire out a few feet from 

 the log after scraping the snow away. Then we would throw a 

 few hemlock boughs over a pole laid in crotches and then move 

 the fire down against the log, throw a few boughs on the ground 

 where the fire had been moved from and the camp was complete 

 in a very few minutes. 



We now began to fear that some one would get in ahead of 

 us and kill the bear and we would lose bear, trap and all. Bill 

 said that we would follow so "dash-darn" close that we would 

 be up in time to attend the funeral. We were so close up that we 

 were no longer bothered only a little while at a time as we would 

 soon overtook any one who hit the trail ahead of us and fol- 

 lowed it. 



The bear again turned east which took us across the road 

 which runs from Coudersport to Emporium in Cameron County. 

 We were now back in Potter County and only 15 miles from home. 

 Bruin here turned south and true to his nature, led us through 

 all the windfalls and laurel patches to be found and occasionally 

 would break down a few laurel and act as though he intended 

 to camp for a time but apparently would change his mind and 

 go on again. 



We were now on the waters of the Conley and night was 

 fast coming on. The trail led across a little bog and we were 

 looking for water and a suitable place to camp, when Bill called 

 my attention to a man standing on the trail watching us. When 

 we came to him it proved to be a neighbor of ours. Mr. Ephraim 

 Reed, who was hunting in there and said that his camp was only 

 a little way down the hollow and asked us to go down and stay 

 over night. We were glad to do so. Mr. Reed said that there 

 were a good many hunters in that locality so we were up and 

 on the trail before it was fairly light. 



We were in a section where there was a great deal of laurel 

 and Bruin continued to make camps but as often would change 

 his mind and move on and Bill thought he had concluded to go 

 to the can brake in Virginia. Often when he would go into a 

 wind jam or laurel thicket, we would separate, one taking a circuit 

 on one side of the thicket, the other on the other side, meeting 



