XIV 

 THE UNEXPECTED 



IN hunting, as in other matters, it is more often than not 

 the unexpected that happens. The actual earned runs 

 in the game, especially in the game of grizzly hunting, are 

 few and far between. To make one of them requires a 

 varied knowledge, the skill that comes from long experi- 

 ence, dogged perseverance, and an infinitude of patience. 

 And the memory of success is a joy forever. But the 

 candid hunter, when he looks backward, will own that, 

 for the most part, the grizzlies he has worked hardest for 

 are the ones he never got, and that more opportunities are 

 grasped than made. 



Some years ago Mr. M. W. Pope, of Baltimore, and 

 myself were hunting wild goats in northern British Colum- 

 bia. This was virtually the only game to be found in that 

 part of the country, and there were none too many goats. 

 There were, it is true, a few sheep, but they were so few 

 that we did not consider them; and as for bears, there were 

 practically none. 



I had but recently spent three months in the same 

 region, trying to photograph game, but with little success. 

 At a large lick I had seen about twenty goats, and in an- 

 other valley a few sheep, but I did not see a single deer or 

 bear, and only two or three bear tracks. 



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