A Photographic Expedition 149 



for my shelter. At every flash of lightning he would make 

 a dash for the nearest tree, but by the time he reached it 

 the flash would be over and he would come on again. Just 

 as he got within fifty yards of me there came a tremendous 

 bolt, and chained lightning seemed to run down every tree. 

 This was followed, or rather accompanied, by a splitting 

 crash of thunder, and the small bear made one jump into 

 the nearest tree, and never stopped till he got near the top, 

 where he crouched down on a limb, rolled himself into a 

 little ball, with his nose between his feet, and never 

 moved until the disturbance was over. 



When the rain had passed, I returned to where I could 

 watch the trail, and waited for the grizzlies. It was not 

 long before I saw an old bear coming down the trail. He 

 was very large and fat and would, I imagine, have weighed 

 from six to seven hundred pounds, and when I saw him 

 advancing with the usual precautionary tactics, I was well 

 pleased that it had rained, for I imagined that the water 

 must have obliterated all scent, and that this old fellow 

 was sure to run against my wire. But I was mistaken. 

 When some six feet away he stopped, nosed his way slowly 

 up, and stood for some seconds only a few inches from it. 

 Then he became interested and worked a little nearer, and 

 then there was a flash and he immediately stood up on his 

 hind feet, much startled, and looking first in one direction 

 and then in another. Then, like the three bears of the even- 

 ing before, he started an investigation. He dropped down 

 on all-fours, started to follow the wire toward the switch, 

 changed his mind, worked along till he came to the little 

 stick, and finally dug up the spool that was buried there. 

 After thoroughly examining this he returned to the trail 



