Memories of a Bear Hunter 



We remained for ten days at the camp on Warm 

 Spring Creek without succeeding in seeing any 

 grizzly bears. Along the; stream in the foothills 

 deer, especially white-tails, were very abundant. 

 My notes say that in one day thirty-two white-tails 

 were seen. They were not wild, but quick shooting 

 was required to get one when routed out of its bed. 

 Still, it was not difficult to keep the camp in meat, 

 although five healthy men living an outdoor life 

 consumed a good deal. Besides this, we supplied 

 Tendoy and his outfit with quite a number of deer. 



During this time, Messiter visited the Bannock 

 camp, partly for the purpose of trading off one of 

 his horses bought at Carroll, and incidentally to 

 see Indian ways and to learn something about the 

 hostile Bannocks, who were reported to be coming 

 our way from the Lemhi reservation. He took 

 with him my bear skin to be dressed by the Ban- 

 nocks, who have not that fear of handling bear 

 skins that the Crows have. 39 



The next day Messiter returned mounted on a 

 handsome, well-built and high-headed gray horse, 

 which he had received in exchange for a Winches- 

 ter rifle and $30, in the Crow camp. I wondered 

 why these Indians had parted with such a fine 

 horse, but was not long in learning the reason, for 

 the next day, when we started out on a hunt, he 



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