'Memories of a Bear Hunter 



and convenient and the camp well sheltered from 

 the wind. Above camp we established a bear bait, 

 leaving there two carcasses of elk, killed not 

 long before. We saw some deer and elk, and 

 reached camp just in time to escape a storm which 

 continued during the night, the rain finally turning 

 into snow when the wind shifted to the northwest. 

 The ground was white with snow next morning. 

 Catlin reported that two white-tail deer were feed- 

 ing within a hundred yards of the tent when he got 

 up. He called me, asking me to get them. I 

 slipped a cartridge into the rifle, stepped out into 

 the snow, and kneeling down, pulled the trigger. 

 In justice to myself I may say that the deer was 

 facing me, and to my disappointment, instead of 

 dropping in his tracks, he raised his tail, and with 

 his companion bounded away out of sight. After 

 breakfast I hunted around the mountains to the 

 south, and discovered two bull elk lying on a hill- 

 side out of reach of the wind, which was blowing 

 hard from the northwest. After some maneuver- 

 ing I crept up to what I supposed was 150 yards. 

 I fired at one of them lying down, and the two 

 sprang up. Another shot at the same animal stand- 

 ing broadside failed to bring it down, and then the 

 elk trotted over the hill into a ravine. I followed 

 rapidly, thinking they must have stopped, and sure 



"5 



