Memories of a Bear Hunter 



on the carcass when the dog drove him up the 

 tree. I saw that the work was that of a skunk 

 bear, or wolverine. This was the third time 

 during my travels in the mountains that I had seen 

 this animal in life. It is the largest of the weasel 

 family, and seems to have the head and face of 

 the common skunk, and the body of the bear. It 

 sits up on its hindfeet like a bear or a badger, and 

 is remarkable for its long claws. In a fight, it is 

 said to be the "boss" of the mountains. The dog, 

 however, easily makes it take a tree. In this case 

 Nip soon announced that it was again treed, but 

 as I approached, it jumped to the ground, and 

 away the two went until the dog overtook it. 

 I soon gave up the pursuit. 



We crossed the range on what was supposed to 

 be Jones' Pass. It was not that, but the mistake 

 was not discovered until we were too far down 

 the mountain to turn back. At last we came to a 

 ledge of rock in the trail which required a jump 

 down of three feet, and as our pack animals were 

 loaded with two and a half months' supply of pro- 

 visions, it required all Herendeen's experience as 

 a mountain man to get the loaded horses below 

 the ledge. At last, however, it was done without 

 unpacking, and a little later, coming to a small 

 meadow with water, we made camp. The reason 



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