Memories of a Bear Hunter 



some minor mishap, which would prevent locomo- 

 tion. I had therefore made it a rule in camp that 

 if at nightfall any one of the party failed to make 

 his appearance, the other members should turn 

 out and search for him. The usual practice of 

 sportsmen coming from the East to hunt bear was 

 to depend on tile guide to find the bear, to take 

 the sportsman up to it, and then allow the sports- 

 man to do the shooting. I felt that unless the 

 hunter had so much confidence in his rifle and 

 himself as to be willing to tackle these bears alone, 

 he had better not interfere with them. 



In those days, when traveling over the plains or 

 in the mountains, a pack outfit was essential to 

 comfort, its size depending on that of the party. 

 Absolutely essential was an expert packer, expert 

 not only in lashing the loads on the horses, but 

 resourceful in repairing the outfit and skilled in 

 passing over difficult points of the mountains or 

 in getting around or over snowdrifts. In these 

 regards George Herendeen was a first-class man, 

 and he was not at all afraid of a bear. 



The bear killed on this occasion had more vital- 

 ity than any I ever encountered and was the 

 fiercest. In his last struggles, he still endeavored 

 to get across the gulch. To kill him required six 

 bullets from a high-powered rifle loaded with 106 



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