Memories of a Bear Hunter 



cubs came along the trail. In rising to a position 

 for delivering a shot, the rustling of the grass 

 attracted the bear's attention, and she stopped, the 

 cubs sitting up and looking to see what was up. 

 It had become dark, and the distance being 125 

 yards, I determined not to risk a shot, but wait for 

 a more convenient season. They passed on down. 



A reconnaissance the next morning indicated 

 that the bears laid up during the day in a willow 

 thicket near the creek and about a mile above the 

 pile of beef. I selected a place on the hillside near 

 the trail they traveled, to occupy that evening. I 

 was accordingly on hand about sundown, and was 

 soon in position, dressed in a buckskin suit of the 

 color of dead grass. 



The light was becoming dim, when a slight 

 sound came from the thicket above, and soon there 

 appeared on the trail a dark object, followed by 

 two smaller dark spots. I at once realized it was 

 the old bear and the cubs, and prepared for what 

 was to come. The trail along which they ap- 

 proached passed within thirty feet of me. My 

 first shot was delivered when the old she bear was 

 within fifty feet. In the dusk it was not at once 

 fatal, for she rushed toward me with two or three 

 jumps, and then not knowing exactly where I lay, 

 stood on hindfeet to look for me. I was then 



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