BEAR-HUNTING 



again. So much for perseverance and good solicit- 

 ing! Now how to handle the business offered? It 

 was a large order. 



The glasses made out the game now plainly. 

 There were three of them, great, shambling crea- 

 tures, full of the look of rude, coarse strength. 

 Their coats were dark, as I could see even at four 

 miles' distance. That meant that all the spring they 

 had been high up in the mountains and had not sun- 

 burned or rubbed their hides. Good specimens they 

 surely were, in full coat; very typical of their 

 species, not with yellow, mangy hides rubbed full 

 of bare patches. 



Apparently the bears were still uneasy over some- 

 thing. Once in a while all three took a long run, 

 up toward the snow-field on the farther peak. 

 Sometimes two of them would stop and fight, box- 

 ing savagely. The third nearly always kept behind, 

 and more often lay down, as though he had fed 

 fully and did not care to travel. The appearance of 

 rude, shaggy strength which the great bears pre- 

 sented was impressive, indeed fascinating. They 

 were bears real ones, wild ones, big ones with no 

 tin cans to occupy them and no iron bars to restrain 

 them. It was a good, large order. My glasses 

 brought them into full view though they were four 

 miles or more away. I recall few more interesting 



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