THE BEAR "MONARCH." 175 



under an immense oak beside a deep, rocky 

 pool. That evening, around the camp-fire, 

 some strange bear stories were evolved 

 from either the memories or imagination of 

 the hunters. 



In the morning the search for bear signs 

 was resumed and prosecuted until noon 

 without success. Dad was lured by the 

 swarms of trout in the stream, and went 

 fishing. Dad is not a scientific fly fisher 

 man. His favorite method is to select a 

 shady nook on the bank, sit down with his 

 back against a rock, tie a sinker to a large 

 and gaudy fly, and angle on the bottom 

 for the biggest trout he can see. He gen 

 erally carries a book in his pocket, and 

 when the trout remains unresponsive to 

 the allurements of the gaudy fly, he fastens 

 his rod to a bush and reads until he falls 

 asleep. 



In the afternoon one of the party went 

 out over a long, brushy ridge, and the cor 

 respondent pushed on down the gorge in 

 search of bear signs. All the bear tracks 



