Hunting in the Selkirks 165 



looking savage danced round him with shrill whoops, 

 and the tall frontiersman looked quietly on. 



Our prize was a large black bear, with two curi- 

 ous brown streaks down his back, one on each side 

 the spine. We skinned him and camped by the car- 

 cass, as it was growing late. To take the chill off 

 the evening air we built a huge fire, the logs roaring 

 and crackling. To one side of it we made our beds 

 of balsam and hemlock boughs; we did not build 

 a brush lean-to, because the night seemed likely to 

 be clear. Then we supped on sugarless tea, frying- 

 pan bread, and quantities of bear meat, fried or 

 roasted and how very good it tasted only those 

 know who have gone through much hardship and 

 some little hunger, and have worked violently for 

 several days without flesh food. After eating our 

 fill we stretched ourselves around the fire; the leap- 

 ing sheets of flame lighted the tree trunks round 

 about, causing them to start out against the caver- 

 nous blackness beyond, and reddened the inter- 

 lacing branches that formed a canopy overhead. 

 The Indian sat on his haunches, gazing steadily and 

 silently into the pile of blazing logs, while the white 

 hunter and I talked together. 



The morning after killing Bruin, we again took up 

 our march, heading up stream, that we might go 

 to its sources amid the mountains, where the snow 

 fields fed its springs. It was two full days' journey 

 thither, but we took much longer to make it, as we 



