94 Hunting the Grisly 



with black, ice-skimmed tarns; and the dark 

 spruces clustered also in the higher gorges, 

 and were scattered thinly along the moun- 

 tain sides. The snow which had fallen lay 

 in drifts and streaks, while where the wind 

 had scope it was blown off, and the ground 

 left bare. 



For two hours I walked onward across the 

 ridges and valleys. Then among some scat- 

 tered spruces, where the snow lay to the depth 

 of half a foot, I suddenly came on the fresh, 

 broad trail of a grisly. The brute was evi- 

 dently roaming restlessly about in search of a 

 winter den, but willing, in passing, to pick up 

 any food that lay handy. At once I took the 

 trail, traveling above and to one side, and 

 keeping a sharp lookout ahead. The bear was 

 going -across wind, and this made my task 

 easy. I walked rapidly, though cautiously; 

 and it was only in crossing the large patches 

 of bare ground that I had to fear making a 

 noise. Elsewhere the snow muffled my foot- 

 steps, and made the trail so plain that I scarce- 

 ly had to waste a glance upon it, bending my 

 eyes always to the front. 



At last, peering cautiously over a ridge 

 crowned with broken rocks, I saw my quarry, 

 a big, burly bear, with silvered fur. He had 



