1 84 A SHOOTING TRIP TO KAMCHATKA 



till we reached the same ridge. A few minutes later 

 two other bears came in sight to oar left, apparently 

 undisturbed by my shots. They were quietly playing 

 together and rolling themselves on the moss ; one of 

 them would occasionally make a rush at his companion 

 as if to frighten him, and both would then gallop 

 downhill at full speed, stopping suddenly to begin the 

 same oame over aoain. Followed bv the General, 

 I slid out of view, and making a small detour to 

 leeward, crept stealthily up a boulder, from the top of 

 which I discovered the unsuspicious pair a hundred 

 and twenty yards below me. Again the report of my 

 rifle aroused the slumbering echoes of the mountains, 

 bringing down the furthest animal, which dropped 

 motionless on the snow. A second shot wounded the 

 other, which dashed frantically uphill with a heavy 

 growl. I let him approach, and then gave him his 

 quietus at close quarters full in the chest. Both 

 animals proved smaller than the first one, but their 

 coats were darker and in good order. Three bears in 

 an hour's time was no common quarry, and I began 

 to think it was time to turn my attention to sheep. 



Leaving our (juarry to be skinned on the way back, 

 we decided to pursue our course to higher ground in 

 search of bighorn. We started accordingly ploughing 

 our way through the light mosses, and carefully spying 



