IT. BRUIN THE BEAR. 25 



In the early morning we sallied forth. Over the moun- 

 tains and in the silent valleys we wandered somewhat 

 aimlessly seeking our prey. Not a shot did we fire ; not 

 even a bull- frog did we see. Animate life was steeped 

 in that winter torpor which supervened, 



' ' When the mesmerizer snow 

 With his hand's first sweep 

 Put the earth to sleep." 



The cold was intense, our fingers were numbed, I could 

 scarce grasp my Winchester repeating rifle. Crossing a 

 stream bridged with ice my foot had gone through ; my 

 boot was encrusted with ice, and rny trouser was frozen 

 like a board. Hark ! What was that crackling of the 

 branches away to our left ? My companion looked up at 

 me and murmured " bear " ! His face had not the eager 

 expression of the genuine hunter. For myself I looked 

 round for something big enough to hide behind. We 

 waited breathlessly. No further sound broke upon the 

 stillness. When we were quite sure there was nothing 

 moving we proceeded in the direction of the sound. 

 " No trace of our ranger here," we said in tones to which 

 we endeavoured to give a sorrowful ring of disappoint- 

 ment. It was perhaps only the vegetation groaning at 

 the cold. At. all events we saw no bear that (Jay; but 

 when in the evening we sat before the stove, and the 

 blood once more coursed freely in our veins we could 

 speak more fully of our disappointment. If only it had 

 been a bear after all ! 



The black bear with which I had this thrilling 

 adventure is found in North America, and there repre- 

 sents the brown bear of Europe. In common with this 

 and other members of his family (the grizzly of the Rocky 

 mountains, the Polar bear of the Greenland ice-floes ? the 



