DEN BEARS. 265 



cut a pole to hang our extra provisions on that 

 we were leaving at the camp. 



He had hardly left the fireplace when I 

 heard him call me. There I found him gazing 

 intently at a telltale frosted hole in the snow. 

 We both came to the same conclusion that it 

 was the breathing hole of some animal and that 

 animal most likely a bear. We decided not to 

 disturb him until our moose hunt was over, so 

 quietly withdrew from the vicinity. I may sa;y 

 to close this incident that two- days later, after 

 killing three moose, we dug out the bear suffi- 

 ciently to locate his shoulder and shot him in 

 his den. 



Another unlocked for place was when land- 

 ing at a portage very late in the fall, was to find 

 a half-sized bear had made his bed simply at the 

 foot of a stump. There was no snow yet on the 

 ground and he woke sufficiently to gaze on us 

 with a stupid stare. The next minute he had 

 his quietus. 



I alwaj's seem to wander away from my sub- 

 ject. Whether it adds or detracts from the in- 

 terest of the article I know not, but I assure 

 the reader it is unintentional, but these long 

 past incidents and adventures will crop up in 

 my memory and before I think to pull myself up 

 they are committed to paper. Well, once again! 



The most likely places to find a bear denned 



