220 HUNTING TRIPS 



Early next morning we were over at the 

 elk carcass, and, as we expected, found that 

 the bear had eaten his fill at it during the 

 night. His tracks showed him to be an im- 

 mense fellow, and were so fresh that we 

 doubted if he had left long before we ar- 

 rived ; and we made up our minds to follow 

 him up and try to find his lair. The 

 bears that lived on these mountains had ev- 

 idently been little disturbed; indeed, the In- 

 dians and most of the white hunters are 

 rather chary of meddling with " Old 

 Ephraim," as the mountain men style the 

 grizzly, unless they get him at a disadvan- 

 tage; for the sport is fraught with some 

 danger and but small profit. The bears thus 

 seemed to have very little fear of harm, and 

 we thought it likely that the bed of the one 

 who had fed on the elk would not be far 

 away. 



My companion was a skilful tracker, and 

 we took up the trail at once. For some dis- 

 tance it led over the soft, yielding carpet of 

 moss and pine needles, and the footprints 



