408 EXPEDIENTS TO ROUSE BEARS. 



hunting. If the snow is in good order, few things are more 

 pleasurable than roaming the northern forests on Skidor : 

 the mountain and the valley, the river and the lake, are then 

 traversed with rapidity and ease ; but should the snow, on 

 the contrary, be in bad order, it becomes in that case a toil 

 rather than an amusement ; for one's pace is that of a snail, 

 and nothing but the excitement of the chase would ever 

 induce a man to submit to the slavery and fatigue he must 

 necessarily undergo. 



To give us a better chance of getting the bear on foot, 

 many shots were fired in the course of the afternoon ; so 

 that if he happened to be lying in the vicinity, he might take 

 the alarm and leave his bed. But all our endeavours to 

 rouse the beast proved fruitless, and at dusk, therefore, we 

 halted to prepare quarters for the night. 



A well wooded and sheltered spot was selected for that 

 purpose, and a suitable pine soon felled ; but as we had only 

 a single axe, some time elapsed before the fire was kindled, 

 and the bivouac in order. Ample justice was then done to 

 the contents of the kit, after which we resigned ourselves to 

 repose. 



On the following morning, at a pretty early hour, the 

 search was resumed. As on the preceding day, the peasant 

 and myself formed line, so to say, and beat the forest before 

 us ; and as then, it once more rung with our shouts and the 

 report of my gun, which I repeatedly discharged ; the dogs 

 also occasionally opened upon birds, which added to the 

 clamour. Thus we proceeded for three or four hours, but 

 still no bear was forthcoming. 



At length, however, the dogs challenged at some little 

 distance ahead, and in a manner clearly indicating they had 



