310 PUTTING OUT BAITS FOR BEARS. 



left him, and I found that he had his good points, as he would 

 carry anything that was put on him, even allowing me to take 

 home the head across the saddle, and I do not know anything 

 more awkward to carry. 



The Colonel came in late bringing one deer, and he told me 

 that he had killed three more for bear-baits, a useless waste of 

 meat, as a bear always carries away a deer, and you see no 

 more of him. The remains of the elk would make a capital 

 bait, being too large to carry far, and would last for several 

 days. I returned to it on the second day, and found that a 

 bear had been there, and after eating what it wanted, had 

 covered the body up most carefully, the skin, which I had 

 taken partly off, was put back again, and the edges were 

 fastened to the ground with mud, plastered smoothly down, 

 the legs being entirely covered with mud also. It looked 

 almost as if someone had done it with a trowel, and one could 

 not fancy the clumsy paw of a bear doing it so neatly. 



The next night the Colonel and I watched by the bait, going 

 about an hour before the moon rose, as we always found that 

 their favourite time for coming was within half an hour of its 

 rising; and we had not been there much more than fifteen 

 minutes when we heard some animal coming through the 

 bushes behind us, but unfortunately down wind, so that almost 

 immediately there was a sound something like a sneeze, and 

 the animal made off again faster than it had. come, It was of 

 no use waiting any longer, so we returned to camp. When we 

 went to the place in the morning, we found that a large bear 

 had come within twenty yards of us and had then winded us and 

 made off. I examined the place and found a high rock which 

 overlooked the bait, so I went early the following night and lay 



