104 BEAR STORIES 



the moment, and continue as first proposed, my 

 companion taking the left slope, while I was to 

 go around to the right. Lieut. Waite had a 

 regulation military carbine 45-70 and a service 

 revolver. I was armed with a 50 cal. Winchester 

 Express and a 45 Colt's revolver. After separating 

 we hunted continuously, expecting to meet about 

 two hours later. I skirted the wood for a while 

 and saw some bear signs, but they were not very 

 fresh. A little later on I came to the bed of a 

 dried up brook, a very common thing at that 

 season (September), in Wyoming. Here on the 

 dry sand and mud I saw the largest bear track 

 I had ever set eyes upon, but on this dry soil I 

 could not judge of its freshness. As it followed 

 down the dry water way, 1 thought I might just 

 as well keep on the track for a time, the more so 

 as the banks of tne brook were steep. I had 

 gone on in this way for about twenty minutes, 

 carefully scanning the hill on each side, when I 

 got sight of my bear. I thought that possibly 

 he had heard me coming and had left the brook 

 to climb up the bank. Whatever may have been 

 the cause he seemed in no hurry to get away. He 

 was about thirty yards off and right above me. 

 As he moved upwards his rump was about the on- 

 ly part of his body exposed, except that I got a 

 momentary glimpse of half of his head when he 

 turned it to look at me. The time was too short 

 to get a sure shot and the surface of the animal 



