228 THE SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE ; 







ten o'clock the atmosphere became slightly hazy, and we 

 discovered that the satellite of the earth was encircled by 

 a luminous halo, which has long been attributed to re- 

 fraction and reflection of the rays of light by the pres- 

 ence of minute snow-crystals in the upper strata of the 

 air. The existence of this phenomenon, therefore, gave 

 rise to no small degree of anxiety on my part ; and the 

 feeling of despondency was momentarily increased by the 

 commencement of a severe snow-storm before three 

 o'clock the next morning. This storm continued without 

 abatement for thirty hours, and during this period there 

 had fallen twenty inches of snow. The severity of the 

 storm kept us confined to our camp throughout the entire 

 day; and, consequently, the 4th of November, 1884, will 

 long be remembered by us for other reasons than the 

 election of a Democratic President of the United States. 

 The question uppermost in my mind during this gloomy 

 period was that involving the capture of the bear. The 

 captain expressed the firm conviction that the bear would 

 now disappear within his den, and remain there until the 

 ides of March had made their appearance. This was very 

 disagreeable information for the author, and he sought to 

 controvert the opinion thus expressed by the citation of 

 the doubts expressed on this point by Frank Forester 

 and other authorities. It must, however, be admitted that 

 this self-imposed task was found to be very difficult^ inas- 

 much as these authorities generally acknowledge that old 

 bruin usually dens up with the coming of the first heavy 

 snow in autumn, and very rarely leaves his winter chamber 

 until the approach of genial spring. The author will be 



