A BLACK BEAR HUNT 179 



crowned the summit of the height. At last, after a stiff climb, 

 often over precarious footing of loose rocks, a halt was called at 

 a caribou path in order to recover some of our fugitive breath 

 before the encounter which we now knew was fated. When our 

 quarry was finally sighted he showed signs of such alertness and 

 observation that a nearer advance had to be made with extreme 

 caution. Whenever he raised his head it became necessary to 

 stiffen into the rigidity of graven images. When he recommenced 

 his hog-like feeding an advance could be made swiftly and boldly. 

 In this manner an approach was made within eighty yards' dis- 

 tance, when a deliberate shot gave him a severe wound that was 



SUNDAY IN CAMP. 



not fatal. He circled, and then came on straight towards us. It 

 was impossible to decide if he was charging, or if he was making 

 a blind rush. At about forty yards another shot dropped him, 

 but, pulling himself together, he came on again, to fall dead within 

 a few feet, shot through the brain. This seems to be the only 

 shot that will finish a bear straight and lay him out ; the body 

 can be pierced over and over without stopping his career. 



It will be seen by these easily won victories that the bear is 

 not difficult to hunt at the season of the year when he is greedily 

 feeding and laying in stores of fat for his subsistence during winter. 

 His voracious habits render him comparatively mild and sluggish 

 at this period, though after he awakens from his sleep in March, 



