THE BIG BROWN BEARS 295 



Mr. Kidder gives the following account of the bear 

 which charged his friend Mr. Blake, which would in- 

 dicate that the charge of the Kadiak is not at all like 

 that of the grizzly, which wounded and charging would 

 certainly not stop so long as he was able to keep mov- 

 ing toward his enemy. Mr. Blake had carelessly left 

 his coat containing his ammunition when wading a 

 stream during the stalk, and at the time of the charge 

 both he and his native attendant had fired their last 

 shots. Had the bear been a grizzly there certainly 

 would have been a fatal ending to the chase. The 

 bear, when the stalk began, was feeding in a meadow. 

 Mr. Kidder says : " I saw them [his friend and native 

 hunter] disappear among the trees and then turned my 

 glasses on the bear. At the first shot he sprang back 

 in surprise, while Blake's bullet went high. The bear 

 now located the shot and began a quick retreat to the 

 woods, when one of my friend's bullets struck him, roll- 

 ing him over. He instantly regained his feet and con- 

 tinued making for cover, walking slowly and looking 

 back over his shoulder all the while. Blake now fired 

 another shot, and again the bear was apparently badly 

 hit. He moved at such a slow pace that I thought he 

 had surely received a mortal wound. 



" Entirely against orders, Ivan now shot three times 

 in quick succession, hitting the bear with one shot in 

 the hind leg, his other shots being misses. Blake now 

 rushed after the bear, with his hunter following some 

 fifty yards behind, and approached to within ten steps, 

 when he fired his last cartridge, evidently hitting the 

 bear hard, which fell upon its head, but once more re- 

 gaining its feet, continued toward the woods. At this 



