1 70 CAMP-FIRES IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES 



to provide for a rainy day. Her labors would indeed 

 have protected her prize from the eagles, but at that two 

 feet of soft stuff a wolverine would have laughed in 

 ghoulish glee while he laid bare the contents of that 

 cache with about six rakes of his rascally paws. 



As already mentioned, on the previous day, Charlie 

 Smith did see two wolverines in the vicinity of these 

 goat remains, and fired at one of them, without effect. 

 Both ran away across the slide-rock, often halting and 

 defiantly looking backward, with short, stubby tail-wisp 

 held stiffly erect. 



The bear had been feeding on the body of my goat, 

 which lay far out on the slide-rock, and she had eaten 

 all that her stomach could contain. There being still a 

 good quantity of pickings remaining, she had decided to 

 bury it, but from much feeding was very lazy in carry- 

 ing out this intention. She had, however, torn up and 

 carried out about twenty mouthfuls of moss, earth and 

 plant-roots, and dropped them, together with half a 

 dozen sticks, upon the remains. It was in an interval of 

 rest from this arduous labor that we first sighted the ani- 

 mal; and she was starting up to fetch down more mate- 

 rial when I first fired at her. I photographed the bear's 

 cache, but on the films the cache failed to appear. 



At last we finished our work, packed the bear-skin 

 and some of the best of the meat upon one of our horses, 

 and started for camp, riding turn about. We rolled in 

 just before sunset, tired, but puffed up. Mr. Phillips 

 was there; and when he was finally convinced that we 

 really had seen a silver-tip, and shot at it, and brought 



