1 6 BIG GAME SHOOTING IN ALASKA chap. 



or that their horns are far superior to those of the ordinary 

 Ovis dalli of the Kenai mountains. On this trip it would be 

 necessary to tow boats up the west branch of the Sushitna 

 River, a distance of some 60 or 80 miles, and so to reach 

 the ground lying on the divide between the head-waters of 

 that river and the Kuskoquim. From information supplied 

 by an American gentleman who visited this country a few 

 seasons ago, at the head of an expedition sent out by the 

 Geographical Survey Department of Washington, I have 

 every reason to believe that the neighbourhood is particularly 

 good for big game, especially on the western side of the 

 divide between these two rivers. This is a trip well suited 

 to a sportsman desirous of getting off the beaten track ; and 

 if no one else attempt it in the near future, it is the intention 

 of the present writer some day to pay this country a visit. 



If, however, distance be no objection, and the largest 

 bears are wanted, the sportsman should harden his heart and 

 set out at once for Kodiak, or Unga Island. The bears on 

 the islands of Kodiak, Afognak, and Uganuk belong to the 

 form known to American naturalists as Urstis middendorffi, 

 and appear to be the largest brown bears in the world. 

 They are, however, no longer very numerous on these 

 islands, and a whole spring spent there might only result 

 in the capture of one or two. In spite of what has been 

 said by others, I am inclined to think that there is really 

 only a slight difference between the size of these bears 

 and that attained by U. dalli gyas found along the Alaska 

 Peninsula. 



The best mode of procedure is to hire a small vessel 

 from Kodiak or Unga and coast along to the most noted 

 bays on the Pacific side of the Peninsula ; the bears, 

 according to men who profess to know the country well. 



