112 BIG GAME SHOOTING IN ALASKA chap. 



push a way through it with a view of getting a shot at the 

 bear, even if we were fortunate enough to walk almost on 

 top of him. At the head of the ravine, and on both sides, 

 the hills towered up some looo feet with steep sides. There 

 was just a chance that, by getting to some high point which 

 overlooked the ravine, it might be possible to spot the bear 

 if he was still in the alders. Giving Nicolai my glasses, I 

 told him to hurry up the mountain side, and if he could see 

 anything, to wave his hat. He and Little both started 

 climbing, whilst I remained on the look-out below. Shortly 

 afterwards I saw Nicolai standing on a rocky eminence some 

 500 feet above me, and after a long scrutiny with the glasses 

 he began waving his hat. The next move in the game was 

 for me to get up to him, and after much puffing and blowing, 

 and scrambling over rocks, I reached the coin cCavantage, 

 only to find that I could see no sign of the bear, although 

 both Little and Nicolai declared that he was lying down in 

 a place which did not appear thick enough to hide such a big 

 beast. Then the problem to be solved was how to get a 

 chance of a fair shot at the creature. As the wind was blowing 

 up the ravine towards us, I decided to send Nicolai round 

 to the far side of the alders, to a spot where he could get up 

 wind of the bear and within 150 yards of him, with instruc- 

 tions to light his pipe when.there, and remain quietly smoking. 

 This I hoped would have the effect of rousing the bear and 

 make him take off up the hillside, in which case he would 

 give me a good shot in the open. But I had not then, 

 nor have I even to-day, mastered the principle on which the 

 wind blows in Alaska, especially in the gullies along the 

 mountain sides. On this occasion it appeared to be blowing 

 from the low ground upwards, at an angle of about 45°, for 

 after Nicolai had vainly smoked his pipe for five minutes 



