146 BIG GAME SHOOTING IN ALASKA chap. 



a beast weighing fully 300 lbs. did not appeal to me. Whilst 

 loading again I heard a scuffle behind me, and turned to see 

 the native bolting like mad, rifle and all. Bitterly I regretted 

 the absence of Nicolai, who would, I believe, have stood his 

 ground, but it was no time for regrets, and remembering I 

 had only three bullets left in the magazine, and moreover, 

 that if my next shot was a bad one it might be fatal to me. 

 I sat down quickly, resting my elbow on my knee, and let 

 the old bear have it in the chest at about 15 yards. She 

 came on a few paces as if nothing had happened, and, as the 

 Americans say, " I guessed the game was up." About five 

 yards away she turned a somersault and rolled over nearly 

 on top of me. Meanwhile, having loaded again, I shot 

 the nearest cub in the chest, again being nearly knocked 

 over as he fell over my right leg. Then, jumping up, I 

 waved the empty rifle in the face of the other cub and 

 shouted at him. He swerved and dashed down the hill into 

 some bushes below. Being furious at the scare they gave 

 me, I crammed in my last cartridge and clean missed this 

 cub at about 15 paces. How it was possible to make such a 

 bad shot I cannot say, but probably when the real danger 

 was over I was rather jumpy. Be that as it may, I felt like 

 sitting down on the dead she-bear and smoking a pipe to 

 think matters over, and prepare a suitable welcome for my 

 native, who was slowly returning from a distance. He spoke 

 a little English, and after my re-marks, telling him what I 

 thought of him and of various members of his family, and so 

 on, he replied smiling, " Me see old woman bear catchum 

 my brother same way ; that no good, you bet." Fearing 

 lest I should kick him if we prolonged the conversation, and 

 telling him to start skinning the two bears, I walked home to 

 camp, and sent my third native, Nikita, out to his assistance. 



