222 WITH GUN AND GUIDE 



We were to sit the night out and not to stir until 

 the morning sun had dispelled the mists and clouds 

 that hung around the tops of the snow-clad mountains. 



According to the plan, the writer reached his watch- 

 tower at 4 : 10 P. M., and the situation was something 

 like this : The stream above could be covered with 

 the eyes for one hundred yards ; below, for not more 

 than forty yards. On the other side of the river was a 

 sandy beach, with a background of willow brush. 



The place selected as offering the best chance for a 

 shot was on top of the bank, which here was twenty 

 feet high. The bear, if he came, would have to come in 

 sight from the front, which was the upper end of the 

 curve ; or from the left, through the screen of willows 

 across the river; or from the right, which, of course, 

 was the mainland. 



In the river below, the salmon were thrashing the 

 water as violently as ever, and this interminable fight 

 was kept up all night long, making it extremely diffi- 

 cult to hear any other sounds but those made by them. 

 None of us had any blankets with him, or overcoats. 

 We had been sweating freely from the difficulties of 

 the eight-mile flounderings, and we hardly realized what 

 a change in the temperature the night would produce. 



The writer put on a woolen bathing suit and a 

 sweater- vest. He also had a piece of sail-cloth to use 

 as a cover, if perchance it should rain. 



Kibbee mounted his resting place on the stump with- 



