THE LONE BULL OF SANDY LAKE 231 



of Bear Lake, at our main camp, but a rain that seemed 

 never ending, and which lasted for over three weeks, 

 upset all of our plans, and we had to give up the 

 project. 



The next plan was a trip to a spot called " The Iron 

 Slough," pronounced " slew," where caribou and moose 

 were said to be very plentiful. Up to this time it had 

 been found impracticable to hunt bear from the fact 

 that the brush which everywhere lines the river had 

 not been thinned out by frost. This formed an impen- 

 etrable screen, behind which the bears could come and 

 go at will, so that the human eye could not obtain a 

 glimpse of them. 



The only possible chance was to come upon one una- 

 wares, while he might be crossing the river, or walking 

 along the edge of some sandy beach, at a sharp turn of 

 the stream. We were out at daylight and stayed until 

 dark, day after day, and five times we stayed out all 

 night, but not a solitary bear had we seen, although 

 tracks were provokingly plentiful wherever a sandy 

 point appeared. 



So now the caribou was to be our quarry. We, 

 therefore, left Bear River and paddled over to Swan 

 Lake, where we spent the afternoon and night. Dr. 

 W. E. Hughes and the writer made a circuit of the lake 

 and saw many mallard ducks and some wild geese. We 

 heard coyotes yelping in the woods, and afterward saw 

 two of them awav off on the shore. One stood watch- 



