332 WITH GUN AND GUIDE 



East loomed up, and we were once more on the steel 

 rails and bound for home. 



It may be well just here to sum up the results of this 

 journey of close to 10,000 miles in the always exciting 

 search after big game. 



Early in August our monitor advised us by wire to 

 be at Earkerville on September first, and we were there 

 on the second. In the light of our present experience 

 we were at least one month too early, and were we to 

 repeat the trip, we would expect to start in hunting on 

 the first of October. By that time the frost, snow and 

 sleet, the rains and high winds would have denuded 

 the willow brush of its wealth of leaves. The blueberry 

 season would be over, and the spawning salmon would 

 all be dead. 



The grizzly bears, then having neither berries nor 

 salmon to feed upon, would be traveling around con- 

 siderably before " holing up," and the willow brush, 

 naked of leafage, would not act as a screen for them ; 

 they could be seen and followed with a reasonable 

 chance of killing one or more of them. 



The amount of game which fell to our rifles was 

 woefully out of tune with our expectations, but the 

 wealth of experience gained was of such a varied char- 

 acter, that we consider the trip one of the most satis- 

 factory among many which are now happy memories 

 of the past. 



The district of Cariboo, in which we hunted, is one 



