NEARLY SUFFOCATED. 167 



That such was possible, could not be doubted ; 

 but it was extremely improbable. The old man had 

 seen the bear enter in the morning, when, doubtless, 

 its stomach was full, after its nocturnal rambles ; 

 and, from his not having approached its den, and 

 kept out of its view, while he paid particular atten- 

 tion that the animal should not get his wind, the 

 odds were all in our favour that Bruin was inside 

 and previous to our advent in the arms of Morpheus. 



On removing the smouldering fire, and the debris 

 by which the mouth of the cavern was choked up, 

 the smoke rolled out in volumes ; but, in attempting 

 to pry into the interior, we got nearly suffocated. 

 The den for the present was inaccessible. As more 

 than an hour's delay did not improve matters, 

 it was agreed to scarify the soil and ashes at the 

 mouth of the cave, so that the trail of any animal 

 entering or leaving would be distinctly shown. 

 Having completed this process to our satisfaction, 

 we bent our steps to camp in a more companionable 

 frame of mind. 



The sun was about two hours high next morning 

 when we started again for the cave. The day was 

 warm and pleasant. From the brush we flushed a 

 young family of roughed grouse (Tetrao umbellus), 

 which were already half-grown. The stupid birds 

 took to a tree, and with outstretched necks gazed 

 with wonder and curiosity at us. 



On inspecting most carefully the entrance of the 

 cave, we found, to our common surprise, two distinct 



