THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR 191 



There was no sound, at least none met my 

 ears, nothing moved, there seemed no life down 

 there, but death might lurk in every shadow. The 

 snow had laid a finger on all Nature's lips, and a 

 breath floated up through the gorge, that whis- 

 pered one word, "Silence!" or was it "Death!" 

 I am not sure which. At length I could feel my 

 curiosity beckoning me below in the forest gloom, 

 but why? Could I not see quite well anything 

 that might saunter by? Or would not every 

 passing sound float up my way? Perhaps so 

 and perhaps not. At any rate I must explore 

 so weird a place, and stealthily, too, if only to 

 harmonize with it all. I looked carefully along 

 the top of the ridge for a place to descend, and 

 soon found a little game trail that ran quite ab- 

 ruptly down. The steepness and covering of 

 snow made a footing entirely too uncertain, and 

 seated as I was at the top, it occurred to me that 

 I might slide down toboggan-fashion, minus the 

 toboggan. I soon found myself sliding along 

 rapidly, and to my delight, very silently, too. 

 My new method of stalking worked splendidly 

 for some 60 or 70 feet, when I finally slowed up 

 and came to a full stop at the foot of a great pine 

 tree that had conveniently fallen, so that after 

 carefully rising so as to swing my foot over the 



