HUNTING ON THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



173 



the foot of the descent, the herder was 

 not visible to the newcomers until they 

 came out of a thicket a few paces away. 

 The smaller animal saw him at once, 

 gave a shrill squeal, and plunged side- 

 wise into the brush; the other turned 

 quickly and came straight for the 

 herder like a runaway locomotive on a 

 down grade. The sheepman suddenly 

 and poignantly realized that he was 

 idly lingering in the path, not of a cow 

 elk, but of a mother grizzly bear. 



Somehow he got into a tree before 

 Mrs. Silvertip could get a purchase on 

 his legs and there he clung gazing wist- 

 fully at the rifle he had dropped in his 



hurry to reach safety, while the bear 

 walked around the tree, clawing the 

 bark and gnashing her teeth, until the 

 cub cautiously reappeared, sniffing and 

 whining plaintively. The mother bear 

 squatted on her haunches and considered 

 the situation for a moment ; then got up 

 and lumbered toward the sheep, which 

 were huddled together and bleating in 

 fear. 



"Well, I sets up there about four 

 hours," the sheepman drawled. "She 

 goes down an' kills a sheep for the cub 

 and comes back before I can get off the 

 limb I'm on. Then she goes an' kills 

 another sheep an' I can't get as far as 



Both Good Hunters. 



the quarry is a handsome 250 pound white tail buck killed at the shore of lower priest lake, kootenai 



county, kaniksu national forest, idaho. 



