266 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS 



Smoke had hunted with me in many sections of country 

 and though at different times I owned many good hounds 

 and hunted in company with other owners who had dogs 

 they had reason to be proud of, yet Smoke never failed to 

 prove his superiority. His keenness of scent, as illus- 

 trated above, was wonderful; his speed was great, his 

 courage undaunted, and it was this latter quality that 

 caused his death in the Temiscaming country. I was 

 camped for a few days on the border of the Marie River, 

 in Northern Ontario. I had gone out from the shack, 

 leaving my rifle behind me, to examine some rock not 

 more than two hundred yards distant. While busy break- 

 ing off some quartz, I heard Smoke 's voice down near the 

 riverside, and its sound plainly told me that he had some- 

 thing at bay. Fearing it to be a porcupine, one of the 

 most miserable, exasperating creatures that infest our 

 Canadian woods, I ran in the direction of the sound at 

 top speed, hoping to save the dog from filling his mouth 

 with quills. When within about fifty yards of where the 

 dog was barking I noticed that he had treed a very big 

 black bear. I immediately rushed back to the shack, grab- 

 bed my rifle and started for what I thought would be sure 

 game. Before I had covered half the distance there was a 

 sudden crash and then an ominous silence. Hurrying on- 

 ward I arrived at the spot to find poor Smoke literally 

 torn to shreds. The bear had evidently seen me on my 

 first trip and, coming down the tree, had been attacked 

 by the dog. In close quarters there could be but one 

 result, and the dismembered carcass showed how savage 

 and destructive had been the work. 



My companion, who had been out fishing on the river, 

 arrived about half an hour later, and we vowed to avenge 

 the death of the best dog that we had ever owned. Pack- 

 ing away sufficient food to last us for a long day's hunt 

 we were within fifteen minutes hot on the trail. We had 

 no difficulty in following the bear for the first hour ; then 

 the trail led us into a dense swamp. The gloom of this 

 huge forest of cedars made it difficult to see any distance, 

 but by cautious, careful work we gradually worked our 



