BEAR HUNTING 263 



indeed it is in thai \va\' that ucarh" all Lliosc recorded are 

 obtained. 



With what poor appliances tins is done the following 

 incident, wliidi was told to me, will show. Ole and 

 ]\Iagnns, two mere lads, went up on to the fjeld to shoot 

 ryper about the time of the first snow. Finding the foot- 

 prints of a bear they tracked him to a hoh' under the rocks, 

 where it waseviih'iit tliat he had just ensconced himself lor 

 tlie winter. The\- had nuthino; but small shot in the f^un 

 which they carried, Init, cautiously retreating to a safe dis- 

 tance, they made a tire, and, melting some of the shot in 

 an old pipe bowl, jiroduced some rough bullets with whifli 

 they loaded their piece. Armed with this and a long pole 

 they returned to the attack, and, while one stood over the 

 hole, the other sounded it, and vigorously prodded at the 

 sleeping beaut}', i'resentl}' there was a bite, and so vigor- 

 ous a demonsti-ation, that Ole retreated to a safe place, but 

 ^lagnus stood his ground, and successfully discharged his 

 piece into the head of" the beast. 



Accordino- to Peter the chance of our findino- a bear at 

 that time of the year was not very good; but of their 

 presence he (|uickl\' offered proot' by showing us his stooks 

 which had been pulled about a few nights before, and 

 other and unmistakable ti'aces w^hich the perpetrator of 

 the mischief had lefl behind. 



The next morning we were off early, all four of us 

 following in tlic wake of old Per. This was not the way 

 to kill bears, as the chances of disturbing a wihl aiiinud, 

 carrying ears so well -tiung as a bear's, is as the srpiare of 

 the numljcr of the party. But this was only a trial tii]). 



The old man bore an euurniuus single-barrelled rillc, 



