American Big Game in its Haunts 



now much disappointed to find that the owner of 

 this schooner had decided not to charter her. We 

 were, therefore, obliged to engage a very indif- 

 ferent sloop, but she was fortunately an excellent 

 sea boat. Her owner, Charles Payjaman, a Rus- 

 sian, went with us as my friend's hunter. He was 

 a fisherman and a trapper by profession, and had 

 the reputation of knowing these dangerous island 

 waters well. His knowledge of Russian we ex- 

 pected to be of great use to us in dealing with the 

 natives; Alaska was under Russian control for so 

 many years that that language is the natural local 

 tongue. 



It was the first of April before we got our entire 

 outfit together, and it was not until four days later 

 that the weather permitted us to hoist our sail and 

 start for the shooting grounds, of which it was of 

 the utmost importance that we should make good 

 choice. All the natives seemed to agree that 

 Kiliuda Bay, some seventy-five miles below the 

 town of Kadiak, was the most likely place to find 

 bear, and so we now headed our boat in that direc- 

 tion. It was a most beautiful day for a start, with 

 the first faint traces of spring in the air. As we 

 skirted the shore that afternoon I sighted, through 

 the glasses, on some low hills in the distance, bear 

 tracks in the snow. My Aleuts seemed to think 



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