176 THE UPPER YUKON 



confident of success in getting the whole three, 

 as the wind could not be better. They were, 

 like the first bear, feeding on bear-roots. A 

 small cove was found near by where we 

 tethered our horses so that they would not give 

 us any trouble. 



We now got in among small willow brush, 

 and away from the river bed. Keeping 

 down on our knees we made fair progress 

 towards the bears. The yearlings being black 

 and the mother a reddish brown, it was the 

 easiest thing to keep them well in view, by 

 rising occasionally behind a tall willow 

 bush. 



When first seen they were fully three miles 

 from us, and traveling at about the same speed 

 towards us as the first one did which I killed. 



The wind now became erratic, the sky 

 grew dark, and it looked as if we were to be af- 

 flicted with a crashing thunderstorm. How- 

 ever, as quickly as this aerial storm had come, 

 did it subside, and we had only a strong wind 

 blowing straight down stream. The cubs 

 were inclined to be independent in their feed- 

 ing, as they fed far afield from each other. 

 This propensity of her offspring to "go it on 

 their own hook" bothered the old lady bear 

 considerably. From what we could see of her 



