Trail and Camp-Fire 



overlooking a good deal of hillside and forest 

 margin, picket my hunting pony, and with a 

 good field-glass to watch such game as might 

 appear ; and in those days it was seldom that 

 some animals were not in sight buffalo, elk, 

 white tail or mule deer, antelope, sheep, and 

 black or silver tip bears according to the 

 locality. As a rule, I preferred to watch 

 rather than to hunt, unless an unusually fine 

 head or the need of meat in camp was an 

 incentive to kill. Of the game seen none was 

 more interesting than the silver tip, and with 

 one family I became quite well acquainted. 



While on a fishing trip in June, camp was 

 made on a fine trout stream where I passed 

 several days, fishing a little and incidentally 

 looking over the country with a view to re- 

 turning in October for a fall hunt. Near by 

 was a divide, open for a mile or more and then 

 covered with pines, surrounded on two sides 

 of its triangle by small caftons. Regularly 

 each afternoon about four o'clock, a large 

 female silver tip with two cubs would appear 

 from the woods and work over the ground, 

 sometimes till dark. Occasionally a larger 

 bear, probably a male, would appear, but did 



not join the others, who seemed to be rather 



226 



