178 OUR NATIONAL PARKS 



under a Kellogg oak, at a distance of perhaps 

 seventy-five yards, and I tried to slip past with- 

 out disturbing him. But he had either heard 

 my steps on the gravel or caught my scent, for 

 he came straight toward me, stopping every rod 

 or so to look and listen : and as I was afraid to 

 be seen running, I crawled on my hands and 

 knees a little way to one side and hid behind a 

 libocedrus, hoping he would pass me unnoticed. 

 He soon came up opposite me, and stood look- 

 ing ahead, while I looked at him, peering past 

 the bulging trunk of the tree. At last, turn- 

 ing his head, he caught sight of mine, stared 

 sharply a minute or two, and then, with fine 

 dignity, disappeared in a manzanita-covered 

 earthquake talus. 



Considering how heavy and broad-footed bears 

 are, it is wonderful how little harm they do in 

 the wilderness. Even in the well-watered gar- 

 dens of the middle region, where the flowers 

 grow tallest, and where during warm weather the 

 bears wallow and roll, no evidence of destruc- 

 tion is visible. On the contrary, under nature's 

 direction, the massive beasts act as gardeners. 

 On the forest floor, carpeted with needles and 

 brush, and on the tough sod of glacier meadows, 

 bears make no mark ; but around the sandy mar- 

 gin of lakes their magnificent tracks form grand 

 lines of embroidery. Their well-worn trails ex- 

 tend along the main canons on either side, and 



