CHAPTER II 



GUIDES, EQUIPMENT, AND HUNTING LOCALITIES 



The first question a sportsman is likely to ask on deciding 

 to visit Alaska is, " Where shall I go?" and the second, 

 " Where can I get guides or natives?" The answer to the 

 first question must be a ' long and complicated one, and 

 depends on several circumstances, the two chief considera- 

 tions being, first, what kind of game is required, and secondly, 

 how long a period, and what part of the year, can be given 

 up to the trip. 



If bears be the game desired, then it is a sine qua non 

 that the early spring must see the hunter on his ground, and 

 he should leave Seattle not later than by the first boat in 

 April, or by the last boat in March. The first good place 

 at which to stop for bears, if the sportsman does not wish 

 to make . a long journey, would be Kayak. Striking inland 

 from that place, the brown bear known as Ursus dalli is 

 reported to be numerous in the neighbourhood of Mount St. 

 Elias. The so-called Glacier Bear {Ursus emmonsi) is also 

 found in the same district ; but up to the present time no 

 sportsman has properly worked this country. It might be 

 very well worth exploring. Judging by the number of skins 

 sent out from Kayak by the natives, there would seem to 

 be no lack of bears in the district in question. Passing 



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