bo 
38 Fisuine uv American WATERS. 
sight was really gorgeous! After three or four similar rep- 
etitions, we agreed that we saw the North Pole distinctly, 
heading Sir John Franklin’s grave, and the bow, spears, and 
stars of the aurora borealis were merely the flag over Frank- 
lin’s tomb. 
While the doctor was evolving a new theory of mundane 
matters, only to be understood by draining a dose of diffusi- 
bility, John appeared. He was greatly excited, but breath- 
less. So soon as he recovered power of utterance he said, 
“Gintlemen, bedad there’s a bear just fornent yees! I see’d 
him.” 
“Well, John,” we replied, “ how did he look ?” 
“Bedad he was as big as an elephant, and had a tail as 
long as meself, and as big around, be gorrah !” 
“How long was he ?” we inquired. 
“ Bedad he was as long as I can reach with my two arms.” 
“What color was he ?” 
“Be gorrah, to tell the thruth, I couldn’t see his color pre- 
cisely.” 
“Was he green ?” 
“No, yer honors, not perzactly. Ishould say he was more 
brownish.” 
“We supposed so, John; it is a fox.” 
“No, no, yer honors! Dz. Bluff, of the First Fusileers, said 
he’d often see’d bears herve, an’ I think the beast I seed is 
won.” 
“This was at the shoot, twenty-seven miles farther up the 
river,” we replied; and just then the halo of the rising sun 
began to illuminate the eastern horizon, and teach us to pre- 
pare for the fresh-run salmon which had arrived that morning 
from their visit to the sea. Having consulted our watches, 
and learned, to our surprise, that it was only three o’clock, 
and as, our gaffers were still asleep, we reluctantly retired to 
our tents and to sleep until called to breakfast. 
As it was our custom to rest the salmon-pools during the 
best part of the day for angling, in order to protect the river 
