1911] Swarth: Alaska Expedition of 1909. 145 



Upon our arrival on Kupreanof Island, early in April, snow 

 lay deep in the woods, and even along the beaches, and Hassel- 

 borg declared that while some of the brown bear should have 

 emerged from their hibernation, it was still too early for black 

 bear. On April 14 he found fresh tracks of one, and on the 16th 

 he scared what was probably the same bear from a thicket in 

 which it was sleeping, but failed to get a shot at it. On April 

 24, while hunting in the same place, he secured this bear, a 

 female, probably two or three years old, in good condition, and 

 very fat. All the tracks that were seen at this point were appar- 

 ently made by this one bear. The weather was so cold and stormy 

 that it is doubtful whether very many had come out yet. At 

 Three-mile Arm, Kuiu Island, fresh tracks of a single bear were 

 seen. - 



At Port Protection, Prince of Wales Island, Hasselborg 

 found sign of several individuals, but they were ranging over the 

 country, hunting for green grass, which was just beginning to 

 appear in places. At San Alberto Bay, Prince of Wales Island, 

 he secured two, on May 24 and 25 respectively, along the same 

 stream, where they were eating the grass which was now quite 

 tall. The next place where bear sign was observed was at Eocky 

 Bay, Dall Island. They were fairly numerous in this region, and 

 apparently the Indians had not been hunting or trapping there 

 recently. On May 31 Hasselborg secured an adult male, the 

 largest and best specimen obtained. At most of the places visited 

 subsequently the Indians had been trapping earlier in the season, 

 and the bear killed or frightened away. However, on Mitkof 

 Island we found a place where they had not been disturbed, and 

 where they were feeding on the running salmon. Hasselborg saw 

 seven during our stay here, and secured four of them. 



Early in the season, when they first came out of their holes, 

 the bear were feeding on grass wherever they could find it, and 

 we also found many places where they had dug up and eaten the 

 roots of the skunk cabbage. The one killed on Kupreanof Island 

 had been feeding largely on the dead deer strewn throughout the 

 woods, and one was found that may have been killed by the bear 

 itself judging from the blood and the appearance of the carcass. 

 This bear's stomach was stuffed with deer hair, hoofs and pieces 

 of bones, together with some skunk cabbage roots and grass. 



