WATCH IXC. 



E. W. KOI'. INS. 



Yes, he had been there, and that since 

 daylight. The long claw marks, a 7 inch 

 depression in the soft ground and the car- 

 cass of a horse, dragged fully 20 feet, left 

 no room for conjecture. It was a grizzly; 

 but the hard ground, covered with pine 

 needles, left it doubtful as to the direction 

 he had taken, after leaving the open space. 



An East and West line, drawn through 

 the little park in which the carcass lay, 

 would meet no change in elevation for a 

 quarter of a mile in either direction. The 

 water from the tiny spring that oozes out 

 near the middle of the park turns hither 

 and thither as if in doubt whether to make 

 its way to the Atlantic or to the Pacific. 

 Had it started a few feet farther to the 

 South, it would have been on the conti- 

 nental divide and might then have gone 

 both ways. 



A good mountaineer, with a good pony 

 under him, might ride to the Big Hole ba- 

 sin, about 3 miles to the North and some- 

 thing like a thousand feet below; while to 

 the South a loosened bowlder, after a drop 

 of several hundred feet, and then an angu- 

 lar descent of a few miles would hide itself 

 in the dark blue waters of Salmon river. 



From the South end of the park, a dense 

 growth of firs, with considerable down tim- 

 ber, extends about 75 yards to the brink of 

 a precipice of some hundreds of feet. North 

 and East of the park, the timber is more 

 scattering, with only here and there a fall- 

 en tree. 



It was between 5 and 6 o'clock of a Sep- 

 tember afternoon, when I reached the spot. 

 The dead horse lay 20 yards from the 

 South end, and nearly at the edge of the 

 timber of the East side of the little opening. 



After a great deal of looking and think- 

 ing, I came to the following conclusions: 



First: that the chances were reasonably 

 good for a shot at a very large grizzly; 



Second: that he would be after his sup- 

 per about sunset, or perhaps a little ear- 

 lier, and 



Third: that the direction of his approach 

 was uncertain. 



After a careful examination of all the sur- 

 roundings, and weighing and reweighing 

 all the probabilities, I selected a position 

 between 2 trees. A bunch of rye grass af- 

 forded effectual concealment from any 

 point in the park, and an approach from the 

 South was not to be thought of because of 

 the precipice. 



Standing between the 2 trees, I made a 

 careful survey of every visible object to 

 the East, North, and West. Plans were 

 laid — too numerous to mention here — in 

 each of which Bruin, as well as I had a part 



to play. However much these plans may 

 vary in detail, each had the same beginning 

 and the same ending. " But, if he should " 



was the beginning of each; and, " There he 

 lie>." was the common termination. 



Having disposed of the bear under every 

 conceivable combination of circumstances, 

 I next sat down to enjoy my pipe, resting 

 my back against one of the trees with the 

 " old reliable " 44-90 against the other. 



The smoke? Well, if he has my wind, 

 which he hasn't, he won't come, smoke or 

 no smoke; and if he has not my wind the 

 smoking can make no difference. Mr. Phil- 

 lips was not far wrong when he said, 



" A little too much peruke is just about 

 right, for out-door smoking." 



It is too early yet to think of the bear's 

 coming. That pine tree, over there, is a 

 patriarch. It must be 700 years old at least. 

 Think of it. It stood there when Columbus 

 made his first voyage into the unknown 

 seas! 



What a grand view of the Big Hole ba- 

 sin! There is Gibbon's battle-ground — 

 where he did up the Nez Perces. Into this 

 basin flows Lake creek, Swamp creek, 

 Bloody Dick and Warm Spring creeks. 

 Yes, that's the place where, a year ago, my 

 friend heard a dog bark, up the creek; took 

 his gun and went. Next day they found 

 the man dead. He had been scalped. It 

 must have been close to where I camped 3 

 years ago, trapping bear. I did not see 

 much bear sign there. I wonder if — What 

 in thunder makes a fellow start so when he 

 knows what it is? There is no possibility 

 of an approach from that direction. There 

 is not a crevice in that wall; and whatever 

 comes from that direction must have wings. 



Well, suppose they do repeal the Sher- 

 man law. What then? The shadows are 

 creeping across the little park, and have 

 almost reached the carcass. Yes, he might 

 be sniffing around, even now; but it's a 

 little early yet. 



Another careful survey of the surround- 

 ings reveals nothing new. save two camp- 

 robbers and a magpie, picking at the car- 

 cass, where Bruin got his breakfast. Look- 

 ing through the aperture of the rear sight, 

 I place the little ivory pin-head on the mag- 

 pie's head, and pull the trigger, again and 

 again. Certainly I could. Why. I would 

 wager my good old Sharps against a last 

 year's pine cone that I could take the head 

 off that bird and never ruffle a feather of 

 his body. I want only one shot at a grizz- 

 ly's head, at that distance. 



I resume my seat, with my rifle across 

 my knees. The sun has iust started to slide 

 down the park to the West. How fast it 



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