A BEAR AND A BATH. 



W. II. WRIGHT. 



The story of a buffalo hunt in Recrea- 

 tion reminds me, in some ways, of a hunt 

 I had at one time which resulted in the 

 death of my first grizzly. Not that I had 

 anything but the bear to fight, as the major 

 did, but I had to take to a stream for 

 safe keeping until the excitement blew 

 over. 



For several years I had hunted and killed 

 deer and black bear, with such success 

 that I was anxious to try my hand at some- 

 thing larger, and one summer I fixed up a 

 trip for the hills with that object in view. 

 For some weeks I camped around through 

 the hills looking for something that would 

 suit my taste, until I had spent most of the 

 summer, had traveled the Bitter Roots 

 from West to East and had started on the 

 home stretch. I then thought if I could not 

 get a grizzly, I would at least have an elk; 

 so I switched from the part of the country 

 I was in, followed a long ridge running 

 West, and at last made camp in a bottom 

 beside a large stream, which ran swift and 

 cold from the snow banks in the mountains 

 to the North and East. At the point of a long 

 open ridge coming in from the North and 

 West, were 15 or 20 acres of open bottom, 

 and on the river bank was a spring all cut 

 and dug out by deer and elk that used it 

 as a lick. I made up my mind to get an 

 elk there. Around the spring and along 

 the river bank grew small brush, 3 or more 

 feet high, and lying in this brush, 50 or 75 

 feet from the spring, was an old log. There 

 was no standing tree of any size within a 

 quarter of a mile of the spring, so I 

 selected a position behind the log. 

 I went to the spring early, grubbed 

 out some of the brush with my 

 knife, fixed up a comfortable place to sit 

 or lie, and made everything ready for the 

 killing. The gun I was using was an old 

 model 44 Winchester, with which I had had 

 some trouble in other hunts, but I could 

 put the slugs where I wished them when it 

 did work, so I kept hanging on to the old 

 thing. The extractor had become, so badly 

 worn that I always had to put my thumb 

 on it and bear down to bring the shell out. 

 Sometimes when I was on the verge of 

 the ague, I forgot to do that, and then I 

 had trouble. The extractor not only failed 

 to throw out the shell, but it brought up 

 another cartridge, and as there was no 

 place for it the old gun was useless for the 

 time being. 



The river bank along through the bottom 

 was 3 or 4 feet high, and the water had 

 washed away the loose earth for some dis- 



tance underneath the bushes along the 

 bank, leaving the roots hanging down into 

 the water. It was a warm day in Septem- 

 ber, and I left camo without any coat, 

 thinking it would be warm enough until 

 I should get my elk, or as late as I could 

 see to shoot. I did not know much about 

 ?arae using licks then, or I should- have 

 known that they do not go to licks every 

 day at that time of year. I have found out 

 all these things now, and know enough to 

 take a coat with me when I go to watch 

 for game. 



I commenced the watch, and until the 

 sun got low I was not uncomfortable. 

 Later I became chilly and soon my 

 teeth began to chatter. I looked at my 

 watch and gave that elk just 5 minutes 

 more to show up. It was nearly sundown, 

 and 1 was getting to a point where I would 

 not stop much longer for all the elk in 

 the country. I raised up to take one more 

 look at that point of the ridge where the 

 main trail led to the spring. After looking 

 the hill all over I could see nothing, and 

 was feeling blue, when on glancing up 

 stream and to my right I saw an old griz- 

 zly coming around the point of brush 

 125 yards away. My teeth quit chattering 

 at once. I dropped down behind the log, 

 as the bear was coming my way and I 

 wanted him close before I opened up on 

 him. He was my first grizzly. After al- 

 lowing him what seemed a long time to get 

 to the spring, and as I could net hear any- 

 thing of him, I raised my head and 

 peeped over the brush. He had evidently 

 been stopping to think matters over, for 

 just as I looked he dropped his head and 

 started my way a^ain. He was within 

 75 yards and I thought he could not get 

 away from me. as I could get in several 

 shots before he could get out of reach ; 

 so rising, I aimed to put a slug between his 

 neck and the point of his shoulder. 



At the crack of the gun that old bear 

 made one bound into the air, gave a bawl 

 like that of an overgrown calf, and started 

 at a lively gait for my bunch of brush. I 

 had not figured on that. However, I did 

 not feel disappointed for it would give me 

 time for more shots, and I could see that 

 the grizzly hide would be mine. Bringing 

 the lever forward for another cartridge I 

 yanked it back, and lo ! I had forgotten to 

 thumb the cussed thing! There I was, 

 with not a tree in sight, with a useless 

 gun in my hand and a wounded grizzly 

 coming my way ! I did not feel so anxious 

 just then for him to get up close so I would 



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