THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 219 
her at the fence, took the box of cartridges and hurried back. When 
I got back I thought I would try one shot for the bear’s heart, so 
I pulled in behind the shoulder and shot. I hit him square in the 
heart, but still he did not succumb for several minutes and I had 
to give him another in the head and he rolled over. The dogs were 
too much qxhausted to even touch him, but both of them lay down 
and panted for a long time before they would start home. As I said 
before, this was one of the largest black bears I ever saw. He was 
coal black, with a large white spot in his breast, and rolling with fat. 
When we came to skin him, we found that he was literally riddled 
with bullets. 
It took the dogs several days to get over this scrap, but they 
got rested up, and one morning when I got up, they were gone again. 
That afternoon I got on my horse and took the same old route. I 
followed the ridge clear back to the head of Sterling Creek, then 
down to Griffin Creek and down that creek and home, and no dogs. 
I got up the next morning and no dogs. I rode the country over that 
day, over in back of Jacksonville, Poor Man’s Creek, and got back 
late in the evening, half expecting to find them at home, but in this 
I was disappointed. I was getting pretty uneasy now, and I lay awake 
a long time that night, studying the matter over. At last I made up 
my mind that I would go up Griffin Creek until it made the bend 
towards Sterling, then turn east and go up the ridge towards the 
head of Coleman Creek. Having decided, I was anxious for morning 
to come, so at daylight I had breakfast and was off. I went the 
route I had planned, and along about 10 o’clock I had got away up 
on top of the mountain. When I made the turn I stopped and 
listened. At first I could hear nothing, but waited, somewhat dis- 
appointed, and at last was rewarded by the sound of Trailer’s voice, 
the old familiar bow, wow, wow. Well, now, listen to me. Hundréds 
and thousands, and I might say millions, remember how they felt 
when they heard Wilson was elected after hearing positively that 
Hughes had been elected. Well, multiply that feeling by ten and 
you will have a pretty good idea of how I felt when I heard Trailer. 
I was wild with joy, not so much for the sake of the game as it was 
to know that Trailer was safe and I was soon to set my eyes on 
him again. 
Down the hill I went, leaving my horse, as the dogs were not 
a great ways off, picking my way through the brush until I struck 
the timber. Then it was more open. Now I blew the horn just once. 
Immediately both dogs began to bark joyously. I slid around the 
hillside mighty cautiously now, and soon I saw them at the root of 
a big tree, on the same side of Coleman Creek that I was on, so I 
moved a little closer but could see no bear. I did not know that 
he was on the opposite side of the tree from me, but he was, and 
- had his head poked around the trunk. When I moved up closer, down 
he came, hand over fist, tearing the bark to pieces as he came. The 
dogs were on the upper side of the tree, and when the bear struck 
the ground he gathered himself and went smashing down across the 
creek and up the other side. Both dogs dashed down after him, but 
before they got to him the Winchester cracked and, to my surprise, 
he came heels over head and rolled over and over back down into 
the creek, which was dry and rocky. The dogs piled right in after 
him. I ran down as quickly as I could, but he was dead. As good 
luck would have it, in catching the bead in my hurry I ‘had shot 
a little high, the bullet hitting him in the back of the neck, killing 
him instantly. 
The first hard work I did was to take his entrails out and feed 
