Volume XIII. 



RECREATION 



DECEMBER, 1900. 

 Go 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager. 



Number 6. 



A RED LETTER DAY WITH GRIZZLIES. 



GEO. B. MCCLELLAN. 



On the morning of October 18, 

 1899, in company with a friend from 

 California, I left the ranch to try for 

 a deer. There had been a light fall 

 of snow during the night, so we 

 counted on being able to strike a 

 fresh trail and get a buck without 

 much trouble, as there are plenty of 

 deer in the foothills of the Bighorn 

 range, 3 or 4 miles East of the ranch. 

 We had gone only a mile when I 

 struck a big trail in the snow. At first 

 I took it for a cow track, and did not 

 notice it until on crossing it I saw it 

 was different. Then I said: 



"This cow has no horns." 



1 dismounted, made a close exami- 

 nation, and found that an old bear 

 and a cub had passed only a few hours 

 ahead of us. I asked my friend how 

 he would like to change from a deer 

 hunt to a bear hunt. He said a deer 

 hunt was good enough for him ; but 

 if I wanted to follow the bear he 

 would go along and help what he 

 could. 



We had to leave our horses where 

 we struck the trail, for we were in a 

 small canyon, which was steep and 

 rough. We looked the ground over 

 carefully, for we were not sure but 

 the bears might be in that same can- 

 yon, and we didn't want to disturb 

 them too soon. 



We followed on down a mile or so 

 to where the trail turned to the right, 

 crossed the little creek and led into a 

 thick clump of junipers and rocks, on 

 a North hillside, which is a favorite 

 place for a bear to lie. 



By this time I had found the bears 



were silver tips. This was more in- 

 teresting. I pushed into the thicket 

 noiselessly, followed by my compan- 

 ion, who seemed to be losing inter- 

 est in the hunt. We followed slowly 

 until I could see that the trail led out 

 of the juniper thicket and on up the 

 opposite hill. Then we went briskly 

 until we came to where the bears had 

 gone up through a narrow cleft in 

 the wall of a canyon, at the top of 

 which I knew there was an old bear 

 den, under a large shelving rock. 



We tried to get up on either side 

 of the trail, but could not make it. I 

 finally said to my pard that he should, 

 by my assistance, try to climb up 

 through the steep and narrow trail 

 the bear had used. 



"No," said he ; "if it's all the same, 

 I'd rather you would go first. I don't 

 need any help !" 



I made up my mind this was the 

 shortest way out of it, or rather into 

 it. I looked at my Savage, found it 

 was ready for business, and started. 

 It was a hard climb for about 20 feet, 

 then there was a little offset in the 

 rock, from which I could see into the 

 bear den. I landed on this, looked 

 cautiously into the den, and was re- 

 lieved to find it empty. The trail led 

 across a high bold ridge over to the 

 next canyon, and as soon as my com- 

 panion gained the top we started out 

 at a brisk walk, which we kept up for 

 a mile or so. Then pard said he could 

 not go any farther at that pace. I 

 told him the bears were evidently go- 

 ing somewhere, and the trail was 

 likely to be a long one. He said he 



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