May 2I, igfo4, 
t 
AND STRtlAM. 
486 
a turtle-back effect for the top. He explained to me how 
it happened he adopted that model: 
"After losing everything I had by"^easoii of, canoes up- 
settingj sometimes with dangerous consequences, on those 
Amazonian streams, I cottcluded that this thing must be 
brought to a termination. So I madehne a catamarari. 
It was in '67 I fii-st used one. It was '32 feet long, io^ 
feet wide, with a single wheel in the middle. _ It was all 
of wood— cranks, shafts; paddles, and it required, all my 
mechanical ability to construct it. My motive power was 
Indians. They are more reliable than an engine would 
be — whifch must be a wood-burner on those headwaters of 
the Amazon in any event. It waS on the Caqueta River, 
about the time when I became an educator. I was on a 
botanical expedition, and my nlen- found my catamaran 
exceedingly comfortable. We slept on board; we tied to 
snags in *he midstream, far from the mosquitoes, and no 
more irksome packing and unpacking of canoe life. In 
later years I made catamarans with two wheels, and 
handles which two men could grasp on a side, and • so 
there were eight men giving their power. The advantage 
of the catamaran is that it needs no skill to turn the 
crank. Boats that I built of this size — 14^/2 feet long and 
feet wide — could be intrusted to women and children, 
and no doubt be had but what they would stay right side 
up. I was caught in a storm up the river somewhere — 
I've forgotten just where. I was in a hole safely enough, 
but the wind, be jabbers, come up and the waves ate the 
little point away that protected me, and I had to go out 
in the middle of the river in all that wind and rain. 
"Ah, but the waves rolled and the wind it blew ! The 
water came over everything. My trunk was wet through, 
my clothes all soaked, my provisions damaged, or lost- — 
at least everything that I had in paper. These holes in 
;he deck here were full of water, but I have seven air- 
tight compartments, and these buoyed me up, and I kept 
turning the crank and trying to steer, and when the storm 
was gone I bailed it out, and again I was going, on." 
The old man would keep his crank going all day long 
from seven or eight o'clock till along toward ^nighf pull- 
ing up, saying that so far it was like the stroke of 
an oar. He claimed 72 years, but his monotonous grind at 
the wheel indicated more muscle and the needful perse- 
verance than many younger men could show. His boat 
was so much heavier than mine, however, that a moderate 
stroke would keep me at his side ; even so, it was at times 
just a bit irritating to be obliged to keep so everlastingly 
at it. When I stopped or pulled to some sandbar to look 
for geese tracks or hunted a flock of ducks, a long, steady 
pull was needed to overtake the man, who said, "My 
arms have become automatic- — they are regular, pistons and 
my hands hooks. I am Old Wind in the Face. Since I 
left Toronto I have been able to sail on but two days ; 
all the rest of the time I have had to fight the winds." 
Raymond S. Spears, 
[to be continued.] 
A Bear Hunt in Norway. 
BY WINTER. 
Several years ago I was in charge of the regulation 
of a system of rivers and lakes in).the central part of the 
Scandinavian Peninsula. The little valley in which the 
main part of the work was being done, and which was my 
headquarters for nearly three years, was surrounded on 
all sides by uninhabited woods, where small game was 
abundant, and where the big, husky moose and the peace- 
loving bear roamed nearly undisturbed. The nearest town 
lay more than one hundred miles away, and the railroad's 
nearest approach, was sixty miles distant from the little 
community, whose whole population was about four hun- 
dred souls. The place was an ideal one for the hunter, 
and what time I could spare from my work was spent in 
the woods with dogs and gun. I managed to keep our 
larder plentifully supplied vvith birds, hare and moose 
meat; but my eager desire for an encounter with the lord 
of the woods — the bear— was still ungratified, when, one 
day in the middle of November, I got a message from my 
old hunting companion, John, announcing that the chance 
had come. John wrote that one of his woodsmen had 
"ringed" (located) a bear .in his den, and had offered to 
sell the "ring" for twenty^five dollars. Further cor- 
respondence resulted in the deal being closed, . and the 
bear belonged to John and myself — if we could shoot him. 
john came to see me at Christmas, and we decided to 
have the hunt take place late in the winter, when the snow 
would be better fit for fast ski running, and our business 
would permit of some days' absence. 
- Late in the afternoon of one of the early days in 
March, I drew rein in. the yard of John's house, and was 
heartily welcomed by him, his wife and five small Johns. 
1 missed my old friends — Finn, the veteran bear dog,.,who 
had no less than fifty-two bears to his credit, and his am- 
bitious son, Bamse. ' In reply to my inquiries, John told 
nie that he had sent the dogs and supplies ahead with 
Nils, the ringer, to an old lumber camp in the vicinity of 
the bear's den, and that we would take the shortest route 
through the woods, thus saving a day's time. 
"Now, come into supper, and afterwards you silly wood- 
runners can talk hunting," was Mrs. John's mandate, and 
we had but to obey. After supper the pipes were lit, and, 
seated comfortably before the glowing fire, we recalled 
past experiences of moose and reindeer hunts, to the 
great delight of John's sons, who listened with an eager- 
ness that promised a good future in their father's foot- 
steps. As the younger boys finally dropped to sleep and 
the older ones' heads began to nod, John said: 
"To-morrow we will have Ole drive us to the ford over 
Big River, where we will put on the skis ; and as we have 
n.early forty miles to make from there to the old camp 
at Lynx Lake, where we will spend the night, v/e had 
better get to bed." 
Next morning we were up early, and, after a solid 
breakfast, we .started on our fifteen-mile drive. It was 
a clear, cold morning ; the sun rose pale over the moun- 
tains, the air was quiet and nipping, and the snow 
responded crisply to the beat of the horses' hoofs. It 
was beautiful, bracing weather and typical of the country. 
The road was. well- broken, and it took our spirited team 
less than two hours to carry us to the ford, where we 
fastened on our skis and shouldered our light packs and 
our heavy, double-barreled express rifles. After working 
our way laboHously up the steep sides of Hatteti, we had 
fine rolling country. The snow lay oVer five feet deep, 
slightly packed, and was ideal for ski-running, and mile 
after mile was covered at a good fate of speed. The 
route led thtoUgh dense spruce woods, where the snow 
ky heavy on the boughs, across frozen lakes, and over 
small hills and valleys. Occasionally WC;. passed the, track 
of a fox, moose or wolf, and, Just, before .noon,, we 
secured a couple of ptarmigans from a large flock that we 
scared out of k small nifli-sh. At noon we made a short 
halt, cooked coffee, and had a dinner of dried meat and 
bread, after, which the march was fesurtjed. Shortly after 
sunset, at Lynx Lake, we reached the deserted cabin that 
had so often been out headquarters on previous hunting 
trips. The beds were quickly fixed up with spruce twigs 
and blankets, and after a good supper, in which the two 
ptarmigans figured prominently, we took a short smoke 
and went to bed to a much needed test after oUr day's 
exercise. * . », 
Next morning the travel was continued, and ^bouf two 
o'clock in the afternoon we reached our destination — the 
old lumber camp — where we were welcomed by Nils and 
the dogs. Nils had been at the camp for a couple of days, 
and had it fixed up in good shape, so there was nothing 
to do but get supper ; after which, as we faced the blazing 
logs in the open fire-place, I asked Nils to give me the 
particulars of his ringing of the bear. Nils filled up his 
pipe and began : 
"One day, early injOctober, while I was marking trees 
for the choppers, I ran across the track of a fair sized 
bear. Somehow I didn't take as much interest in mark- 
ing trees after that as I had earlier in the day, and I 
found it hard to, get very far from the bear track. I 
managed to put in 'the rest of the day, but when I got 
liack to camp that night I hunted up Mr. John here and 
got permission to lay off a week and track the bear. So 
next morning, instead of my ax, I took my rifle and some 
grub and went back to ' the bear track. " This led in a 
nearly straight line across the ridges and valleys, oyer 
streams and through brush, and I soon made up my mind 
that the bear was headed for his winter dei\ after his 
summer trip. He had gone up the south side of Spruce 
liill, where I found he made his bed the night before. 
Theii he went on to Finnedalen, over Moose Creek, and 
into the big woods east of Long Lake. It was nearly dark 
when I got to Long Lake, so I fixed up a bed in the old 
P'inne cabin and staid, there all night. Next morning I 
followed him to High Ridge, where the country was some 
rougher. » He had commenced to make big loops, so I 
knew he was getting near home, and I was extra careful 
not to scare him. The track finally led me to a small 
creek, where 1 thought I had lost him, but after a while 
I found where he had come out. Then he went up into 
the rocky "Owlback." I made a ring around this and 
thought at first that I had him, but on the other side I 
found his track. He went down the hill and across a lit- 
tle valley into a small gulch. In the gulch I saw where he 
had been clawing the trees and gathering moss and 
leaves for his bed, so I got out of there as quick as I 
could. Then I made a good sized ring around the spot 
and found that I had him. I went back to the cabin and 
staid all night, and in the morning I went back and ringed 
the place once more, and found that he had gone out and 
over toward the Fox Hills. I didn't know whether he 
l,!ad stopped on Big Fox or had crossed the valley to .Lit- 
tle Fox, so I made a ring around rboth of theni without 
finding any track out. The next day I ringed them again, 
and as he, was still inside I went home. Five days after 
I went back and ringed the place once more, and there he 
is, either.oii, Big or Little, Fox," concluded Nils. 
The next morning we were up long before, the sun. 
The air was quiet and cold, the thermometer registering 
23 degrees below zero. There ^was a thin crust on the 
snow, sufficient to carry the skis but not thick enough to 
hold up the dogs. "^We entered the woods on Big Fox 
Hill, I on top of the ridge, John about half-way down 
the slope, and Nils in the valley between the two Fox 
Hills. Finn hunted the open woods between us, Bamse 
making investigations across the little valley on Little 
Fox. As the snow bothered the dogs, we advanced 
.slowly. At eleven o'clock no trace of the bear had been 
seen. Suddenly Bamse scented the bear, and, giving a 
couple of angry barks, rushed to where he was lying, 
snowed down in some thick brush. Finn' immediately 
rushed across the valley, and a little later we heard the 
frantic barking of both dogs and the bear's angry growl- 
ing. There was evidently "a lively tussle going on in the 
thicket, but soon I saw the bear making his way up the 
sleep hillside, hotly pursued by the eager dogs. The 
heavy snow impeded the dogs' movements, and they dared 
not approach the bear too closely. Nils, who had ad- 
vanced too rapidly, now came back at top speed while 
John hastened down the valley to get around Little Fox 
and meet Mr. Bruin on the other side. 
I was on top of Big Fox, and too far away to take part 
in the "doins," but in a favorable place to watch the hunt 
and take advantage of a flank movement on the part of 
the bear. He was now half way up the hill, where the 
snow was hardar, and the dogs became more and more 
annoying. Every time he turned his back to them they 
tackled his hindquarters, jumping out of his reach when 
he turned to catch them. He soon reached a step about 
eight feet high which he tried to jump, but the dogs were 
so attentive that he couldn't get a chance to make the 
leap. Several times he chased them to right and left, but 
when he attempted the jump at least one of them was at 
his heels. The younger dog, Bamse, behaved with greater 
bravery than discretion, and it was with considerable un- 
easiness that I saw him again and again almost within 
reach of the paws of the furious bear. At last bruin got 
an opportunity to make the jump, but old Finn was so 
, close to him that he secured a hold on his left hind foot, 
and kept it. The bear reached a small spruce on top of 
the ledge, and hanging there he tried to shake the dog 
loose. After a little he succeeded and made his way up 
the mountain, while the dogs had to make a detour 
around the step. 
The bear now bore off to the soutli, so I turned my skis 
in his direction. As the woods were pretty open, I let my 
.speed increase, and I soon fairly flew down the hillside. 
My attention was fixed too much on the fight between the 
bear and the dogs and too little on my own business, and 
my right ski running under a bowed spruce, I turned a 
complete somersault. It took me sometime to get out of 
the deep snow, and after getting the snow out of tay 
neck and sleeves, I tried to locate my rifte, 'vhile the 
fighters rapidly made off. The language 1 used at this 
stage of the game would not look well in priut. Jt toolc 
me nearly ten minutes to find my "iron," get the. snow out 
of it, and resume my way. The bear and dogS: were by 
this time nearly three-quarters of a mile ahead of me ; 
but running fastdow^n the slope, I gained rapidly op thenij 
and in about twenty minutes I was only a few hundre.d 
yards behind" them, occasionally getting a glimpse of tli^ 
bear between the trees. I now reached level country, and 
hurrying along at top Speed I would, in a short time, be 
ahead of the fight. Suddenly I saw Johh five of- six 
hundred yards ahead of me standing behind a tree in the 
bear's course, and I stopped where I waS to observe the 
proceedings, not caring to disturb John's chance for & 
shot. 
The bear made a stand in the thick underbrush a couple 
of hundred yard^ ahead of nle, and, the snow here being 
a little harder, the dogs attacked him at close quarters. 
The now enraged bear tried in vain to catch the dogs, but 
when he chased one of them the other one would secure 
a hold on his least dangerous end, immediately jumping 
out of reach as the bear tried to strike him. The snow 
was flying in all direction.s, and the fast movements of the 
fighters made' it impossible for me to get in a shot with- 
out the risk of hitting the dogs. The bear worked his 
way toward John, growling, snarling, and fighting the 
whole way, the brush being so thick that I could no 
longer see him. Presently he reappeared, about sixty or 
seventy feet from John, but hidden from the latter by a 
very large fallen tree, that the bear tried in vain to get 
over. The scene on the hill was repeated ; as soon as the 
bear tried to jump th^ tree he had both dogs at his legs. 
Finding this wouldn't do, he turned, and with his back to 
the tree he made his last fight. Tt was a splendid sight to 
see this big, strong animal cornered by two small, active 
dogs that eagerly attacked him, but always kept just out 
of reach of his powerful paws. As John was unable to 
see the combat, he could only await developments. See- 
ing this, I made my way toward the hairy fighters ; when 
suddenly the bear, having driven the dogs a little further 
away, turned and jumped on top of- the log. Here he 
stood for a second, then John's heavy rifle cracked, and 
bruin slowly sank back and fell between the dogs with a 
.550 express bullet in his, head. 
The hunt was over, 'and, proud as boys, John and I met 
at the body of the bear, which the dogs were pulling and 
shakmg to their heart's content. Nils soon arrived, and, 
seemg the bear, he exclaimed, "This is better than last 
year, when we looked for three days for a bear and then 
spent two more to get him." We had the bear, but the 
next proposition was to get him out of the woods. This 
was done by cutting down and peeling a spruce about six 
mches m dianieter. We cut this off about ten feet long, 
and splitting it made two runners, bending up one end 
of each, fastening back the bent ends with a stout cord; 
the runners with cross-pieces made of spruce limbs, we 
had a fairly good sled. On to this we loaded the bear, but 
It took our united efforts to get him over the- deep snow 
to a lumber road, about a mile and a half away. The 
killing had occu-rred about one o'clock, and it was nearly 
dusk when we got our trophy to the road. 
Leaving Nils to attend to the bear, John and I started 
next morning at five o'clock on the back trail. We 
reached the ford on Big River about eleven o'clock that 
night, having covered a little over sixty miles. Coming 
up with a sled going our way, we were glad enough to 
bundle ourselves into it, and, burrowing into the straw 
with which the box was filled, we slept as only a tired ski- 
runner • can,, the entire distance home. Nils arrived the 
second day after with the bear,, and that evening- we en 
joyea one^of his hams for supper. He weighed a little 
over four hundred ^pounds. 
Philadell^hfa Zoological Society. 
T^iE thir^-seco^d annual meeting of the Zoological 
Society of Phfladelphia was held April 28 last, at which 
was read the report of tire Board of Directors for the year 
ending Febrtia^y. 29, 1904. The total membership of the 
society IS 1,8^9. The admissions for the year werf> 
^3,604, to..which must be added- 125,000 tickets issued to 
the- Board 'Of Education for the admission of pupils of the 
public schools. The receipts for admissions for 1903-4 
were $33,918.55/ an increase of $14,042 over the previous 
year. During the year there were exhibited in the gar- 
oens, and:tiienagenes more . than 3,000 animals in all 
classes and: among these- there were 53 species that had 
never before been exhibited in the collections. 
Among the many animals born in the garden may be 
named tigers, praine wolves, gray wolves, brown bears, 
black , bears, two hybrids between a grizzly and a black 
bear, jDurchell's, zebra, Persian wild ass, buffalo, Indian 
antelopes, and a , number of kangaroos, with some birds 
and reptiles. The diificulty of rearing bears is well known, 
but the black bear born January 30 was still alive at the 
end of April. 
Dr. Penrose continues his pathological investigations 
through the year; studies which cannot fail to be of great 
use. 
American Museum of Natwral History ♦ 
The annual report of the president of the American 
Museum has just come to hand. The Museum is now 
the greatest m the country, and promises to continue to 
increase in importance and value. As it grows, however 
It is hampered more and more by lack of endowment 
funds, though receiving many special gifts, which are used 
to the best advantage. The collection of mammals birds 
of vertebrate paleontology, archeology and eth'noloo-y 
are very large, and all the departments of the museum 
are m the hands of most able specialists, and in most 
flourishing condition. ; 
The library is continually growing, and the list of pub- 
lications of the Museum is continually, increasing. The 
Museum is becoming more and more a place for meeting 
men interested in science, and scientific bodies and asso- 
ciations constantly use the Museum's lecture jooms and 
libraries for their meeting places. 
On the whole, the Museum is being managed on a 
broad and liberal scale, which reflects credit not only on 
the trustees, but on the city as well. 
