106 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March, 1922 
HUNTING THE BIG BROWN BEAR 
CONCLUDING THE ACCOUNT OF THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM’S EXPEDI- 
TION TO THE WIND-SWEPT TUNDRA OF THE ALASKA PENINSULA 
By ROBERT H. ROCKWELL 
OR the next week from 
May 18th to May 25th, 
fortune seemed to liave 
deserted us. Bad weath- 
er, with rain, snow and mist 
made successful hunting an 
impossiliility. Not a day passed, 
liowevcr, but that we tramped 
many a weary mile, through 
snow and slush, in the hope of 
sighting more hears. Three 
of the party decided to move 
camp inland si.x miles in order 
to be nearer to the bear coun- 
try, and the next daj^ the rest 
of us concluded to follow their 
c.xample, thus eliminating the 
three-hour walk c\'ery morn- 
ing to the hunting grounds. 
The main camp on the beach 
remained as our base of sup- 
plies. But still no hear came 
within gunshot, though once, 
while our packer was bring- 
ing fresh provisions from the 
heach, he saw a monster bear 
pass within ten yards of the 
camp from which Sykes and 
the doctor were hunting. 
As time went on the ten- 
sion and anxiety about getting 
more specimens grew acute. 
In fifteen days’ hunting I had 
secured onl}' three bears, al- 
though Nick and I had cov- 
ered an immense amount of 
territory. W’e had stared at 
snow-covered mountains 
through field glasses until our eyes 
ached. The morning of May 25th came 
and still we saw nothing, so we returned 
to camp and ate a hasty luncheon, rested 
awhile and resumed the hunt in the 
afternoon. Then the magic moment 
came again. 'We spotted a bear six miles 
away near the top of the mountain. He 
was coming down, headed in our direc- 
tion. We lost no time before starting 
towards him, for it was a long hike into 
the hills and we were afraid that he 
might get into a canyon and give us the 
slip. He looked a splendid specimen 
through the glasses as he ambled across 
the snow fields. When traveling on bare 
ground he was almost invisible, but on 
the snow he stood out with striking 
clearness. 
Pausing a few moments for breath, 
w’e watched him slide down a high snow 
hank like a boy tobogganing. Later he 
disappeared in the alders. As the wind 
was in the wrong direction, we had to 
make a detour and wade knee deep 
through an icy stream. Reaching the 
hill that separated us from a view of 
the bear and following the tracks which 
were seen very plainly through the 
glasses, we finally located him curled up 
in the snow, fast asleep. He was still 
half a mile away, and, as the approach 
was over ice-incrusted snow, I felt a 
grave doubt as to whether we could ever 
get near enough to shoot without his 
hearing us as we tramped along. 'We 
took a short breathing spell and noted 
that the shadows of the mountains were 
fast creeping to the place where he lay 
still curled up in a ball. He would surely 
wake up, we thought, when the sun’s 
warm rays left him. 
After carefully picking our steps be- 
tween the alders and through the snow, 
we came to within a hundred yards of 
him. As I knelt to fire he must have 
heard us, for he raised his head. At 
that moment the Springfield cracked and 
the great beast’s head sank down and 
gradually he rolled over until all four 
feet were up in the air. Turning over 
again he tried to bolster himself up but 
seemed unable to leave the spot. Nick 
fired one shot when my cartridge missed 
fire. Then the bear braced his body with 
his front legs and looked at us in a dazed 
manner. T fired a final shot which struck 
him in the chest. This was the coup de 
grace and he arose no more. The first 
shot would probably have proved fatal, 
for it smashed the top of one of the 
dorsal vertebrae. 
Few people can realize the sensation 
of at last attaining something that one 
has hunted steadily for fifteen 
days. The long trami)s into 
the hills, the weary plodding 
home to camp empty handed 
night after night, such uncer- 
tainty makes the thrill of a 
successful hunt simply over- 
whelming. We left the great 
beast as he lay, for darkness 
was setting in and we were far 
afield. 
I EAVING the camp at six 
L-* the next morning and tak- 
ing Tom, the packer, with us 
to help carry the skin, we made 
our way back to the carcass 
and reviewed the good work 
of the previous day. We were 
not bent upon h.unting but in- 
tended merely to prepare the 
specimen to be brought down 
to the base camp 9 miles away 
on the beach. As we ap- 
proached our quarry Nick 
happened to look up towards 
the mountain and with his 
usual keen vision, spotted an- 
other bear. Fie was meander- 
ing about slowly, not having 
made up his mind apparently 
just where to spend the day. 
First he amhied up the moun- 
tain and then down again and 
finally he seemed to decide to 
come our way. He took long- 
slides on his haunches, plowing 
a wide path through the deep 
soft snow. It was a fine sight to watch 
him as he prowled about over the hill all 
unconscious of our presence. In the 
meantime we were climbing in his di- 
rection at a lively pace, up steep ridges 
and over stretches of barren ground, 
while he, turning away from our course 
but in a slow, leisurely manner, grad- 
ually gained ground on us till he was 
about 1,090 yards off. Concluding that 
he might lie down for a rest as it was 
getting -warm, we still kept plodding- 
through the snow, which here was al- 
most up to .our knees. His position was 
above us near the crest of the moun- 
tain, but suddenly he disappeared be- 
hind some bare rocks that jutted out and 
obstructed our view. 
Still following him, our course at last 
led over a long stretch of shale, amidst 
boulders piled up in wild confusion, 
where a misstep might have sent us to 
the bottom of the mountain. Breathless, 
we hesitated and debated whether to go 
on or not, for it seemed that the big- 
brute had eluded us, but with a final 
dash we hurried on. Suddenly a signal 
from Nick halted us. I knew well what 
that meant. We saw the bear 200 yards 
above us enter the crest of a deep snow- 
filled gorge. I was in a wonderful posi- 
tion for a shot, for the animal was out- 
