THE GRIZZLY AND BLACK BEAR 
“ Let us go up to the right of the canon,” I suggested, “ and hide in the 
timber, as he may soon come out again to hunt,” a proposal Albert at once 
agreed to. We had only taken a few steps forward when I saw a bush 
violently agitated about 400 yards away on the edge of the stream, and we 
had hardly fallen flat on the snow when a big grizzly swung into the open 
and looked about him. The survey seemed satisfactory and he ran to the 
edge of the water and came straight towards us. At 300 yards he rose on 
his hind legs and I think saw us but could not clearly ascertain what we 
were. At 200 yards he was so unconcerned that he made a dash to the stream 
and struck at a salmon, which eluded his grasp. He then returned to the 
bank and, with a brisk business-like gait, again walked swiftly in our 
direction. 
At 100 yards he saw us quite distinctly and I cocked the Mannlicher. 
He again rose on his hind legs and then again advanced in a gingerly fashion. 
His suspicions were now aroused and he kept pushing his nose upwards 
as if trying to get our wind. At seventy yards he turned sideways, as if to 
circle our position, and I at once fired and gave him a good shot behind the 
left shoulder. He turned, growled and bit at the wound and then lost his 
balance and turned a somersault. As he stood up again I gave him a second 
shot in the shoulder and he made a yawning roar of pain. As he rolled on 
the ground I gave him three more, all of which hit him, the last breaking 
one of his hind legs. He then turned and stood with his back towards me 
whilst I slipped in a fresh clip. After a pause he began to walk very slowly 
to the stream and his movements showed that death was not far off. I rose 
and followed him intending to kill him as soon as he gave a broadside, 
but he did not do so and walked on until I found that I was getting too 
close to be pleasant. On reaching the water, however, he turned and stood 
at bay and I walked up to within eight yards and then gave him a bullet 
in the neck, when he fell dead at once. 
My other Indian now came up and it took us three hours to remove 
the skin. The bear was enormously fat and measured 7 feet 8 inches. It 
was a fine adult male, the best killed in Cassiar in 1908. 
Our friends who stay at home and read the old books are apt to regard 
the grizzly bear with some dread and veneration, because the halo of his 
past achievements has not completely vanished; but the danger of shooting 
one was as nothing to that of the night we went through after encompassing 
his death. I shall never forget it and look upon that night in the Stickine 
forests as one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I have been 
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