X 
THE BEAR 
365 
shoulder. A wapiti stag weighs about 900 lbs. 
when fat in August and September. The fat upon 
the brisket of this animal was 5 inches thick, and 
that upon the rump and loins was nearly 3 inches. 
We cut this off in one complete piece, and when 
cold, within half an hour it stood up like a cuirass. 
This was one of the finest that I ever saw, and we 
took the trouble to cut up all the choicest joints, and 
concealed them in the branches of a species of yew 
that was growing upon the edge of the ravine. 
The delay from my folly in taking this shot exceeded 
an hour, but the head of the stag was a handsome 
specimen, and we placed it upon a large boulder of 
rock, to be'sent for upon a future occasion. 
We again recommenced our search, comforting 
ourselves with the reflection that “ if the bear was 
in the ravine, the report of the shot would not affect 
it; and if it was not in the ravine, it would not 
matter.” 
As we continued the descent of the mountain 
slope, the ravine grew wider, and it was now quite 
100 yards across ; this would increase the probability 
of finding game, as there was a larger area of 
covert at the bottom. I was walking carefully in 
front of my horse, when, without any alarm given 
by my men from the bottom of the ravine, my 
attention was attracted by a rushing sound in the 
dense cotton trees, and I observed several that were 
in the thickest part shaking in an extraordinary 
manner, as though an elephant or a rhinoceros was 
rubbing itself against the stems. 
