May 23d 
May 
24 th, 25 th 
May 26 th 
May 27 th 
was sufficiently warm to permit our basking coatless in the 
sun. Old-timers of the vicinity claim this to be an unpre¬ 
cedented spell of fine weather. Be that as it may, it added 
greatly to our enjoyment of the trip. 
Little, Barney, and I left at daybreak for bear. Saw one, 
but he left the beach before we could come into range. No 
luck this afternoon, either. 
Hunted industriously both these days. The strain of ris¬ 
ing daily at 3 A. M. and then hunting until dark, coupled 
with the tension of constant watching the greater part of 
day, with the “relief” of but four to five hours’ sleep at night, 
is commencing to tell on us; so we decided to give up brown 
bear for the time, and, moving to a smaller island, to try and 
secure a few specimens of the black. 
The launch weighed anchor at day-break of the 26th, and, 
with Little, Barney, and I aboard snoozing soundly, it pro¬ 
ceeded to Kupreanof Island, which Barney recommended as 
particularly good hunting-ground. 
Arriving about 4 P. M., we inquired for news at a pros¬ 
pector’s hut on the beach, and were told that the owner of 
a fox island, a mile or so off, had set six bear-traps at the 
place. A bear-trap weighing anywhere from forty to fifty 
pounds, and being fitted with jaws sufficiently powerful to 
break a man’s leg, we were rather anxious to learn the exact 
location of these, in order, of course, to avoid them. Called, 
therefore, at the island to learn the sites and signs of the 
traps. The owner being away fishing, there was nothing for 
it but await his return. Meeting the fox-man late that even¬ 
ing, he gave us the position of the traps and told us just 
how they were marked. 
This “fox-man,” it may be remarked, leases the island from 
the Government. On first coming he had turned loose sev¬ 
eral pair of blue fox. Last year he trapped ninety-four of 
their progeny, netting $35 per skin. The average yield, since 
stocking the place, he reports to have been from ninety to a 
hundred foxes a year. 
Hardest and unluckiest day of the trip; so that when, by 
evening, Little, Barney and I had returned to the Taku, we 
were thoroughly tired and as thoroughly discouraged! 
Left early. The going was through swampy tundra at 
first; then up-hill, through heavy snow, and over slippery 
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