Peterburg lying but a short distance off and our present 
anchorage being a poor one, we decided to run to the settle¬ 
ment and provision up, till the weather cleared. 
Rained all day, so remained at anchor at Peterburg, pass¬ 
ing the greater part the time in the general store, listening 
to the phonograph, and watching three men cure spring 
salmon for the German market. Some splendid fish, ranging 
ten to seventy-five pounds in weight, were brought in. 
The last day of May breaking fairly clear, we made for 
Portage Bay, recommended, very properly, as excellent black- 
bear country. 
Entering the bay, while the crew were at dinner, I noted 
from my place at the wheel something suspiciously black on 
the beach, and close scrutiny proved this a bear. 
Bruin was an easy stalk, and I bagged him in plain view 
of the launch, with one shot, shooting at not over one hun¬ 
dred and twenty-five yards distance. 
Failed to sight any more bear this day, but on hunting 
the flats next morning (June ist), spied one of the animals 
eating grass. Little and I made a good stalk, I shooting first 
and hitting him hard. The bear being close to the edge of 
the woods, we did not care to take chances at losing him, 
and so, as he wheeled about, both pulled triggers, the shots 
of each taking effect, apparently. Though he went off strong, 
we soon found Bruin stone dead within twenty-five yards of 
where first he had been shot. 
For a black bear, this animal must have been possessed 
of exceptional vitality, since, on cutting open the carcass, we 
found two of our bullets to have pierced the heart, and a 
third piercing the lung. 
Satisfied now at the result of our hunt, we desiring not 
the accumulation of a big bag, but a few specimens of black 
and Alaskan brown bear alone, we were ready to turn ship 
homeward now. 
Our luck had changed for the better, decidedly. 
Raising anchor daybreak of June 2d, Little and I were 
still asleep, when awakened by the Captain's calls of “Bear 
on the beach,”—at the very entrance of the bay! 
Rushing into a few garments, we effected a landing 
through rough and choppy seas, and in an incredibly short 
space of time another bear skin was aboard;—Little and I 
[247] 
May- 
29 th, 30 th 
May 31st 
June 1st 
June 2d 
