FOREST AND STREAM 
137 
explained to me how he had 
laid out his plan of campaign. 
As bear Number one emerged 
from the water he emitted a 
roar of delight—here was food 
for himself and his mates. 
The Indian looked to the prim¬ 
ing of his gun and waited 
coolly. He could take no 
chances on a long shot and so 
he let the bear come on within 
easy range. With much satis¬ 
faction he saw that it was the 
dog, for well versed in the 
nature of beasts he had hoped 
that the mother would be the 
last. Growling and snarling, 
his eyes flashing in anticipa¬ 
tion, water slavering from his 
jaws, the bear galloped up to 
within four yards of the Indian. 
Then the latter took careful 
aim and fired. The shot went 
true, but Samuel did not wait 
to see. He turned like a flash 
and ran for all he was worth 
away from the spot, reloading 
as he went. As he had hoped, 
the mother bear and the third 
one—a large cub—stopped for 
a moment to sniff at the fallen 
one. That allowed Samuel time 
to halt and carefully prime his gun. Then he was 
ready for Number two. 
He turned to see, with great dismay, the two 
come on together, the cub but a yard ahead of 
its mother, which was now enraged at the death 
of her mate. How could he get the one and 
escape from the other? Would the old one stop 
again if he managed to kill her cub or would 
she come right on for him? 
Samuel had little time to worry over his 
chances of escape and for a moment he thought 
of trying a long range shot. He raised his gun 
to his shoulder. But no, that was too risky—■ 
close range was the surest and he would take a 
chance on the last of the brutes. He ripped open 
his vest and disengaged one arm—his pack had 
been dropped when he had first sighted the ani¬ 
mals. Then the two were almost upon him. Care¬ 
fully, as before, he fired and the cub dropped in 
its tracks. The Indian needed not to look back 
to know that the old bear was on his heels. Her 
roar of rage and the crashing of the bracken 
warned him of his peril. It was difficult to re¬ 
load for he did not dare to slacken for a moment 
and he was now running at the top of his speed. 
Quickly the bear gained upon him and the 
sudden snarl at his very heels warned him of 
her leap. He sprang aside just in time and the 
clumsy brute—for the polar is very slow in turn¬ 
ing—plunged on for several yards before she 
could check her terrific way and come about. 
This gave Sam the opportunity he had looked 
for. He paused just a second to tear the vest 
off his arm and fling it behind him, then he 
raced on as before. It was his last hope of 
escape. 
The polar, furious at missing his prey, stopped 
at the bait thus thrown to her. She paused only 
long enough to slap one paw viciously upon the 
garment and with an upward fling of her head 
Winter in the Northland. 
ripped it to pieces; then she plunged on in pur¬ 
suit. But that pause was enough for the Indian 
—he halted, rammed his load home and flung the 
rod from him. With shaking fingers he pressed 
the primer down and Samuel was ready for 
Number three. 
He had scarcely turned about when she was 
upon him, open-mouthed and fearful to look 
upon. 
“No time for aim—no time raise gun,” said the 
old hunter, as he told the story. “Just push 
muzzle into her mouth, pull trigger, and jump 
aside.” ’ ) 
Here he showed me the second finger of his 
right hand which was gnarled and distorted. 
“Gun no on shoulder,” he explained, “Kick bad 
—break finger. Bear just slap gun once and 
break it. Then roll over and lie dead. Gun over 
there.” 
Samuel pointed into the corner of the shack 
where an old muzzle-loader lay. the barrel 
doubled over like the frame of a snowshoe, and. 
as I examined the wreck, I fully realized what 
the tough old Cree had been up against. 
ORIGIN OF THE MULTIPLYING REEL. 
London, February 15, 1915. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your very fine issue of Forest and Stream 
for February I see that on page 82 my friend 
Dr. James A. Henshall (I wish we were as 
young as when we first met!) says “George 
Snyder made the first multiplying reel in the 
world, as all English reels at that time, and 
down to the present day, were, and are, single 
action.” 
Dr. Henshall is liot quite correct in this state¬ 
ment. The brass multiplying reel was made in 
this country and was in fairly general use in the 
eighteenth century. I forget at the moment 
which authors first refer to it, but there is a fine 
engraving of a multiplying reel in Daniel’s 
“Rural Sports” published about 1800 to 1805. It 
is not spoken of as any novelty;, he says, “You 
can get it at any of the fishing tackle makers.” 
It is a long barrel reel, just the shape of modern 
American multiplying reels. 
In one of the scarcer and most original of 
works in oUr great literature of angling, pub¬ 
lished also about 1800 entitled “The Fly-Fisher's 
Legacy,” by George Scotcher, he tells us that it is 
the result of many years experience. He says 
on page 10, “I would advise by all means the 
use of a reel on your rod, as you can then 
lengthen or shorten your line as occasion re¬ 
quires, and the multiplying reel is the best, pro¬ 
vided you are careful to keep it well in order, 
as without that care, it is very apt to grow 
faulty.” S. Howitt in his “Angler’s Manual” 
1808 says, “Multiplying reels are preferable be¬ 
cause you can wind up your line quickly.” 
I possess fine English made brass multiplying 
reels, some of which are probably over 100 
years old. All my first ten years of fly-fishing 
was done with an excellent multiplying reel. 
They are found in the advertisements of our 
fishing tackle makers for more than a century. 
But for the last half century the best multiply¬ 
ing reels have undoubtedly been made in America. 
R. B. MARSTON, 
Editor Fishing Gazette. 
