were keen enough to be about the business soon after the sun had begun
to warm up their little valley the next day. Leo swept a hand to the
steep gorge down which the little creek came tumbling. "Plenty slide
up there," said he. "Maybe-so three mile, maybe-so five."
"Well, now, how about that, Leo?" inquired Uncle Dick. "That's quite a
climb, perhaps. Shall we come back here to-night, or stay up in the
hills? We might pack up a camp outfit, and let Moise and George come
back here to spend the night."
"All right," said Leo. "That's most best way. High up this creek she
come flatten down--little valley there, plenty slide, plenty
grizzlum."
"No mosquito-tent now, fellows," said Rob, laughing. "That'll be too
heavy to pack up--we'll take the light silk shelter-tent, and get on
the best we can to-night, eh?"
"Precisely," said Uncle Dick, "and only one blanket for two. That,
with our rifles and axes and some bacon and flour, will make all the
load we need in a country such as this."
Equipped for the chase, early in the day they plunged into the dense
forest which seemed to fill up completely the valley of the little
stream which came tumbling down out of the high country. Leo went
ahead at a good pace, followed by Moise and George with their packs.
Uncle Dick and the young hunters carried no packs, but, even so, they
were obliged to keep up a very fast gait to hold the leaders in sight.
The going was the worst imaginable, the forest being full of
devil's-club and alder, and the course--for path or trail there was
none--often leading directly across the trunk of some great tree over
which none of the boys could climb unassisted.
At times they reached places along the valley where the only cover was
a dense growth of alders, all of which leaned downhill close to the
ground, and then curved up strongly at their extremities. Perhaps no
going is worse than side-hill country covered with bent alders, and
sometimes the boys almost lost their patience. They could not stoop
down under the alders, and could hardly crawl over or through them.
"This is the worst ever, Uncle Dick," complained Jesse. "What makes
them grow this way?"
"It's the snow," replied his uncle. "All this country has a very heavy
snowfall in the winter. It packs down these bushes and slides down
over them until it combs them all downhill. Then when the snow melts
or slides off the ends of the bushes begin to grow up again toward the
light and the sun. That's why they curve at the ends and why they lie
so flat to the ground. Mixed in with devil's-club, I must say these
alders are enough to try a saint."
In the course of an hour or so they had passed the heaviest forest
growth and gotten above the worst of the alder thicket. On ahead they
could now begin to see steep mountainsides, and their progress was up
the shoulder of a mountain, at as sharp an angle as they could well
accomplish. After a time they came to a steep slope still covered
with a long, slanting drift of snow which ran down sharply to the
tumbling creek below them. Across this the three men with the packs
already made their way, but the boys hesitated, for the snow seemed to
lie at an angle of at least forty-five degrees, and a slip would have
meant a long roll to the bottom of the slope.
"It's perfectly safe," said Uncle Dick, "especially since the others
have stamped in footholds. You just follow me and step in my tracks.
Not that way, Jesse--don't lean in toward the slope, for that is not
the way to cross ice or snow on a side-hill. If you lean in, don't you
see, you make yourself most liable to slip? Walk just as straight up
as though you were on level ground--that's the safest position you can
take."
"Well," said Jesse, "I can understand how that theory works, but it's
awfully hard not to lean over when you feel as though your feet were
going to slip from under you."
They gained confidence as they advanced on the icy side-hill, and got
across without mishap. Soon they came up with the three packers, who
were resting and waiting for them.
"Make camp soon now," said Leo. "Good place. Plenty slide not far."
Indeed, within half a mile the men threw off their packs at a grunted
word or so from Leo, and at once began to make their simple
preparations for a camp. It was now almost noon, and all the party
were well tired, so that a kettle of tea seemed welcome.
"Which way do we hunt from here, Leo?" inquired Uncle Dick, as they
sat on a rock at the comfortable little bivouac they had constructed.
"Walk one mile," answered Leo, "go around edge this mountain here.
Come little creek there, three, four good slides. We kill 'um bear
last spring. Camp here, so not get too close."
After a time they were all ready for the hunt, but Leo seemed unhappy
about something.
"You s'pose them boy go along?" he inquired of the leader.
"They surely do," was the answer. "That's what we came here for."
"Even those small leetle boy?"
"Even those small leetle boy, yes, Leo. You don't need to be
uneasy--you and I can take care of these boys if they show they can't
take care of themselves. How about that, Moise?"
"I'll tol' Leo those boy she'll been all right," said Moise. "I'll
been out with those boy when she'll ain't one year so old as he is
now, and she's good honter then, heem. Those boy she'll not get
scare'. Better for those bear he'll get scare' and ron off!"
Accordingly, there were five rifles in the party which at length
started up the mountain after Moise and George had gone back down the
trail to the main camp on the river. They climbed upward in country
now grown very steep, and at last turned into a high, deep gorge out
of which came a brawling stream of milky-colored ice-water, some
twenty or thirty yards across. Without hesitation Leo plunged in and
waded across, proving the stream to be not much more than knee-deep.
And truth to say, Uncle Dick was proud of his young comrades when,
without a word or a whimper, they unhesitatingly plunged in also and
waded through after their leader. Nothing was said about the incident,
but it was noticeable that Leo seemed more gracious thereafter toward
the young hunters, for pluck is something an Indian always admires.
"Now, Leo," said Uncle Dick, when after a steady march of some time
they had reached the foot of a slide perhaps half a mile or so in
extent, which lay like a big gash of green on the face of the black
mountain slope, "I suppose this is where we make our first hunt."
Leo nodded, and began to feel in his pockets for some cartridges.
"Now never mind about loading up your magazine any more than it is,
Leo," went on the other, "and just pump out the shells from your
rifle. If there's any bear-killing done by this party this afternoon
these boys are going to do it, and you and I will only serve as
backing guns in case of trouble. My gun's loaded, but I know you well
enough, Leo, old man, not to let you load your gun just yet
awhile--you'd be off up the hill if we saw a bear, and you'd have it
killed before any of the others got a chance for a shot. You just hold
your horses for a while, neighbor, and give my boys a chance."
"Me no like," said Leo, rather glumly. "Me heap kill 'um grizzlum."
"Not this evening! These boys hunt 'um grizzlum this evening, Leo.
They've come a long way, and they have to begin sometime. You live in
here, and can kill plenty of bear any time you like. Besides, if any
one of these boys kills a bear this afternoon I'm going to give you
twenty dollars--that'll be about as good as though you killed one
yourself and got nothing but your wages, won't it, Leo?"
Leo broke out into a broad smile. "All right," said he. "But please,
when you come on bear, let me load gun."
"Certainly," said Uncle Dick. "I'm not going to ask any man to stand
in front of a grizzly with an empty rifle. But I'm not going to let
you shoot until the time comes, believe me."
The boys found it right cold sitting about in this high mountain air
with their clothing still wet from their fording of the stream. They
could see on ahead of them the flattened valley of the creek which
they had ascended, and Leo promised that perhaps on the next day they
would move their camp farther in that direction and so avoid fording
the icy torrent twice a day.
"First hunt this slide," said he. "Heap good. I ketch 'um bear here
every time."
For an hour or more it seemed as if Leo was not going to "ketch 'um
bear" this afternoon, and all the members of the party except himself
grew cold and uneasy, although he sat impassive, every so often
glancing up the steep slope above them. All at once they heard him
give a low grunt.
Following his gaze, they saw, high up on the slide, and nearly half a
mile away, a great, gray figure which, even without the glasses, they
knew to be a large grizzly bear. The boys felt the blood leap in their
veins as they stood looking up at this great creature, which
carelessly, as though it knew nothing of any intrusion, now strolled
about in full view above them. Sometimes it pawed idly as though
hunting grass roots or the like, and then again it would stand and
look vacantly down the mountainside.
"He'll see us, sure," whispered Rob.
"S'pose keep still, no see 'um," said Leo, still sitting looking at
the bear. "S'pose hear 'um noise in bush, heem not scare. S'pose him
smell us small little bit, heem run, sure. Wind this way. We go up
this side."
They now threw off all encumbering clothing, and each of the boys,
with loaded rifle, began the ascent of the mountain, parallel to the
slide, and under the thick cover of the forest. More than once Uncle
Dick had to tap Leo on the shoulder and make him wait for the others,
for an Indian has no mercy on a weak or inexperienced person on a
hunting-trail. Indeed, so little did he show the fabled Indian calm,
he was more excited than any of the others when they began to approach
a point from which they might expect to see their game. Uncle Dick
reached out his hand for Leo's rifle and motioned for him to go ahead
for a look. Leo advanced quietly to the edge of the slide and stood
for a time peering out from behind the screening bush. Presently he
came back.
"Beeg bear," said he, "grizzlum. Heem eat grass. Up there, two, three
hundred yard."
Uncle Dick turned to look at his young friends to see how they were
standing the excitement of this experience. Jesse was a little pale,
but his eyes were shining. Rob, as usual, was a little grave and
silent, and John, although somewhat out of breath, showed no
disposition to halt. Smiling to himself, Uncle Dick motioned Leo to
the rear; and once more they began their progress, this time closer to
the edge of the slide and working steadily upward all the time.
At length he held up his hand. They could hear a low, whining,
discontented sound, as though the bear were grumbling at the food
which he was finding. Uncle Dick laid his finger on his lips and
beckoned to Rob to go on ahead. Without hesitation Rob cocked his
rifle and strode forward toward the edge of the slide, the others
cautiously following, and Uncle Dick now handing Leo a handful of his
cartridges, but raising a restraining hand to keep him back in his
place.
They saw Rob, stooping down, advance rapidly to the edge of the cover
and peer out intently, his rifle poised. Then quick as thought he
raised his rifle and fired one shot, stood a half instant, and dashed
forward.
There was no sound of any thrashing about in the bushes, nor had Rob
fired more than the one shot, but when they joined him it was at the
side of the dead body of a five-hundred-pound grizzly, in prime, dark
coat, a silver tip such as any old bear-hunter would have been proud
to claim as a trophy.
Rob was trying his best to control his excitement, and both the other
boys were trembling quite as much as he. Leo quite forgot his calm and
gave a tremendous yell of joy, and, advancing, shook Rob warmly by the
hand. "Heap shoot!" said he. "I see!" And, taking the bear by the ear,
he turned its head over to show the small red hole in the side of the
skull.
"He was right here," said Rob, "not thirty-five yards away. When I
first saw him his head was down, but then he raised it and stood
sideways to me. I knew if I could hit him in the butt of the ear I'd
kill him dead at once, so I took that shot."
"Son," said Uncle Dick, "this is fine business. I couldn't have done
better myself."
"I s'pose you'll give me twenty dollar now," said Leo; at which they
all laughed heartily.
"I certainly will, Leo," said Uncle Dick, "and will do it right now,
and on the spot! You certainly made good in taking us up to the bear,
and it certainly was worth twenty dollars to see Rob kill him as quick
and clean as he did."
"Is he good to eat?" asked John.
"No, John. And if he were, you couldn't eat all of him; he's too big.
Some men have eaten grizzly liver, but I beg to be excused. But here's
a robe that down in the States would be worth a hundred and fifty
dollars these days. Come on, Leo, let's get our work over with and get
back to camp."
Under the experienced hands of Leo and Uncle Dick the great robe was
rapidly removed. Leo rolled it into a pack, and Uncle Dick showed him
how to make it firm by using two square-pointed sticks to hold it in
shape after it was folded--a trick Moise had taught them long before.
Leo, though not a large man, proved powerful, for he scorned all
assistance after the heavy pack was once on his shoulders, and so
staggered down the mountainside. So pleased were the boys over the
success of their hunt that they hardly noticed the icy ford when again
they plunged through the creek on their way to camp.
XXII
THE YOUNG GRIZZLY-HUNTERS
So excited were our young hunters over their first bear-hunt that they
scarcely slept at all that night. It was a very merry party which sat
late about the little camp-fire high up in the mountains. Their camp
was rather a bivouac than a regular encampment, but they now scorned
any discomfort, and, indeed, exulted in their primitive condition.
"Now, Leo," said Uncle Dick, "what do you think about these boys as
hunters?"
"One boy heap shoot," grunted Leo. "Kill 'um one bear when mans along.
Don't know about other boys."
"But let me tell you they have killed bear before now, and big ones,
too. Why, two years ago, up in Alaska, all by themselves, they killed
a Kadiak bear a good deal bigger than this one whose hide we have here
for our mattress to-night."
"Yes, and last year up on the Peace River we helped kill a big
grizzly," added Jesse, "only Alex MacKenzie was along, and he shot,
too."
"But this time, Leo," continued Uncle Dick, "you must admit that only
one shot was fired, even if we were in the woods near by."
"That's all right," admitted Leo, who still felt aggrieved at the
humiliation of not being allowed to use his own rifle in the
bear-hunt. "S'pose only one bear, and only one boy, what then?"
"Well, in that case the best thing the bear could do would be to run
away. As I told you, a rifle will shoot just as hard for a boy as for
a man if the boy knows how to hold it."
"Did you ever have a bear come at you, Leo?" inquired Rob.
"Sometam bear come, not many," said he, indifferently. "Sometam bear
get scared, not know which way he's ron--then people say he's got
mad."
"And didn't you ever get scared yourself, Leo?" inquired Jesse.
"Too much kill 'um bear long time for me to get scare'," said Leo,
proudly. "Kill 'um more bear pretty soon," added he, pointing over to
the steep country on the other side of the valley.
"Well, I was just thinking," said Uncle Dick, "we could very likely
get more bear. But why? Some one will have to go down to camp and
carry this hide, or else take word to the other men to come up and get
it. Besides, this isn't the only bear valley in the country. What do
you say, boys? Shall we stay up here, or go back and run on down the
river farther?"
The boys were silent for a time. "Now, Uncle Dick," said John, at
last, "no matter where you are, you're always in a hurry to get
somewhere else. It's pretty hard to climb up into the real bear
country even when you get near to it. Now here we are, already up, and
we know that this is good bear country. We would only lose time if we
hunted up any other country lower down."
"That's very well reasoned, John. What do you say, Jesse?"
"Well, I don't see any good in working the men too hard packing the
stuff up from a main camp anywhere else. The devil's-clubs stick a
fellow a good deal. Besides, here we are."
"And you, Rob?"
Rob looked for a time up at the clouded sky, bright with innumerable
stars. "Well," said he, "it certainly does look as though we were
going to have clearer weather. And if so, we will have higher water. I
stuck a stick in a bank for a water-mark yesterday, and I'm just
wondering how much the river has risen since then."
"Precisely, and that's well reasoned, too. You see, I don't want to
take any more chances running these rivers than I have to."
"How far is it to the Columbia from here, Leo?" inquired Rob.
"Half-day ron--whole day, don't know. S'pose water all right."
"Exactly," rejoined the leader of the party. "We don't know how long
the water will stay all right. Every day we run puts that much behind
us. And I want to tell you all that the danger of hunting these
grizzlies is nothing at all compared to the risk of running the upper
Columbia when the rise is on. I've tried both, and I know."
John protested at this. "Well, Rob has got his bear, but, you see,
Jess and I haven't had a shot yet--though I don't suppose that is why
Rob is willing to go."
"No, that isn't the reason," commented Rob, quietly.
Uncle Dick thought for a time. "Well, I'll tell you what we'll do,"
said he, at length. "We'll stay at least one more day and hunt here
to-morrow. Then if we don't have any luck to-morrow we'll run on down
and have a look at the Columbia, and if she isn't too bad we'll stop
at some good country below--say on Nagel Creek, down the bend."
"That seems fair," assented John; and Jesse also said he would vote
the same way.
"How about you, Leo?" inquired Uncle Dick.
"Me not 'fraid of any water," replied the courageous Indian. "I like
stay here. Most best grizzlum country of anywhere. Down below too much
timber. Plenty black bear, not so much grizzlum. Not many place where
you'll get grizzlum now. This plenty good place."
"Agreed," said Uncle Dick. "I think you all reason pretty well, and am
convinced that we could spend another day here to good advantage. And
now, Rob, since you got your bear, I think I'm going to send you down
to camp in the morning for Moise and George. They can carry down the
hide and some of the other stuff which will have to go down."
"All right," said Rob. "I'm not afraid. The only risky place is on the
snow-slide at the side-hill. Then you go right down in the
creek-valley and follow that to the camp."
"Very well. That will leave the other two boys to make a hunt
to-morrow, and if they have as good luck as you have had we certainly
will have more hides in camp."
With this arrangement already made, they at length turned to the
little tent, where their blankets and the big hide of the bear made
some sort of a bed for them.
At an early hour of the morning they had finished their breakfast, and
Rob was ready to take the trail back to the camp.
"Well, so-long, Rob," said John. "We're going to try to kill as big a
bear as you got. You're not afraid to go back through the woods, are
you?"
"Certainly not," said Rob; "I have my ax, and my compass, and my match
box, and a little something to eat, besides my rifle. I might be able
to get clear through to the railroad or back to Tete Jaune if I had
to. But I'll not have to. So-long."
"That's good boy," said Leo, approvingly, after Rob left and as they
saw his sturdy figure trudging steadily onward toward the shoulder of
the mountain.
"They're all good boys," replied Uncle Dick. "I'm going to make
hunters out of all of 'em. And now, just as a part of their education,
they'll all help us to flesh out this bear-hide."
Jesse, hunting around on the side of the mountain, found a bit of
coarse stone which John and he used as a whetstone to sharpen up their
knives. They knew well enough that work on the coarse surface of a
bear-hide dulls a knife very quickly. It was an hour or two before
their leader was satisfied with the preparation of the big hide.
"I wish we had more salt," said he; "but as it happens Moise has put
in a little tin of pepper, and pepper is very good to use around the
ears and nose of a fresh bear-hide. The main thing is to flesh the
hide carefully, and to skin out all the thick parts around the ears
and nose very carefully indeed. Then you dry the hide--not in the
bright sunlight, but in the shade--and never let it get near a fire.
Some hides get grease-burned from bad fleshing and bad drying. I think
this one'll do all right, though, for we made a pretty good job at
scraping it down."
"Plenty all right now," said Leo. "Go hunt."
"Which way next, Leo?" inquired John.
Leo pointed up the valley. "Plenty slide farther up. S'pose we stay
here three, four days, get plenty grizzlum. Best tam late in day.
Maybe-so get 'um now, maybe-so not. Don't know."
"Yes," said John; "it's too bad we have to start back to camp in just
the best part of the day. But we've agreed to do that, so all we can
do is to do our best. I suppose bears do sometimes come out before
evening?"
"Once in a while," said Uncle Dick, "a bear will come out on the slide
just to look around, as I've told you. There are no absolute rules
about it. They don't like the sun any too well, but sometimes there is
a heap of snow on a slide, usually near the foot of it, and I've seen
two or three bears at once come out and lie down on the snow to get
cool. Then sometimes they like to go out where they can get a bare
rock to scratch themselves against. Besides that, I don't suppose all
the bears get hungry at just the same time, and come out on the slide
when they hear a dinner-bell ring. Take it all in all, grizzly hunting
is about as hard to classify as anything you'll find. It's one thing
that would make a man believe in luck, good or bad. Anyhow, we'll go
and try our luck."
On their way up the valley they had to wade their little stream once
more, but at this hour of the day it was not very wide or deep,
although it certainly was very cold.
"Me know one slide," said Leo, after a time, "very old slide, not
steep. Plenty gopher on that slide. Dig in dirt. Grizzlum he like eat
gopher. Sometam he come there and dig gopher most all day. Maybe-so
ketch 'um grizzlum there."
"That's mighty well reasoned, Leo," said Uncle Dick, approvingly. "You
see, boys, why Leo is such a successful grizzly-hunter--he is a good
observer, and he knows the habits of animals, and why animals have
such or such habits. To be a good hunter you've got to be a good
student."
When at last they had reached the upper end of the flat valley in
which the many branches of their little creek wandered tricklingly,
Leo pulled up alongside a dead log and signified that they would stop
there for a time while observing the slides on each side of the
valley. From this point they had an excellent view of a great mountain
series opening out beyond. And as they were commenting on the beauty
of this prospect there came to them one of the experiences of
mountains which not very many men have known.
They heard a heavy, rumbling sound, yet faint, like thunder in the
distance. Then slowly they saw a spot on one side of the valley, some
four or five miles distant, grow misty and white, as though a heavy
cloud were forming.
"Look yonder!" exclaimed Uncle Dick. "That's a snow-slide, boys, and
lucky enough we are that we're not under it. It's a big one, too."
They sat silent, listening to the dull voice of the avalanche. The
great mass of snow which lay on the steep mountainside had begun to
loosen at the rim-rock as the snow melted and began to trickle under
the edges. Gradually the surface of the ground, moistened under the
snow this way, began to offer less and less hold to the snow which was
piled above it. Little by little the upper region of the snow-field
began to drop and settle down, growing heavier and heavier on the
supporting snow beneath, until finally, under the increasing weight
above, it had given way along the whole surface of the mountain, a
half-mile or more in extent.