land.  This looked decidedly encouraging, and we continued on in the best of spirits.  About mid-day we went on shore, lunched, and then basked in the sun until the afternoon, when we again got into the baidarkas and paddled further up the bay to a place where a wide meadow extends out from the base of the mountains.  Here Nikolai, my head hunter, went on shore with the glasses, and raising himself cautiously above the bank, took a long look at the country beyond.  It was at once quite evident that he had seen something, and we all joined him, keeping well hidden from view.  There, out upon the marsh, could be seen two large bears feeding upon the young grass.  They seemed in an almost unapproachable position, and we lay and watched them, hoping that they would move into a more advantageous place.  After an hour or so they fed back toward the trees, and soon passed out of sight.

We matched to see which part of the meadow each should watch, and it fell to my lot to go further up the marsh.  I had been only a short time in this place when a new bear came into sight.  We now made a most beautiful stalk right across the open to within a hundred yards.  All this while a new dog, which I had bought at Kadiak and called Stereke, had crawled with us flat on his stomach, trembling all over with excitement as he watched the bear.  I had plenty of time to take aim, and was in no way excited, but missed clean at one hundred yards.  At the report of my rifle Stereke bit himself clear from Nikolai, who was holding him, and at once made for the bear, which he tackled in a most encouraging manner, nipping his heels, and then quickly getting out of the way as the bear charged.  But I found that one dog was not enough to hold these bears, and this one got safely away.

It was a dreary camp that night, for I had missed an easy shot without a shadow of excuse.  We pitched our small tent at the extreme edge of the marsh behind a large mass of rocks.  I turned in thoroughly depressed, but awoke the next morning refreshed, and determined to retrieve my careless shooting of the day before.  A bad surf breaking on the beach prevented our going further up the bay in our baidarkas, as we had planned to do.  We loafed in the sun until evening, while our natives kept constant watch of the great meadow where we had seen the bears the day before.  We had just turned in, although at ten o’clock it was still daylight, when one of the natives came running up to say that a bear was in sight, so Blake, with three natives and Stereke, made the stalk.  I had a beautiful chance to watch it from the high rocks beside our camp.  The men were able to approach to within some fifty yards, and Blake, with his first shot, hit, and with his third killed the bear before it could get into the brush.  Stereke, when loosed, acted in a gallant manner, and tackled the bear savagely.

Unfortunately no measurements were taken, but the bear appeared to be somewhat smaller than the female I killed at Kiliuda Bay, and weighed, I should judge, some 450 pounds.  It appeared higher on the legs and less massive than the Kadiak bear, and had a shorter mane, but was of much the same tawny color on the back, although darker on the legs and belly.