. At my first shot he turned a complete somersault, and then, quickly
springing up, again made a dash for cover. I fired a second time, and
rolled him over for good and all. Stereke was instantly slipped, and
made at once for my bear. By the time we had run up he was shaking and
biting his hindquarters in a most approved style. We at once put him
after the larger bear, which Blake had wounded, and his bark in the
thick alders told us he had located her. We all followed in and found
that the bear, although down, was still alive. Blake gave her a final
shot through the lungs.

The third bear got away, but I believe it was wounded by Nikolai. The
one that Blake had killed was the largest female we got on the
Peninsula, measuring 6 feet 6 feet 6-1/2 inches along the vertebrae.

It is interesting to note that the two yearlings differed greatly in
color. One was a grizzled brown, like the mother, while the other was
very much lighter, of a light dirty yellowish color.

We had watched these bears for some hours in the morning, and I feel
positive that the mother had no cubs of this spring with her; yet on
examination milk was found in her breasts. My natives told me that
frequently yearling cubs continue to suckle, and surely we had positive
proof of this with the large female bear.

On our way back to camp that night we saw two more bears on the other
side of the marsh, but they did not stay in the open sufficiently long
to allow us to come up.

The mosquitoes had by this time become almost unbearable, and it was
late before they permitted us to get to sleep. About 3 A.M. it began to
rain, but I was so tired that I slept on, although my pillow and
blankets were soon well soaked. As the rain continued, we finally put up
our small tent; but everything had become thoroughly wet, and we passed
a most uncomfortable day.

In the afternoon a black bear appeared not far from our camping
place. My friend went after this with his hunter, who made a most
wonderful stalk. The bear was in an almost unapproachable position, and
the two men appeared to be going directly down wind; but Ivan insisted
that there was a slight eddy in the breeze, and in this he must have
been correct, for he brought Blake up to within sixty yards, when my
friend killed the bear with a bullet through the brain.

I think it is interesting to note that our shooting grounds were the
extreme western range of the black bear. A few years ago they were not
found