ad of the bay, and a
short trip was made up into a low lying valley, near the sloop, but
without results.

Our men had already proved themselves good. Vacille was the best
waterman and a good cook; Klampe the best hunter, and Ivan a glutton for
all sorts of work.

The underlying principle on which the Aleut hunter works was brought out
on our short bear hunt. After sighting the game, he waits until he is
sure of his wind, then takes a stand where the bear will pass close by,
and shows himself a monument of patience. Almost all the viewing is done
from the water, a small hill near the shore being occasionally used for
a lookout. They get up at daylight, and two men in a baidarka patrol
both sides of a big bay, watching carefully for bear tracks on the
mountain sides, as this is the surest indication of their presence. As
soon as the bears come from their dens they always make a climbing tour,
the natives claiming that this exercise is taken to strengthen
them. Personally I believe the Kadiak bear has very good reasons for
keeping on the move continually outside of his hibernating season.

If the natives find no sign on their morning tour, they rest all day,
perhaps taking a Turkish bath in a banya, which is not infrequently
attached to the hunting barabara. Another trip of inspection is made
again in the afternoon at four or five o'clock, as the bear usually lies
up between nine and three. A bay is watched for several days in this
way, and if nothing is seen the natives return to their village, or hunt
the hair seal, which are still to be found in fair numbers, especially
on Afognak Island.

When you are with these men you must either conduct the shooting trip on
your own lines or give yourself entirely into the native's hands, and do
as he thinks best. You must leave him alone, and not bother him with
many questions, and in any case you usually get _Nish naiou_ ("I
don't know") for answer. The native gives this reply without thinking;
it is so much easier. The most you can do is to cheer him on when luck
is bad, as he is easily discouraged and becomes homesick.

During the bad weather that followed we had plenty of opportunity to use
our ingenuity in extracting information from our men on the subject of
bear.

It seems that the Kadiak bear hibernates, as a rule, from December to
April, depending on the season somewhat, and the young are supposed to
be born in March in the dens. Although the skins are good in the