st grizzly-hunter ever come on the Tete Jaune Cache,
heem?" And Leo this time grinned his assent and approval.

They now made their way back to the bivouac camp where they had passed
the night, and where they were much refreshed by a lunch and a cup of
tea all around, after which they made ready to get back down to the
valley of the Canoe as rapidly as possible. All the men had
particularly heavy loads to carry, and even the boys took on light
packs of blankets or camp equipment.

They made the journey around the point of the mountain and down into
the Creek Valley which ran into the Canoe without much incident,
except that on the side-hill snowdrifts George, carrying one of the
bear-hides, slipped by reason of a broken foothold in the thawing
snow, and had a considerable roll downhill with his load before he
brought up against a little tree. To the others this seemed a
dangerous experience; but Leo, like any other Indian, found it only
laughable, and he derided George for some time in their own language.
George seemed very much chagrined, for no Indian likes to make a
mistake or be humiliated in the presence of others.

As may be supposed, Rob greeted them, on their arrival at the main
camp, with the greatest delight in the world.

"Well, what luck!" exclaimed he. "Two more hides--that's one apiece!
Did each of you get one, fellows?"

The three boys now shook hands all around, and for a long time they
chatted gaily together, telling one another the many exciting
incidents of their hunt. They all agreed that certainly they were the
luckiest young hunters that ever had gone after grizzlies.

"I don't know how you all feel about it now," said Rob, finally, "but
for my part I would be content to run straight on down and not stop
for any more hunting. I've been watching my water-mark here, and this
river has risen almost a foot in the last twenty-four hours. That
means that the snows are beginning to go on the upper snow-fields.
We've had a big hunt, so let's take out the rest of it in a big run on
the old Columbia--they say that's worse than grizzlies."

The others assented to this readily enough, for, wet, tired, and
successful as they were, they welcomed the thought of a night's rest
and a journey in the boats, which, taking one thing with another, they
knew would be easier than climbing after grizzlies in the mountains.

They all slept soundly that night in their mosquito-proof tent, and in
the morning were muc