ble-looking creature I assure you."

"A bar! d'you say?" demanded Ike, shooting forward on his old mare.

"A bar!" cried Redwood, breaking through the bushes in pursuit.

"A bear!" shouted the others, all putting spurs to their horses, and
galloping forward in a body.

"Where, doctor? Where?" cried several.

"Yonder," replied the doctor, "just by that great tree. I saw him go in
there--a grizzly, I'm sure."

It was this idea that had put the doctor in such affright, and caused
him to ride back so suddenly.

"Nonsense, doctor," said the naturalist, "we are yet far to the east of
the range of the grizzly bear. It was a black bear you saw."

"As I live," replied the doctor, "it was not black, anything but that.
I should know the black bear. It was a light brown colour--almost
yellowish."

"Oh! that's no criterion. The black bear is found with many varieties
of colour. I have seen them of the colour you describe. It must be one
of them. The grizzly is not found so far to the eastward, although it
is possible we may see them soon; but not in woods like these."

There was no time for farther explanation. We had come up to the spot
where the bear had been seen; and although an unpractised eye could have
detected no traces of the animal's presence, old Ike, Redwood, and the
hunter-naturalist could follow its trail over the bed of fallen leaves,
almost as fast as they could walk. Both the guides had dismounted, and
with their bodies slightly bent, and leading their horses after them,
commenced tracking the bear. From Ike's manner one would have fancied
that he was guided by scent rather than by sight.

The trail led us from our path, and we had followed it some hundred
yards into the woods. Most of us were of the opinion that the creature
had never halted after seeing the doctor, but had run off to a great
distance. If left to ourselves, we should have given over the chase.

The trappers, however, knew what they were about. They asserted that
the bear had gone away slowly--that it had made frequent halts--that
they discovered "sign" to lead them to the conclusion that the animal's
haunt was in the neighbourhood--that its "nest" was near. We were,
therefore, encouraged to proceed.

All of us rode after the trackers. Jake and Lanty had been left with
the waggon, with directions to keep on their route. After a while we
heard the waggon moving along directly in front of us. The road had
angled as wel