ught his feet again, and was in and
over a small brook, leaving a bloody road behind him, which Tchort was
quick in following. The dog was soon nipping the bear's heels, and
giving him a good deal of trouble. Up the side of the hill they raced,
Merriam firing when the dog gave him opportunity. The bear, angry and
worried, suddenly whipped around and made for the dog, which in the soft
snow at such close quarters could not escape. But Tchort, a born
fighter, accepted the only chance and closed in. He disappeared
completely between the forelegs of the bear, and we felt that all was
over. To our great wonder in a few seconds he crawled out from beneath
the hindquarters of his enemy, and engaged him again. One more shot and
the bear lay quiet. The skin was a beauty--dark brown, with a little
silvering of gray over the shoulders, without any rubbed spots, such as
are common on bears only just out of their dens. Some brush was thrown
over the bear, and we rowed back to the sloop, well content. The next
day, which was foggy and rainy, was spent in getting off the skin,
measuring and weighing the animal piecemeal, and carrying all back to
the sloop.

Contrary to expectation, the bear was found to be still covered with a
thin layer of fat, even after his long hibernation. Before weighing, our
men, who had killed some thirty bear among them, said that this one was
two-thirds as large as any they had seen.

The measurements and weights were as follows: Height at shoulder, about
4 ft. Length in straight line from nose to root of tail, 6 ft. 8 in.
Total weight, 625 lbs. Weight of middle piece, 260 lbs. Weight of skull
(skin removed), 20 lbs. Weight of skin, 80 lbs. The right forearm
weighed 50 lbs., and the left 55. This supports the theory that a bear
is left-handed. Right hind-quarter, 60 lbs.; left hindquarter, 60
pounds. The stomach was filled with short alder sticks, not much chewed,
and one small bird feather. Organic acids were present in the stomach,
but no free hydrochloric for digestion of flesh.

It was a great satisfaction to see that none of the bear was wasted,
which fact brings up one very good trait of the Creole hunters. They
dislike to go after bear into a district situated far from the coast,
because in so rough a country it is almost impossible to get all the
meat out. They sell the skin, eat the meat, and make the intestines into
kamlaykas for baidarka work.

April 30 a strong wind kept us from trying the he