SHIFT OF WIND RUINS STALK 107

I slipped down into the creek and crept up it until I came
to a suitable spot to get on to the ridge. Here I waited a
minute or so to make sure he was not uneasy. I could
then have had a nice broadside shot at a distance of
something a little under 150 yards; I even raised my
rifle and held the sights on him and hesitated whether to
shoot from there or not. Then. I took out my glasses
again and could see him taking mouthfuls of juicy shoots
of a plant that had grown up about six inches out of the
ground. It seemed foolish to risk a shot at that distance
when it appeared so easy to get closer. I tried the wind
again and went on. To me that bear seemed as good as
dead.

Arriving at the ridge I crept up the bank to get into the
timber. Now, I had got pretty hot, as the climb I had
made was a stiff one, and I had not wasted much time,
so I was perspiring freely. In consequence it was no
difficult matter to test the wind; I could feel it on my neck.
So when a suspicion of a draught came up from below I
noticed it at once. That faint light breath was hardly
noticeable, but it aroused my fears. Cautiously I raised
my head so that I could see what the bear was doing,
intending to shoot at once if he were in the least suspicious.
He was gone, and subsequent examination of his tracks
told me he had left there in a hurry. Just that little puff
had ruined the whole thing. At first I could not under-
stand it, but soon found that the ridge caught the wind,
and then the creek bed acted like a chimney and drew
the air-currents upwards. I was safe enough until I
passed the end of the ridge.

The following year I was at the same slide again, and so
was the bear—if not the same bear at least one most un-
commonly like him. This time, with the knowledge I had
already gained, I was not going to be beaten. I would
make a big circle in the afternoon so that I could get
high up above where he would be, and then wait until
he came out. Of course that evening he chose the other
division for a feeding ground and I did not discover him
until just before it began to get dusk. Again I failed