PREVALENCE OF WHITE BEARS 119

Museum. It is not, however, only in this neighbourhood
that occasional white bears are found. Every now and
again one is either seen or killed in the interior of the
mainland; but the number of such animals, though
probably greater, does not exceed by very many that of
white deer, specimens of which we come across once in a
while.

During my wanderings in this country, thousands of
bear skins that have been collected by fur buyers have
come under my observation. In the old days, when there
was more of a demand for bear skins than there is now,
it often happened that a trader would handle hundreds
of bear skins in a season; yet only a very occasional
white skin found its way into their hands, and most of
them never had one at any time. Surely if it was a
distinct species they would be somewhat more plentiful.
Of all the bear I have killed myself not one was white,
though a few were very light-coloured. On one occasion
I actually saw a white bear alive, and I saw the skin of
another shortly after the animal was killed by an Indian
with whom I was out hunting. This bear was killed about
eighty miles up from the mouth of the Fraser River.
We were hunting with hounds and after a long run lost
all touch with them. Whereupon we separated, each of
us striking out in a different direction. The Indian had
the luck to find them again and made a kill, but, being a
long way back, just brought out the skin. It was of
medium size, but it had the orangy strip along the back,
except for which it was almost pure white. Being under
the impression that it was nothing but a freak I did not
bother to go back for the skull. The other white bear
which I saw alive was a yearling with a black mother ;
and about it there is quite a story to be told.

In the year 1896 another man and I made a long round-
about journey by way of Seattle and Spokane in the
United States, and then on by horseback through the
famous Colville Reserve, where the United States Govern-
ment had rounded up the remnants of the Nes Perces and
other notorious fighting Indians, back to British Territory,