American Big Game in Its Haunts: The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club
History
American Big Game in Its Haunts: The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club
Big game hunting -- United States
It had been a long day, but as the wind was favorable we stopped only
for a cup of tea and then pushed on to the very head of the bay. Here,
at the mouth of a salmon stream, we came upon many fresh bear tracks,
and passed the night watching. As we had seen nothing by four o'clock in
the morning, we cautiously withdrew, and, going some distance down the
shore, camped in an old hunting barabara. It had been rather a long
stretch, when one considers that we had breakfasted a little over
twenty-four hours before. Watching a salmon stream by night is poor
sport, but it is the only kind of hunting that one can do at this time
of the year.
I slept until seven o'clock, when the men called me, and after a cup of
tea we started for the salmon stream, which we followed up beyond where
we had watched it the night previous. We were very careful to wade so as
not to give our scent to any bears which might approach the stream from
below. There were many tracks and deep, well-used trails leading in all
directions, while every few yards we came upon places where the tall
grass was trampled down, showing where bears had been fishing. These
bear trails are quite a feature of the Alaskan country, and some of them
are two feet wide and over a foot deep, showing that they have been in
constant use for many years.
That night we heard a bear pass within ten yards of us, but could not
see it. We returned to camp next morning at five o'clock, and I wrote up
my journal, for this night work is extremely confusing, and one
completely loses track of the days unless careful.
My men came to me after their mid-day sleep with very cheerful
countenances, and assured me that there was no doubt but that I should
surely soon meet with success, for the palm of Nikolai's hand had been
itching, and he had dreamed of blood and a big dog fighting, while
Lofka's eyelid trembled. My hunters told me in all seriousness that
these signs never failed.
In the afternoon we decided to watch a new place. We carried the
baidarka up a small stream and launched it in quite a large and
picturesque lake. We slowly paddled along the shores and watched near
the mouths of several salmon streams. By twelve o'clock we had not even
seen a track, so I decided to return to camp and get some much needed
sleep. The natives were to call me early the next morning, for I had
decided to return to Paramonoff Bay.
I think this was the only time in my hunting life that I was
deliberately lazy; but, although my natives called me several times, I
slept right on until nine o'clock. I was strongly tempted when we got
under way to start back by continuing around the Island of Afognak; but
Nikolai was anxious to have me give Paramonoff Bay another trial. He
thought the run of the humpback salmon might have begun since we left,
and if this was so, we were likely to find some large bears near the
streams we had watched the week before. I had great confidence in his
judgment, and therefore decided to retrace our steps.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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