THE BEAR “MONARCH.” 175

under an immense oak beside a deep, rocky
pool. That evening, around the camp-fire,
some strange bear stories were evolved
from either the memories or imagination of
the hunters.

In the morning the search for bear signs
was resumed and prosecuted until noon
without success. Dad was lured by the
swarms of trout in the stream, and went
fishing. Dad is not a scientific fly fisher-
man. His favorite method is to select a
shady nook on the bank, sit down with his
back against a rock, tie a sinker to a large
and gaudy fly, and angle on the bottom
for the biggest trout he can see. He gen-
erally carries a book in his pocket, and
when the trout remains unresponsive to
the allurements of the gaudy fly, he fastens
his rod to a bush and reads until he falls
asleep.

In the afternoon one of the party went
out over a long, brushy ridge, and the cor-
respondent pushed on down the gorge in
search of bear signs. All the bear tracks