The Greatest Works of Emerson Hough – 19 Books in One Volume (Illustrated Edition). Emerson Hough
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lie at an angle of at least forty-five degrees, and a slip would have meant a long roll to the bottom of the slope.
“It’s perfectly safe,” said Uncle Dick, “especially since the others have stamped in footholds. You just follow me and step in my tracks. Not that way, Jesse — don’t lean in toward the slope, for that is not the way to cross ice or snow on a side-hill. If you lean in, don’t you see, you make yourself most liable to slip? Walk just as straight up as though you were on level ground — that’s the safest position you can take.”
“Well,” said Jesse, “I can understand how that theory works, but it’s awfully hard not to lean over when you feel as though your feet were going to slip from under you.”
They gained confidence as they advanced on the icy side-hill, and got across without mishap. Soon they came up with the three packers, who were resting and waiting for them.
“Make camp soon now,” said Leo. “Good place. Plenty slide not far.”
Indeed, within half a mile the men threw off their packs at a grunted word or so from Leo, and at once began to make their simple preparations for a camp. It was now almost noon, and all the party were well tired, so that a kettle of tea seemed welcome.
“Which way do we hunt from here, Leo?” inquired Uncle Dick, as they sat on a rock at the comfortable little bivouac they had constructed.
“Walk one mile,” answered Leo, “go around edge this mountain here. Come little creek there, three, four good slides. We kill ’um bear last spring. Camp here, so not get too close.”
After a time they were all ready for the hunt, but Leo seemed unhappy about something.
“You s’pose them boy go along?” he inquired of the leader.
“They surely do,” was the answer. “That’s what we came here for.”
“Even those small leetle boy?”
“Even those small leetle boy, yes, Leo. You don’t need to be uneasy — you and I can take care of these boys if they show they can’t take care of themselves. How about that, Moise?”
“I’ll tol’ Leo those boy she’ll been all right,” said Moise. “I’ll been out with those boy when she’ll ain’t one year so old as he is now, and she’s good honter then, heem. Those boy she’ll not get scare’. Better for those bear he’ll get scare’ and ron off!”
Accordingly, there were five rifles in the party which at length started up the mountain after Moise and George had gone back down the trail to the main camp on the river. They climbed upward in country now grown very steep, and at last turned into a high, deep gorge out of which came a brawling stream of milky-colored ice-water, some twenty or thirty yards across. Without hesitation Leo plunged in and waded across, proving the stream to be not much more than knee-deep. And truth to say, Uncle Dick was proud of his young comrades when, without a word or a whimper, they unhesitatingly plunged in also and waded through after their leader. Nothing was said about the incident, but it was noticeable that Leo seemed more gracious thereafter toward the young hunters, for pluck is something an Indian always admires.
“Now, Leo,” said Uncle Dick, when after a steady march of some time they had reached the foot of a slide perhaps half a mile or so in extent, which lay like a big gash of green on the face of the black mountain slope, “I suppose this is where we make our first hunt.”
Leo nodded, and began to feel in his pockets for some cartridges.
“Now never mind about loading up your magazine any more than it is, Leo,” went on the other, “and just pump out the shells from your rifle. If there’s any bear-killing done by this party this afternoon these boys are going to do it, and you and I will only serve as backing guns in case of trouble. My gun’s loaded, but I know you well enough, Leo, old man, not to let you load your gun just yet awhile — you’d be off up the hill if we saw a bear, and you’d have it killed before any of the others got a chance for a shot. You just hold your horses for a while, neighbor, and give my boys a chance.”
“Me no like,” said Leo, rather glumly. “Me heap kill ’um grizzlum.”
“Not this evening! These boys hunt ’um grizzlum this evening, Leo. They’ve come a long way, and they have to begin sometime. You live in here, and can kill plenty of bear any time you like. Besides, if any one of these boys kills a bear this afternoon I’m going to give you twenty dollars — that’ll be about as good as though you killed one yourself and got nothing but your wages, won’t it, Leo?”
Leo broke out into a broad smile. “All right,” said he. “But please, when you come on bear, let me load gun.”
“Certainly,” said Uncle Dick. “I’m not going to ask any man to stand in front of a grizzly with an empty rifle. But I’m not going to let you shoot until the time comes, believe me.”
The boys found it right cold sitting about in this high mountain air with their clothing still wet from their fording of the stream. They could see on ahead of them the flattened valley of the creek which they had ascended, and Leo promised that perhaps on the next day they would move their camp farther in that direction and so avoid fording the icy torrent twice a day.
“First hunt this slide,” said he. “Heap good. I ketch ’um bear here every time.”
For an hour or more it seemed as if Leo was not going to “ketch ’um bear” this afternoon, and all the members of the party except himself grew cold and uneasy, although he sat impassive, every so often glancing up the steep slope above them. All at once they heard him give a low grunt.
Following his gaze, they saw, high up on the slide, and nearly half a mile away, a great, gray figure which, even without the glasses, they knew to be a large grizzly bear. The boys felt the blood leap in their veins as they stood looking up at this great creature, which carelessly, as though it knew nothing of any intrusion, now strolled about in full view above them. Sometimes it pawed idly as though hunting grass roots or the like, and then again it would stand and look vacantly down the mountainside.
“He’ll see us, sure,” whispered Rob.
“S’pose keep still, no see ’um,” said Leo, still sitting looking at the bear. “S’pose hear ’um noise in bush, heem not scare. S’pose him smell us small little bit, heem run, sure. Wind this way. We go up this side.”
They now threw off all encumbering clothing, and each of the boys, with loaded rifle, began the ascent of the mountain, parallel to the slide, and under the thick cover of the forest. More than once Uncle Dick had to tap Leo on the shoulder and make him wait for the others, for an Indian has no mercy on a weak or inexperienced person on a hunting-trail. Indeed, so little did he show the fabled Indian calm, he was more excited than any of the others when they began to approach a point from which they might expect to see their game. Uncle Dick reached out his hand for Leo’s rifle and motioned for him to go ahead for a look. Leo advanced quietly to the edge of the slide and stood for a time peering out from behind the screening bush. Presently he came back.
“Beeg bear,” said he, “grizzlum. Heem eat grass. Up there, two, three hundred yard.”
Uncle Dick turned to look at his young friends to see how they were standing the excitement of this experience. Jesse was a little pale, but his eyes were shining. Rob, as usual, was a little grave and silent, and John, although somewhat out of breath, showed no disposition to halt. Smiling to himself, Uncle Dick motioned Leo to the rear; and once more they began their progress, this time closer to the edge of the slide and working steadily upward all the time.
At length he held up his hand. They could hear a low, whining, discontented sound, as though the bear were grumbling at the food which he was finding. Uncle Dick laid his finger on his lips and beckoned to Rob to go on ahead. Without hesitation Rob cocked his rifle and strode forward toward the edge of the slide, the others cautiously following, and Uncle Dick now handing Leo a handful of his cartridges, but raising a restraining hand to keep him back in his place.
They saw Rob,