It was after five next morning when we left in our two baidarkas for the extreme head of the bay, where there was another vast meadow.  My friend chose to hunt the right side of this marsh, while I took the left.

On reaching our watching place I settled myself for the day in my fur rug, and soon dozed off to finish my night’s rest, while my men took turns with the glasses.  About ten o’clock a black bear was sighted a long way off, but he soon wandered into the thicket which surrounded the marsh on three sides.  At twelve o’clock he appeared again, and we now circled well to leeward and waited where two trails met at the edge of the meadow, expecting the bear would work down one of them to us.  It was a long tiresome wait, for we were perched upon some tussocks through which the water soon found its way.  About five o’clock we returned to our original watching place, where my friend joined me.

The wind had been at a slant, and although we had worked safely around the bear, he must have got the scent of Blake’s party, although a long way off, for my friend reported that the bear was coming in our direction, as we had counted upon, when he suddenly threw up his head, gave one whiff, and started for the woods.

On Friday morning, June 7, we made a three o’clock start from where we had passed the night on the beach.  The sun was not over the mountains for another hour, and there was that great charm which comes in the early dawn of a summer’s day.  Blake in his baidarka, and I in mine, paddled along, side by side, and pushed up to the extreme head of the bay, where we came upon an old deserted Indian camp of the year before.  Numerous stretchers told of their success with bear; but the remains of an old fire in the very heart of our shooting grounds warned us that in this section the bears might have been disturbed; for the Alaskan bear is very wary, and is quick to take alarm at any unusual scent.  We came back to our camp on the beach by ten o’clock, and had our first substantial meal of the day; for we had now adopted the Aleutian habit of taking simply a cup of tea and a piece of bread in order to make the earliest of starts each morning.

After our mid-day breakfast, we usually took a nap until afternoon; but this day I was not sleepy, and so read for a while, then I loaded my rifle, which I always kept within arm’s reach, and was just settling my rugs to turn in, when Stereke gave a sharp bark, and Blake shouted, “Bear.”  Seizing my rifle I looked up, and walking toward us on the beach, just 110 yards away, was a good sized bull bear.  My dog at once made for him, while Blake jumped for his rifle.  The bear was just turning when I fired.  He bit for the wound, but uttered no sound, and was just disappearing in the brush when I fired a hasty second; Blake and I followed into the thick alders after the dog, which was savagely attacking the bear.  His barking told us where the bear was, and I arrived just in time to see him make a determined charge at the dog, which quickly avoided him, and just as quickly renewed the attack.