The scalp of a wolf was good for fifteen dollars in them
days, and a backload of furs was worth a heap of money. We had a line
of martin traps leadin' back to the hills, and over into a valley
beyond, where the animal was plentier than they were on our side. In
passin' along this line, we had to round the end of a hill that
terminated in a sharp point of rocks. In a deep gully at its foot, a
stream went surgin' over rapids; the bank on the side towards the hill
was, may be, twenty feet high, and a right up and down ledge. Above
this ledge, and between it and the rocky point, was a narrow path,
only three or four feet wide, that turned short around the end of the
hill. On the left hand was the ledge, and at the bottom of it were
broken rocks, and on the right was a bluff point of rocks, that made
up the end of the hill, standin' straight up, may be, fifty feet.
Around this point, the path turned sharp almost as your elbow.
"I was passin' quietly round this pint, lookin' down into the gully,
with Crop at my heels, when, on turnin' the short elbow, there I
stood, face to face, and within ten feet of a mighty big bear, that
was travellin' my way, as the Judge said. I had no idee that he was
around, and I'm quite sartain he didn't expect to meet a human in such
a place. Of course, we were naterally astonished at seein' one another
just then, and the meetin' didn't seem to be altogether agreeable to
either party.
Pages:
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224