CHAPTER V
AN UNEXPECTED BEAR
By eight o'clock the next morning the party had embarked on the tinysteamer "Senator" on their way up Burrard Inlet. The little craftcarried them swiftly along past the Indian village on the north bank,past wooded hills and low grassy points, past rough granite mountainfaces, where the few scattering trees found scarcely earth enough tosupport them, and were forced to drive their roots deep down intothe crevices of the rocks, until, six miles above Hastings, the boatturned sharply to the left and up the North Arm of the inlet. Herethe hills on either side were nearer together and appeared higher andmore rugged. Their summits were capped with snow, which, in many ofthe gorges and ravines, extended far down toward the water's edge.The steep rock faces were covered with a harsh brown moss, which,except when wet, gave an excellent foothold to the climber. Where themountains were not too steep, and soil was not utterly wanting, therewas a dense forest of Douglas firs and cedars, some of the timber beingvery large. The various shades of green of the different trees gave avariety to the aspect of the forest, as a whole, which had almost theeffect of cloud shadows, and added greatly to the beauty of the scene.Jack and Hugh did not weary in watching the constantly changing view.Now and then the round head of a seal emerged from the quiet waters,looked for a moment at the boat and then disappeared. Little groups ofwater birds, disturbed in their fishing or their resting, rose on wingand flew up or down the inlet. From the shores and mountains on eitherside, birds, large and small, were constantly flying across the inlet;and now and then a great fish sprang from the water, and fell back witha splash which could be heard.
"I tell you, Hugh," said Jack, "we'll have things enough to talk aboutif we ever get back to the ranch and tell the cow-punchers there whatwe have seen on this trip."
"You're dead right, son; they never imagined anything like this anymore than I ever did; and what's more, we won't be able to tell it tothem so that they can understand what it is like. That's the worst ofgoing off and seeing things,--that when you go back you can't makeother people see as you saw, or have the same feelings that you hadwhen you took them in with your eyes."
"Yes," said Jack, "talk is a pretty poor thing compared with seeinganything for yourself."
"Now, look at those waterfalls!" said Hugh. "Do you suppose it would bepossible to tell anybody about those things so that they could reallyunderstand how they look?"
"No," said Jack, "I do not believe anybody could do that."
Down almost every slope within their view, and constantly changingas the boat's position changed, poured beautiful cascades, some ofwhich deserved the title of waterfall. Though now they carried butlittle water, their wide beds of naked rock showed that in the springand early summer, when the snows were melting, they must be mightytorrents, sweeping everything before them with resistless power. Evennow they were very beautiful, and their delicate streams, stretchinglike white threads far up the mountain sides, could scarcely bedistinguished in the distance from the lines of snow in the ravines;though, with the glasses, the leaping, wavering motion of the watercould be discerned which distinguished the white hurrying flood fromthe unmoving snowdrift.
They had passed up the Arm and were just rounding a little point andbeginning to get a view of some low grassy meadows running up from thewater's edge, when Hugh suddenly said to Jack: "Son, I believe that's abear in that grass"; and Jack, bringing his eyes down to the meadow'slevel, saw a small black object moving about in the grass. Whatever itwas, it had not yet seen the steamer. Jack rushed into the cabin whereFannin and Mr. James were talking to the Indian Seammux and, graspinghis rifle, said: "Mr. Fannin, I believe there is a bear out on theshore." In a moment all were looking at the animal, and there was nowno doubt as to what it was. Fannin stepped around to the pilot houseand asked the captain to steer close to the shore, and also to see thatthe boat made as little noise as possible. They rapidly crept up towardthe bear; but long before they had come within rifle-shot the animalsaw them, stood up, looked for a moment or two, and then, turningabout, bolted through the grass and disappeared in the forest.
"Well," said Jack to Mr. Fannin, "that beats anything yet. I believe ifanybody had been in a canoe and paddled along quietly, that bear wouldnever have noticed him, and he might have got within gunshot."
"Yes," said Mr. Fannin, "of course he might. That's just what I've toldyou. It's quite possible that you will see something of that kind morethan once before you get back."
About twelve miles from where the North Arm leaves the main inlet,the Arm ends in the narrow valley of the Salmon River. Here the boatanchored, and here, after some little discussion, it was determinedthat Jack, Mr. Fannin, and the Indian should take the latter's canoeand go a short distance up the river to see whether a glimpse might notbe had of the goats that dwelt on the summit of the mountains on thewest side.
In the meantime Mr. James jointed his rod and set out to try to catchsome trout; while Hugh said that he would go with Mr. James and watchthe fishing.
The Indian's canoe was light, low, and slender, and when its threeoccupants were seated it was low in the water. Mr. Fannin had with himhis rifle and his shot-gun; the rifle, perhaps, being carried out ofcompliment to Jack, while the shot-gun was his constant companion, forhe never knew at what moment he might not see some strange bird.
They had gone but a short distance up the river when it becamenecessary for Mr. Fannin and Jack to land and walk along the gravelbars, for the water in the rapids was so shoal that the loaded canoecould not ascend. When the swift water was reached, the Indian laiddown his paddle, took up his pole, and, standing in the stern of thecanoe, prepared to drive the craft up the stream against the turbulentcurrent. Quietly pushing it along until he had almost reached therushing water, he set his pole firmly against the bottom, and leaningback against it, sent the light craft fifteen or twenty feet up thestream, and then, before its way had ceased, recovered his pole andagain set it against the stones of the bottom. Standing as he did inthe stern, the nose of the canoe rose high above the water; and, as itrushed forward, reminded Jack of the head of some sea monster, whoselower jaw was buried beneath the surface. No matter how furiously thewater rushed, boiled, and bubbled on either side, the light craft heldperfectly straight, moved regularly forward until, when the rapids hadbeen passed, Fannin and Jack stepped aboard once more and the paddleswere resumed, only to be laid aside for the pole when another rapid wasreached.
Here Jack saw, and was delighted to see, some familiar friends of theRocky Mountains,--the little dippers or water ouzels. On every littlestretch of still water one or more would be started, flying from rockto rock and bobbing comically at each point where they alighted. Manyof the birds were young ones, not long from the nest, and were quitewithout fear, permitting a very close approach before they would fly.
A number of broods of harlequin ducks were startled, some of themquite large and able to fly, while others seemed to be newly hatched.Whatever their age, they seemed well able to take care of themselves,and could always keep ahead of the canoe until at last they disappearedfrom sight around some bend and were not seen again. Everywhere alongthe stream grew the salmon berry bushes, laden with mature or ripeningfruit. The bushes, in their manner of growth and in their berries,reminded Jack of the eastern blackberries, but the ripe fruit waseither red or yellow or black, all these colors growing on the samebush.
As they passed on up the stream, the white men sometimes on the gravelbar and again in the canoe, they saw no other animal life except theravens and eagles, which now and then flew over them, going up anddown the valley. At one point were tracks where a bear had crossed thestream, and at another some old deer tracks.
At length, about two miles from the mouth of the river, on a longgravel bar, where the river was wide and a good view could be had ofthe summits of the mountains, they landed to try to see some whitegoats. The guns, which had been lying in the canoe, were wet from thewater
which had been shipped in the passage up the rapids, and Jack andMr. Fannin took them out to dry. Mr. Fannin held his down to drainand then set them up against a pile of driftwood to dry. Jack wipedthe water from his rifle as well as he could, and walked along with itin his hand. The three had gone about forty yards from the canoe whenMr. Fannin and the Indian stopped and began carefully to look over thehills above them. Jack looked too, but saw nothing and walked on towardthe upper end of the bar, where there was a huge drift-log, which hemounted to get a wider view. As he did so he looked back at the othersand saw Seammux suddenly point across the river and speak eagerly tohis companion. At the same time Mr. Fannin turned toward Jack andbeckoned with his hand. Jack thought that possibly a deer had shownitself in the brush and jumped from his perch on the log to run towardthe others. The stones under his feet seemed to make a tremendouslyloud clatter as he ran; and, forgetting that the roar of the waterwould drown any noise that he might make, he feared that the game,whatever it might be, would hear him and run off into the brush.
He was still fifty yards from the other two when Fannin again turnedtoward him and raised his hand with a warning gesture. Just as he didso there walked out from behind a bush into Jack's view a good-sizedbear. As he started to run Jack had slipped a cartridge into hisrifle, and, as soon as the animal appeared, he dropped on one kneeand prepared to fire. The bear, however, was quite unconscious of thepresence of man, and Jack waited for a moment in the hope that theanimal would stand still; for, with two persons looking on, he wasanxious not to miss. The bear was about one hundred yards off, andthere would be no excuse for a failure. It was gathering berries, andits attention was concentrated on that occupation. Where the fruithung low the bear reached up its head like a cow picking apples froma tree, and, winding its long tongue about the stem, stripped theberries and leaves from it. Again it would stand up on its hind legsand, reaching the high branches with its forepaws, pull them downwithin reach of its mouth. Two or three times Jack was on the point ofpulling the trigger, but he waited for a better opportunity, which cameat last. The bear dropped on all fours and for an instant stood still,with head slightly raised, facing Jack, who fired at the white spot onthe beast's breast. Just as the trigger was pulled the bear began torear up for some berries; but, at the crack of the rifle, he whirledabout and lumbered off into the brush. A moment later Jack had run upto Mr. Fannin and asked: "Did I hit him?" Neither could tell, and Mr.Fannin sent Seammux to bring the canoe up to where they were standing,so that they might cross over to look for the trail.
JACK FIRED AT THE WHITE SPOT ON THE BEAST'S BREAST--_Page 59_]
In a few moments the canoe came up, and in a moment more they hadcrossed over and reached the opposite bank. Mr. Fannin and Jack climbedup the steep bank and ran to the point where the bear had disappeared,while Seammux, taking time only to secure the canoe, followed. They hadnot gone two yards into the bushes when Jack saw a broad leaf coveredwith blood, and then thick drops--a plain trail running into thetimber. By this time Seammux was with them, and they pressed forward onthe trail. Once they overran it for a moment, but a low call from theIndian told them that he had found it; and, as they overtook him, hestopped with an exclamation, and pointed. There, a few yards away, laythe bear curled up on his side, his paws over his nose. They looked fora moment, but he did not move, and then, holding his gun in readiness,Jack walked around behind and gave the back a sharp push. The animalwas quite dead, the ball having pierced the white spot and gone throughthe vitals.
Though it looked much smaller dead than it had when living, and thoughthe distance to the river bank was short, it took some time to drag thebear out to the river, and then to lower it into the canoe.
A little more time was devoted to studying the tops of the mountainsfor goats; then, as the sun was getting low, they stepped into thecanoe, turned the vessel's prow down stream, and were soon hurryingmerrily along over the dancing waters toward the river's mouth.
Jack, to whom this method of journeying was new, found it veryexhilarating to fly down the rapids, dashing by the bank at almostrailroad speed, the Indian now and then giving a stroke of the paddleto keep the canoe straight, or sometimes to alter her course whena threatening rock appeared above the water. The rapids, that hadbeen surmounted with much difficulty on the way up the stream, nowdisappeared behind them almost as soon as they were reached. It tookbut a short time to gain the mouth of the river, and the canoe was soonalongside the steamer.
There everything was ready for a start. The bear in the canoe gavethose on the steamer a surprise, and they were much gratified at thesuccess of the short excursion.
Just as the steamer was about to start, Seammux spoke and pointedtoward the top of one of the mountains on the north side of the Arm,where two very minute white spots were seen on the mountain top. Whenthe glasses had been brought to bear and the specks had been watchedfor some little time, it appeared quite certain that they were whitegoats. Although they were so distant that no motion could be detected,it soon became apparent that these white specks gradually changed theirpositions, both with regard to each other and to surrounding objects.The day was too far spent to allow any further investigation of themto be made, but as the boat started on its way down the North Arm, Mr.Fannin assured Jack that at last he had seen a couple of white goats.
"If you want to see these animals at home," said Mr. Fannin, "the bestthing we can do is to come back here and climb those mountains to wherethey live, and then we can see them and very likely get one or two. Youare in no great hurry, I fancy, and you would not mind spending a dayor two in camping on the top of these hills. We'll think it over andmake up our minds about it to-night or to-morrow."
"Nothing would suit me better than just such a trip as you suggest, Mr.Fannin, and we can talk it over and decide about it to-night, as yousay."
If it had been pleasant coming up the Arm and the inlet, it was notless so on the way down. The bird life was as abundant as it had beenin the morning. Jack and Mr. Fannin went to the bow and watched thecreatures busy at their feeding.
"Tell me something about that black bird with the white shoulders, Mr.Fannin. I suppose it is one of the guillemots, is it not?" asked Jack.
"Yes. That's the pigeon guillemot," said Mr. Fannin; "a very abundantbird here, found everywhere on the salt water. It's more plentiful inthe Gulf of Georgia than it is up here in the inlet, but it's plentyenough everywhere. They breed on many of the islands, rearing theiryoung in the rocks. They are industrious little birds, as you see, andare constantly diving for food. They eat a crustacean which looks to mea good deal like the crawfish that I used to see back East; and if youwatch, you will see that many of these birds which fly by the vesselare carrying this crustacean in their bills. That means, I suppose,that by this time of the year the young are getting big enough to helpthemselves. I believe that when they are very young, though, the oldones swallow the food, which, after it has been partly digested, isdisgorged into the mouths of the young ones."
"There seem to be some ducks over there near the shore, can you tellwhat those are at this distance, Mr. Fannin?" asked Jack.
Mr. Fannin looked through the glasses and then replied: "Yes, thoseare harlequin ducks. Take the glasses and look at them. Their plumageis easily recognized even at this distance. They breed here on theislands, I am told, though I have never found a nest. The Indians saythat they are very much more abundant on the river than they are downhere on the salt water. I have never seen a nest, and don't even knowwhere they breed, whether in the grass, or in holes in the rocks, or inthe trees. Of course, you know that there are some ducks that build inthe holes in the trees?"
"Oh, yes," replied Jack. "Quite a number of them, though I have neverfound a duck's nest in a tree; and I feel that I should be a good dealsurprised if I did find one."
All along the inlet eagles, ospreys, and crows fairly swarmed, broughtthere by the abundance of the fish, which offer food to all of them.Salmon and many other sorts of good fish run up the Arm,
while thedog-fish--a small shark--is everywhere. There is no reason why afish-eating bird should starve here; and, besides the fish, the crowsand ravens find abundant food along the shore in the various sorts ofshell-fish that are everywhere abundant.
A little later, as the two were sitting on the deck in front of thepilot house, enjoying the warm sun, the Indian Seammux came up, and,squatting down beside them, began to talk in Chinook to Mr. Fannin.After he had spoken for a few moments Mr. Fannin answered him, and,turning to Jack, said: "Here is something that maybe will interestyou. Seammux is telling me a story about a selallicum that used to livein the North Arm of the inlet, and in old times killed many Indians.This monster must have been of great size. It was peculiar in form,too, being shaped like two fishes, whose bodies were joined togetherat the tail. It used to lie stretched across the mouth of the NorthArm, just beneath the surface of the water, one of its heads reachingacross to the other shore. Whenever a canoe attempted to pass up theArm, the monster would wait until the vessel was directly over its bodyand then would rise to the surface and upset the canoe, and devour theoccupants. That is all that he has told me so far."
He spoke to Seammux, who replied at considerable length, and Mr. Fannininterpreted again. "'In this way,' he says, 'the monster killed manyIndians, for the North Arm was a great hunting place, and fish andgame and berries abounded along the river, so that the people had togo there to get them for food. At last, the loss of life caused by themonster became so terrible, that the Squamisht Indians had lost nearlyhalf their people; and now no one dared to go up the Arm, so that thepeople feared that they would starve.'
"'In one of the villages there was a young man who had seen themisfortune of his people and pitied them. He felt so sorry for themthat he at last determined that he would sacrifice himself for hisrace by killing this monster, even though it cost him his life. Oneday he went to his family and bade them good-by, saying that he wasgoing away and should not be back for a long time. That day he wentinto the mountains and did not return again. In the mountains he fastedfor many days, and prayed to the spirits, and at length one night whenhe was getting very weak, he dreamed that a large white goat stoodnear him as he slept and spoke to him, for a long time, telling himto take courage and advising him what he should do. The next day theyoung man went farther into the mountains and gathered certain rootsand herbs, and after he had dried them and pounded them into powder, hemixed them with some sacred oil, and rubbed the mixture over his wholebody, leaving no part of his skin untouched. Then he walked down themountains to the shore of the inlet, and dived into the water. For fiveyears he lived in the water, scarcely ever coming out on shore; and inall these five years he never spoke to a man. He became so much at homein the water that he could swim faster than a seal or a salmon, and atthe end of that time his spiritual power was so strong that he couldcall up to him the fishes or the seals and lift them into the canoe.
"'Now he was ready to fight the monster. He took with him two spears,one in each hand; swam to the mouth of the North Arm, dived under themonster, and thrust the spears into it. Then there was a fierce andterrible fight; but at length the battle ended, and the monster wasdead. The young man was badly wounded, and expected to die. He floatedon the surface of the water, like a dead salmon. As he lay there on thewater, he heard the sound of a paddle, and soon a canoe came by him,and in the canoe sat his brother. The two recognized each other, andthe brother lifted the wounded man into the canoe and took him to theshore. The wounded man said to him: "My brother, take me up into themountains and gather there certain roots and herbs. These you must dryand then cook a little. Then pound them into a fine powder, mix themwith oil of the medicine-fish, and rub this oil all over me, leavingno part of my body untouched." The brother did so, and immediately theyoung man rose from the ground, and walked about, sound and whole.Then the two brothers walked home to the village, and since that time,the monster has not been seen on the North Arm.'"
"That's a good story, Mr. Fannin, a bully story," said Jack. "I wish,though, that I knew enough about the language to get along without aninterpreter."
"Why, if you are willing to give a little attention and thought tothe matter, you can learn this Chinook jargon easily enough. There isno grammar to bother you, and I am sure that you will pick it up veryquickly."
"I must try and do so," replied Jack, "if I am going to stay in thiscountry."
That night a council was held in Mr. Fannin's shop, and the plansof the two Americans were discussed at length. After a good deal oftalking, Mr. Fannin agreed to accompany them on their canoe trip. Hewould go back with them to Victoria when they were ready, and preparefor the voyage. All hands were gratified at this decision.
"But now," said Fannin, "before you leave here, I think that you hadbetter go up to the head of the North Arm and make a hunt there forgoats. Of course, there's a probability that you may have plenty ofhunting, on the trip, and there is also a probability that you mayhave no hunting at all. We may have good weather and favorable winds,in which case everything will run as smoothly as possible. We may havealmost continuous rains, and head winds, and in that case we shall haveto work very hard at the paddles all day long, to make any progress atall. I am like most other people. I always think that any short tripthat I am going to take will turn out well--a good deal better thanI had anticipated; but I have travelled in canoes so much about theshores of this Province, that I know perfectly well that we shall meetwith many difficulties and delays. I do not look for any danger.
"If you feel like making a hunt here I will get Seammux and anotherIndian and two canoes, and we can go up the Arm, to where we wereto-day, climb the mountains, camp there for a couple of nights, have ahunt, come back here, take the stage for Westminster, and from there goto Victoria. By doing this, as I said before, you will be sure of atleast one hunt. On the trip you will be pretty sure to kill something,perhaps enough to satisfy you as to white goats. What do you say?"
"Well, sir," said Hugh, "I am getting to be a little old to climbmountains, but at the same time I should like to go up to the top ofthose that we saw to-day. I don't care so much about the hunting, butI would like to go up where I could see off a little way. Almost eversince I left the ranch we've been in the timber, or else in big towns,shut in so that I haven't had any chance to use my eyes. I'm not usedto that, and I would like to have a big view once more. What do yousay, son?" he added, turning to Jack.
"Tell me, Mr. Fannin," said Jack, "what game will we be likely to seeon top of those mountains?"
"Well," said Fannin, "I never have hunted there. I can only tell youwhat the Indians say. They report goats as plenty. They say that thereare some bears; and they describe good-sized birds, which I think mustbe ptarmigan. At all events they speak of them as birds about as bigas the grouse we have down here, but as turning white in winter. Thisof course fits the ptarmigan. I don't know whether they are the willowptarmigan or the white-tail ptarmigan. I should be delighted if theyproved to be the latter. Besides that, there may be all sorts of rarenorthern birds up there. You see, it's pretty high up, quite above thetimber line, according to what the Indians tell."
"Well," said Jack, "that sounds mighty nice, and I vote in favor ofgoing, if Hugh thinks best."
"I say 'go'" said Hugh. "Now what does Mr. James say?" he added,turning to the latter gentleman who sat silent, smoking his pipe.
"Mr. James says," said that gentleman, "that he wishes with allhis heart that he could go with you, and was not obliged to returnto-morrow to New Westminster. By bad luck I have business there whichcannot be put off; and so, I must return on the stage. You others hadbetter stay here and make your hunt, and then when you come back youcan tell me about it."
So it was decided. The next morning Mr. James took the stage fortown, while Fannin, Hugh, and Jack began to get Indians, canoes, andprovisions together, for their camping trip in the mountains.