CHAPTER V

AN UNEXPECTED BEAR

By eight o'clock the next morning the party had embarked on the tiny steamer "Senator" on their way up Burrard Inlet. The little craft carried them swiftly along past the Indian village on the north bank, past wooded hills and low grassy points, past rough granite mountain faces, where the few scattering trees found scarcely earth enough to support them, and were forced to drive their roots deep down into the crevices of the rocks, until, six miles above Hastings, the boat turned sharply to the left and up the North Arm of the inlet. Here the hills on either side were nearer together and appeared higher and more rugged. Their summits were capped with snow, which, in many of the 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 the mountains were not too steep, and soil was not utterly wanting, there was a dense forest of Douglas firs and cedars, some of the timber being very large. The various shades of green of the different trees gave a variety to the aspect of the forest, as a whole, which had almost the effect 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 of water birds, disturbed in their fishing or their resting, rose on wing and flew up or down the inlet. From the shores and mountains on either side, birds, large and small, were constantly flying across the inlet; and now and then a great fish sprang from the water, and fell back with a splash which could be heard.

"I tell you, Hugh," said Jack, "we'll have things enough to talk about if we ever get back to the ranch and tell the cow-punchers there what we have seen on this trip."

"You're dead right, son; they never imagined anything like this any more than I ever did; and what's more, we won't be able to tell it to them so that they can understand what it is like. That's the worst of going off and seeing things,--that when you go back you can't make other people see as you saw, or have the same feelings that you had when you took them in with your eyes."

"Yes," said Jack, "talk is a pretty poor thing compared with seeing anything for yourself."

"Now, look at those waterfalls!" said Hugh. "Do you suppose it would be possible to tell anybody about those things so that they could really understand how they look?"

"No," said Jack, "I do not believe anybody could do that."

Down almost every slope within their view, and constantly changing as the boat's position changed, poured beautiful cascades, some of which deserved the title of waterfall. Though now they carried but little water, their wide beds of naked rock showed that in the spring and early summer, when the snows were melting, they must be mighty torrents, sweeping everything before them with resistless power. Even now they were very beautiful, and their delicate streams, stretching like white threads far up the mountain sides, could scarcely be distinguished in the distance from the lines of snow in the ravines; though, with the glasses, the leaping, wavering motion of the water could be discerned which distinguished the white hurrying flood from the unmoving snowdrift.

They had passed up the Arm and were just rounding a little point and beginning to get a view of some low grassy meadows running up from the water's edge, when Hugh suddenly said to Jack: "Son, I believe that's a bear in that grass"; and Jack, bringing his eyes down to the meadow's level, saw a small black object moving about in the grass. Whatever it was, it had not yet seen the steamer. Jack rushed into the cabin where Fannin and Mr. James were talking to the Indian Seammux and, grasping his rifle, said: "Mr. Fannin, I believe there is a bear out on the shore." In a moment all were looking at the animal, and there was now no doubt as to what it was. Fannin stepped around to the pilot house and asked the captain to steer close to the shore, and also to see that the boat made as little noise as possible. They rapidly crept up toward the bear; but long before they had come within rifle-shot the animal saw them, stood up, looked for a moment or two, and then, turning about, bolted through the grass and disappeared in the forest.

"Well," said Jack to Mr. Fannin, "that beats anything yet. I believe if anybody had been in a canoe and paddled along quietly, that bear would never have noticed him, and he might have got within gunshot."

"Yes," said Mr. Fannin, "of course he might. That's just what I've told you. It's quite possible that you will see something of that kind more than 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 boat anchored, and here, after some little discussion, it was determined that Jack, Mr. Fannin, and the Indian should take the latter's canoe and go a short distance up the river to see whether a glimpse might not be had of the goats that dwelt on the summit of the mountains on the west side.

In the meantime Mr. James jointed his rod and set out to try to catch some trout; while Hugh said that he would go with Mr. James and watch the fishing.

The Indian's canoe was light, low, and slender, and when its three occupants were seated it was low in the water. Mr. Fannin had with him his rifle and his shot-gun; the rifle, perhaps, being carried out of compliment to Jack, while the shot-gun was his constant companion, for he never knew at what moment he might not see some strange bird.

They had gone but a short distance up the river when it became necessary for Mr. Fannin and Jack to land and walk along the gravel bars, for the water in the rapids was so shoal that the loaded canoe could not ascend. When the swift water was reached, the Indian laid down his paddle, took up his pole, and, standing in the stern of the canoe, prepared to drive the craft up the stream against the turbulent current. Quietly pushing it along until he had almost reached the rushing water, he set his pole firmly against the bottom, and leaning back against it, sent the light craft fifteen or twenty feet up the stream, and then, before its way had ceased, recovered his pole and again set it against the stones of the bottom. Standing as he did in the stern, the nose of the canoe rose high above the water; and, as it rushed forward, reminded Jack of the head of some sea monster, whose lower jaw was buried beneath the surface. No matter how furiously the water rushed, boiled, and bubbled on either side, the light craft held perfectly straight, moved regularly forward until, when the rapids had been passed, Fannin and Jack stepped aboard once more and the paddles were resumed, only to be laid aside for the pole when another rapid was reached.

Here Jack saw, and was delighted to see, some familiar friends of the Rocky Mountains,--the little dippers or water ouzels. On every little stretch of still water one or more would be started, flying from rock to rock and bobbing comically at each point where they alighted. Many of the birds were young ones, not long from the nest, and were quite without fear, permitting a very close approach before they would fly.

A number of broods of harlequin ducks were startled, some of them quite 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 disappeared from sight around some bend and were not seen again. Everywhere along the stream grew the salmon berry bushes, laden with mature or ripening fruit. The bushes, in their manner of growth and in their berries, reminded Jack of the eastern blackberries, but the ripe fruit was either red or yellow or black, all these colors growing on the same bush.

As they passed on up the stream, the white men sometimes on the gravel bar and again in the canoe, they saw no other animal life except the ravens and eagles, which now and then flew over them, going up and down the valley. At one point were tracks where a bear had crossed the stream, and at another some old deer tracks.

At length, about two miles from the mouth of the river, on a long gravel bar, where the river was wide and a good view could be had of the summits of the mountains, they landed to try to see some white goats. The guns, which had been lying in the canoe, were wet from the water which had been shipped in the passage up the rapids, and Jack and Mr. Fannin took them out to dry. Mr. Fannin held his down to drain and then set them up against a pile of driftwood to dry. Jack wiped the water from his rifle as well as he could, and walked along with it in his hand. The three had gone about forty yards from the canoe when Mr. Fannin and the Indian stopped and began carefully to look over the hills above them. Jack looked too, but saw nothing and walked on toward the upper end of the bar, where there was a huge drift-log, which he mounted to get a wider view. As he did so he looked back at the others and saw Seammux suddenly point across the river and speak eagerly to his companion. At the same time Mr. Fannin turned toward Jack and beckoned with his hand. Jack thought that possibly a deer had shown itself in the brush and jumped from his perch on the log to run toward the others. The stones under his feet seemed to make a tremendously loud clatter as he ran; and, forgetting that the roar of the water would 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 turned toward him and raised his hand with a warning gesture. Just as he did so there walked out from behind a bush into Jack's view a good-sized bear. As he started to run Jack had slipped a cartridge into his rifle, and, as soon as the animal appeared, he dropped on one knee and prepared to fire. The bear, however, was quite unconscious of the presence of man, and Jack waited for a moment in the hope that the animal would stand still; for, with two persons looking on, he was anxious not to miss. The bear was about one hundred yards off, and there would be no excuse for a failure. It was gathering berries, and its attention was concentrated on that occupation. Where the fruit hung low the bear reached up its head like a cow picking apples from a tree, and, winding its long tongue about the stem, stripped the berries and leaves from it. Again it would stand up on its hind legs and, reaching the high branches with its forepaws, pull them down within reach of its mouth. Two or three times Jack was on the point of pulling the trigger, but he waited for a better opportunity, which came at 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 on the beast's breast. Just as the trigger was pulled the bear began to rear up for some berries; but, at the crack of the rifle, he whirled about and lumbered off into the brush. A moment later Jack had run up to 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.

In a few moments the canoe came up, and in a moment more they had crossed over and reached the opposite bank. Mr. Fannin and Jack climbed up the steep bank and ran to the point where the bear had disappeared, while Seammux, taking time only to secure the canoe, followed. They had not gone two yards into the bushes when Jack saw a broad leaf covered with blood, and then thick drops--a plain trail running into the timber. By this time Seammux was with them, and they pressed forward on the trail. Once they overran it for a moment, but a low call from the Indian told them that he had found it; and, as they overtook him, he stopped with an exclamation, and pointed. There, a few yards away, lay the bear curled up on his side, his paws over his nose. They looked for a 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 animal was quite dead, the ball having pierced the white spot and gone through the vitals.

Though it looked much smaller dead than it had when living, and though the distance to the river bank was short, it took some time to drag the bear out to the river, and then to lower it into the canoe.

A little more time was devoted to studying the tops of the mountains for goats; then, as the sun was getting low, they stepped into the canoe, turned the vessel's prow down stream, and were soon hurrying merrily along over the dancing waters toward the river's mouth.

Jack, to whom this method of journeying was new, found it very exhilarating to fly down the rapids, dashing by the bank at almost railroad speed, the Indian now and then giving a stroke of the paddle to keep the canoe straight, or sometimes to alter her course when a threatening rock appeared above the water. The rapids, that had been surmounted with much difficulty on the way up the stream, now disappeared behind them almost as soon as they were reached. It took but a short time to gain the mouth of the river, and the canoe was soon alongside the steamer.

There everything was ready for a start. The bear in the canoe gave those on the steamer a surprise, and they were much gratified at the success of the short excursion.

Just as the steamer was about to start, Seammux spoke and pointed toward 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. When the glasses had been brought to bear and the specks had been watched for some little time, it appeared quite certain that they were white goats. Although they were so distant that no motion could be detected, it soon became apparent that these white specks gradually changed their positions, both with regard to each other and to surrounding objects. The day was too far spent to allow any further investigation of them to 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 best thing we can do is to come back here and climb those mountains to where they live, and then we can see them and very likely get one or two. You are in no great hurry, I fancy, and you would not mind spending a day or two in camping on the top of these hills. We'll think it over and make 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 you say."

If it had been pleasant coming up the Arm and the inlet, it was not less so on the way down. The bird life was as abundant as it had been in the morning. Jack and Mr. Fannin went to the bow and watched the creatures 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 abundant bird here, found everywhere on the salt water. It's more plentiful in the Gulf of Georgia than it is up here in the inlet, but it's plenty enough everywhere. They breed on many of the islands, rearing their young in the rocks. They are industrious little birds, as you see, and are constantly diving for food. They eat a crustacean which looks to me a good deal like the crawfish that I used to see back East; and if you watch, you will see that many of these birds which fly by the vessel are carrying this crustacean in their bills. That means, I suppose, that by this time of the year the young are getting big enough to help themselves. I believe that when they are very young, though, the old ones swallow the food, which, after it has been partly digested, is disgorged into the mouths of the young ones."

"There seem to be some ducks over there near the shore, can you tell what those are at this distance, Mr. Fannin?" asked Jack.

Mr. Fannin looked through the glasses and then replied: "Yes, those are harlequin ducks. Take the glasses and look at them. Their plumage is easily recognized even at this distance. They breed here on the islands, I am told, though I have never found a nest. The Indians say that they are very much more abundant on the river than they are down here on the salt water. I have never seen a nest, and don't even know where they breed, whether in the grass, or in holes in the rocks, or in the trees. Of course, you know that there are some ducks that build in the holes in the trees?"

"Oh, yes," replied Jack. "Quite a number of them, though I have never found a duck's nest in a tree; and I feel that I should be a good deal surprised if I did find one."

All along the inlet eagles, ospreys, and crows fairly swarmed, brought there 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 the dog-fish--a small shark--is everywhere. There is no reason why a fish-eating bird should starve here; and, besides the fish, the crows and ravens find abundant food along the shore in the various sorts of shell-fish that are everywhere abundant.

A little later, as the two were sitting on the deck in front of the pilot 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 interest you. Seammux is telling me a story about a selallicum that used to live in 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 together at the tail. It used to lie stretched across the mouth of the North Arm, just beneath the surface of the water, one of its heads reaching across to the other shore. Whenever a canoe attempted to pass up the Arm, the monster would wait until the vessel was directly over its body and then would rise to the surface and upset the canoe, and devour the occupants. That is all that he has told me so far."

He spoke to Seammux, who replied at considerable length, and Mr. Fannin interpreted again. "'In this way,' he says, 'the monster killed many Indians, for the North Arm was a great hunting place, and fish and game and berries abounded along the river, so that the people had to go there to get them for food. At last, the loss of life caused by the monster became so terrible, that the Squamisht Indians had lost nearly half their people; and now no one dared to go up the Arm, so that the people feared that they would starve.'

"'In one of the villages there was a young man who had seen the misfortune of his people and pitied them. He felt so sorry for them that he at last determined that he would sacrifice himself for his race by killing this monster, even though it cost him his life. One day he went to his family and bade them good-by, saying that he was going away and should not be back for a long time. That day he went into the mountains and did not return again. In the mountains he fasted for many days, and prayed to the spirits, and at length one night when he was getting very weak, he dreamed that a large white goat stood near him as he slept and spoke to him, for a long time, telling him to take courage and advising him what he should do. The next day the young man went farther into the mountains and gathered certain roots and herbs, and after he had dried them and pounded them into powder, he mixed them with some sacred oil, and rubbed the mixture over his whole body, leaving no part of his skin untouched. Then he walked down the mountains to the shore of the inlet, and dived into the water. For five years he lived in the water, scarcely ever coming out on shore; and in all these five years he never spoke to a man. He became so much at home in the water that he could swim faster than a seal or a salmon, and at the end of that time his spiritual power was so strong that he could call 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 the monster, and thrust the spears into it. Then there was a fierce and terrible fight; but at length the battle ended, and the monster was dead. The young man was badly wounded, and expected to die. He floated on the surface of the water, like a dead salmon. As he lay there on the water, 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, and the brother lifted the wounded man into the canoe and took him to the shore. The wounded man said to him: "My brother, take me up into the mountains and gather there certain roots and herbs. These you must dry and then cook a little. Then pound them into a fine powder, mix them with oil of the medicine-fish, and rub this oil all over me, leaving no part of my body untouched." The brother did so, and immediately the young 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 an interpreter."

"Why, if you are willing to give a little attention and thought to the matter, you can learn this Chinook jargon easily enough. There is no grammar to bother you, and I am sure that you will pick it up very quickly."

"I must try and do so," replied Jack, "if I am going to stay in this country."

That night a council was held in Mr. Fannin's shop, and the plans of the two Americans were discussed at length. After a good deal of talking, Mr. Fannin agreed to accompany them on their canoe trip. He would go back with them to Victoria when they were ready, and prepare for the voyage. All hands were gratified at this decision.

"But now," said Fannin, "before you leave here, I think that you had better go up to the head of the North Arm and make a hunt there for goats. Of course, there's a probability that you may have plenty of hunting, on the trip, and there is also a probability that you may have no hunting at all. We may have good weather and favorable winds, in which case everything will run as smoothly as possible. We may have almost continuous rains, and head winds, and in that case we shall have to work very hard at the paddles all day long, to make any progress at all. I am like most other people. I always think that any short trip that I am going to take will turn out well--a good deal better than I had anticipated; but I have travelled in canoes so much about the shores of this Province, that I know perfectly well that we shall meet with many difficulties and delays. I do not look for any danger.

"If you feel like making a hunt here I will get Seammux and another Indian and two canoes, and we can go up the Arm, to where we were to-day, climb the mountains, camp there for a couple of nights, have a hunt, come back here, take the stage for Westminster, and from there go to Victoria. By doing this, as I said before, you will be sure of at least 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 climb mountains, but at the same time I should like to go up to the top of those that we saw to-day. I don't care so much about the hunting, but I would like to go up where I could see off a little way. Almost ever since 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 used to that, and I would like to have a big view once more. What do you say, son?" he added, turning to Jack.

"Tell me, Mr. Fannin," said Jack, "what game will we be likely to see on top of those mountains?"

"Well," said Fannin, "I never have hunted there. I can only tell you what the Indians say. They report goats as plenty. They say that there are some bears; and they describe good-sized birds, which I think must be ptarmigan. At all events they speak of them as birds about as big as the grouse we have down here, but as turning white in winter. This of course fits the ptarmigan. I don't know whether they are the willow ptarmigan or the white-tail ptarmigan. I should be delighted if they proved to be the latter. Besides that, there may be all sorts of rare northern birds up there. You see, it's pretty high up, quite above the timber line, according to what the Indians tell."

"Well," said Jack, "that sounds mighty nice, and I vote in favor of going, 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 all his heart that he could go with you, and was not obliged to return to-morrow to New Westminster. By bad luck I have business there which cannot be put off; and so, I must return on the stage. You others had better stay here and make your hunt, and then when you come back you can tell me about it."

So it was decided. The next morning Mr. James took the stage for town, while Fannin, Hugh, and Jack began to get Indians, canoes, and provisions together, for their camping trip in the mountains.