There are probably two thousand bears on Admiralty Island, and there are no lions among them – only brownies and a grizzly bear. Bears are the largest carnivores in the world today, and those in the Admiralty are roughly the size of the famous Kadic bear, a species restricted to Kadic Island. Specimens weighing over a thousand pounds and standing seven to nine feet tall on their hind legs have been taken from the Alaskan Peninsula and Southeast coast. During the spring, these mighty animals live among the snow-capped peaks, eating grass and roots and going about their own business. Then, in late July, they drift to the banks of the streams, where salmon spawn frantically, to enjoy a rich diet fresh from the icy waters. Then the camera hunter has to look for it.
It was a late day when we canoeed to that cabin. We had left the good ship westward, with the other zealous bear-catchers on board, and anchored a few miles off at Maule Harbour. We were to be the first group of bear hunters – the rest should go off later. Our guide made us so welcome; There on the cabin floor we spread our beds to sleep for a few hours until, in that pitch-black darkness just before dawn, we awoke moving about cooking mush for breakfast. We quickly lined up with this evergreen food; We put on our rubber boots and, as the sky brightened, climbed into the rushing stream outside the cabin door.
Our guide seemed to know every rock hidden and notable beneath the tumbling surface of the water, and he flitted effortlessly from one foothold to the next, as we sauntered behind him. He carefully plucked every frond of fern or branch of devil’s sticks or alder that might attack us and kill our scent, and always made us step on bare rocks or in water, and, after crossing fallen logs without touching them with our hands, sprinkle them with water to wash off any possible odor. Our cameras were in packs on our backs, and Hasselburg would carry a heavy 405 rifle to use only if we met a bear that had been shot previously, and were reminded of his hatred of man.
Often at sharp turns in the stream he waded well outside and looked around cautiously, not wishing to come suddenly upon a great grayling or bun by surprise. The mentor’s reserve instilled confidence, not fear. We knew he had no desire to be petted by a wounded bear. It happened once when he was collecting for the museum and was trying to kill the animal without injuring its all-important skull. About a mile up the cabin, we came face to face with our first brown bear.