- A fair wind carried us a mile beyond Point No Point.15 We were engaged in unloading the boat and forming camp when the doctor [John Miller Haden], who had gone off with his gun to shoot ducks, came running toward us crying alternately “Bear!” and “Musket.” We immediately seized our arms to meet the enemy. The bear, however, did not seem to be concerned about us, but took to the water, with the idea, probably, of swimming across to Skagit head. We hurried into the boat and soon came up within forty or fifty yards. I made repeated attempts to fire, but the cap would not explode. Starling got ahead of me, but when the bear swam on unconcernedly, he sank back with a most disappointed sigh.“I have missed,” he said. As I was getting another musket, a soldier up and fired and the bear’s head went down. I thought I had lost my chance, but he appeared again in a moment. He was tossing his head and bleeding. I blazed away and he went down and did not come up again. When we reached him he was quite dead. We dragged our prize ashore, and the evening was spent in dressing the bear and discussing him.
