The mode of hunting these animals by the natives is as follows: When they come to the ground frequented by the bears, their first step is to look for their tracks: these are found in the greatest numbers leading from the woods down to the lakes, and among the long sedgy grass and brakes by the edge of the water.

The place of ambuscade being determined on, the hunters next fix in the ground the crutches upon which their firelocks are made to rest, pointing them in the direction they mean to shoot.

This done, they kneel, or lie down, and, with their bear-spears by their side, wait for the game.

These precautions, which are chiefly taken in order to make sure of their mark, are, on several accounts, highly expedient.

For, in the first place, ammunition is so dear in Kamtschatka, that the price of a bear will not purchase more of it than is sufficient to load a musket four or five times; and, what is more material, if the bear be not rendered incapable of pursuit by the first shot, the consequences are often fatal.