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S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 6 9 terriers. In addition, the party comprised a big pack train with additional horses, packers, wranglers, and an excellent cook. The luxurious camp amenities surprised TR. He was most happily impressed with the quality of the mess equipment and the folding T he President slipped quietly from the saddle, still holding the reins and clutching his rifle. He urged the sturdy white horse to follow as he clambered up the steep rocky hillside. Ahead of him and in the distance he could hear the dogs barking closing in on their prey. Anxious not to lose his trophy, he pulled at his stubborn mount as he and his party struggled up the steep slope, navigating the loose rocks and random deadfalls. He was determined not to miss this bear. It had been an exhausting hunt over difficult terrain. The hounds, some 26 in all, had been distracted along the way and several times had chosen to follow other scent trails. As the men reached the top, they were able to see the bear in the distance across a deep valley. Its shiny black coat gleamed in the sunlight as the dogs crowded around it at the top of a narrow ledge. The hunters waited, hoping for a clear shot. In the meantime, the bear slipped away and out of sight. I t was 1905, not long after Theodore Roosevelt won the election of 1904, and he had joined Phillip B. Stewart of Colorado and Dr. Alexander Lambert of New York for a bear hunt in Colorado. Their guides were John Goff and Jake Borah, both of whom had gained a reputation as the best bear hunters in the mountains. The guides brought a large pack of some 30 dogs with them, 26 hounds and four half-breed John Seerey-Lester egends of the Hunt L camp tables and chairs, none of which he had enjoyed on previous hunts. The party ate well, departing each day after a hearty breakfast and returning some 12 hours later to an excellent sit-down supper. TR's mount, like the other horses, was a stout and rugged John Seery-Lester TR'S BeaR hunT A president gets his black bear and makes a new friend.