H^mtmg the Grisly. 315 



A bear is apt to rely mainly on his teeth or claws ac- 

 cording to whether his efforts are directed primarily to 

 killing his foe or to making good his own escape. In the 

 latter event he trusts chiefly to his claws. If cornered, he 

 of course makes a rush for freedom, and in that case he 

 downs any man who is in his way with a sweep of his 

 great paw, but passes on without stopping to bite him. If 

 while sleeping or resting in thick brush some one suddenly 

 stumbles on him close up he pursues the same course, less 

 from anger than from fear, being surprised and startled. 

 Moreover, if attacked at close quarters by men and dogs 

 he strikes right and left in defence. 



Sometimes what is called a charge is rather an effort to 

 get away. In localities where he has been hunted, a bear, 

 like every other kind of game, is always on the look-out 

 for an attack, and is prepared at any moment for immedi- 

 ate flight. He seems ever to have in his mind, whether 

 feeding, sunning himself, or merely roaming around, the 

 direction — usually towards the thickest cover or most 

 broken ground — in which he intends to run if molested. 

 When shot at he instantly starts towards this place ; or he 

 may be so confused that he simply runs he knows not 

 whither ; and in either event he may take a line that leads 

 almost directly to or by the hunter, although he had at 

 first no thought of charging. In such a case he usually 

 strikes a single knock-down blow and gallops on without 

 halting, though that one blow may have taken life. If 

 the claws are long and fairly sharp (as in early spring, or 

 even in the fall, if the animal has been working over soft 

 ground) they add immensely to the effect of the blow, for 



