32 2 The Wilderness Htmter, 



will often charge, and sometimes make their charge good. 

 The spice of danger, especially to a man armed with a 

 good, repeating rifle, is only enough to add zest to the 

 chase, and the chief triumph is in outwitting the wary 

 quarry and getting within range. Ordinarily the only 

 excitement is in the stalk, the bear doino; nothino- more 

 than keep a keen look-out and manifest the utmost anxiety 

 to get away. As is but natural, accidents occasionally 

 occur ; yet they are usually due more to some failure in 

 man or weapon than to the prowess of the bear. A good 

 hunter whom I once knew, at a time when he was living 

 in Butte, received fatal injuries from a bear he attacked 

 in open woodland. The beast charged after the first 

 shot, but slackened its pace on coming almost up to the 

 man. The latter's gun jammed, and as he was endeavor- 

 ing to work it he kept stepping slowly back, facing the 

 bear which followed a few yards distant, snarling and 

 threatening. Unfortunately while thus walking back- 

 wards the man struck a dead log and fell over it, where- 

 upon the beast instantly sprang on him and mortally 

 wounded him before help arrived. 



On rare occasions men who are not at the time hunt- 

 ing it fall victims to the grisly. This is usually because 

 they stumble on it unawares and the animal attacks them 

 more in fear than in anger. One such case, resulting 

 fatally, occurred near my own ranch. The man walked 

 almost over a bear while crossing a little point of brush, 

 in a bend of the river, and was brained with a single blow 

 of the paw. In another instance which came to my knowl- 

 edge the man escaped with a shaking up, and without 



