234 THE FUR TRADE OF AMERICA 



saw the four men in pursuit, she redoubled her fury against her 

 prey, tearing his face with her claws. M. Lajimoniere, who was an 

 intrepid hunter, baited her with the butt end of his gun to make 

 her let go her hold, as he dared not shoot for fear of killing the man 

 while trying to save him, but Bouvier, who felt himself being choked, 

 cried with all his strength :' Shoot ; I would rather be shot than 

 eaten alive!' M. Lajimoniere pulled the trigger as close to the 

 bear as possible, wounding her mortally. She let go Bouvier and 

 before her strength was exhausted made a wild attack upon M. 

 Lajimoniere, who expected this and as his gun had only one barrel 

 loaded, he ran towards the canoe, where he had a second gun fully 

 charged. He had hardly seized it before the bear reached the 

 shore and tried to climb into the canoe, but fearing no longer to 

 wound his friend, M. Lajimoniere aimed full at her breast and this 

 time she was killed instantly. As soon as the bear was no longer 

 to be feared, Madame Lajimoniere, who had been trembling with 

 fear during the tumult, went to raise the unfortunate Bouvier, 

 who was covered with wounds and nearly dead. The bear had 

 torn the skin from his face with her nails from the roots of his hair 

 to the lower part of his chin. His eyes and nose were gone — in 

 fact his features were indiscernible — but he was not mortally 

 injured. His wounds were dressed as well as the circumstances 

 would permit, and thus crippled he was carried to the Fort of the 

 Prairies, Madame Lajimoniere taking care of him all through the 

 journey. In time his wounds were successfully healed, but he was 

 blind and infirm to the end of his life. He dwelt at the Fort of the 

 Prairies for many years, but when the first missionaries reached 

 Red River in 1818, he persuaded his friends to send him to St. 

 Boniface to meet the priests and ended his days in M. Provencher's 

 house. He employed his time during the last years of his life in 

 making crosses and crucifixes, blind as he was, but he never made 

 any chefs (Tceuvre." 



Such is bear-hunting and such is the nature of the bear. And 

 these things are not of the past. Wherever long-range repeaters 



