The Black Bear 41 



havoc with them, disemboweling them with 

 blows of his paws or seizing them in his arms 

 and biting through their spines or legs. The 

 riders follow the hounds through the cane- 

 brakes, and also try to make cutoffs and station 

 themselves at open points where they think the 

 bear will pass, so that they may get a shot at 

 him. The weapons used are rifles, shotguns, 

 and occasionally revolvers. 



Sometimes, however, the hunter uses the 

 knife. General Wade Hampton, who has 

 probably killed more black bears than any 

 other man living in the United States, fre 

 quently used the knife, slaying thirty or forty 

 with this weapon. His plan was, when he 

 found that the dogs had the bear at bay, to 

 walk up close and cheer them on. They would 

 instantly seize the bear in a body, and he 

 would then rush in and stab it behind the 

 shoulder, reaching over so as to inflict the 

 wound on the opposite side from that where 

 he stood. He escaped scathless from all these 

 encounters save one, in which he was rather 

 severely torn in the forearm. Many other 

 hunters have used the knife, but perhaps none 

 so frequently as he; for he was always fond 

 of steel, as witness his feats with the &quot;white 

 arm&quot; during the Civil War. 



