Old Ephraim 341 



be a participator in the antics of a three-legged bear, 

 I hastily interposed a most emphatic veto ; and with 

 a rather injured air he fired, the bullet going through 

 the neck just back of the head. The bear fell to 

 the shot, and could not get up from the ground, dy 

 ing in a few minutes; but first he seized his left 

 wrist in his teeth and bit clean through it, completely 

 separating the bones of the paw and arm. Although 

 a smaller bear than the big one I first shot, he would 

 probably have proved a much more ugly foe, for he 

 was less unwieldy, and had much longer and sharper 

 teeth and claws. I think that if my companion had 

 merely broken the beast s leg he would have had his 

 curiosity as to its probable conduct more than grati 

 fied. 



We tried eating the grisly s flesh, but it was not 

 good, being coarse and not well flavored; and, be 

 sides, we could not get over the feeling that it had 

 belonged to a carrion feeder. The flesh of the little 

 black bear, on the other hand, was excellent; it 

 tasted like that of a young pig. Doubtless, if a 

 young grisly, which had fed merely upon fruits, ber 

 ries, and acorns, was killed, its flesh would prove 

 good eating; but even then, it would probably not 

 be equal to a black bear. 



A day or two after the death of the big bear, 

 we went out one afternoon on horseback, intending 

 merely to ride down to see a great canyon lying 

 some six miles west of our camp; indeed, we went 

 more to look at the scenery than for any other rea 

 son, though, of course, neither of us ever stirred out 



