70 HUNTING S^)RTS OF THE WEST. 



l>abl y suffering from his wound ; as soon as I got a clear 

 view of his head, I fired again, but only grazed his skull. 

 As I ran towards him, his fury increased, and he turned 

 to meet me ; on taking aim with my second barrel, at 

 about thirty paces, it missed fire. With open jaws, and 

 ears laid back, he rushed towards me ; in this mortal 

 danger I preserved my presence of mind. Dropping my 

 gun, and drawing my knife, I sprang back a couple of 

 paces, behind a small tree ; at this moment, the bear was 

 only a few feet from me. As he rose on his hind legs to 

 embrace me, he was almost as tall as I, and his fiery 

 eyes and long teeth had nothing very attractive ; but he 

 was not destined to know the taste of my flesh. 



I was quite collected, feeling sure that one or the 

 other must die. The moment he tried to grasp me, I 

 thrust my long double-edged hunting knife into the 

 yawning abyss of his jaws, and boring it into his brain, 

 I brought him to the ground. I did not then know bet- 

 ter, but I ought to have sprung back after wounding 

 him, and then I should have escaped unhurt. As it was, 

 he dragged away my coat in falling, and tore my arm 

 slightly. I thanked God that it was MO worse. There 

 I sat on the sweet smelling heath, with my coat all in 

 rags, and no other to put on. To assuage my sorrow, I 

 cut a large steak from the bear, which tasted particu- 

 larly good after my severe exertions. I carried away 

 the skin. Iii the evening, I fell in with a herd of deer, 

 but did not fire at them, as I was well provided with 

 meat. 



On the following evening, I heard a shot. The sound 

 ran through me like an electric shock. There were, 



