PURSUED BY A WOUNDED BEAR. 168 



grave, for at the first blow, the bear had ceased growling 

 to listen to the strange sounds. 



After a painful and anxious pause, he called out, " I 

 have got a light, give me the powder-horn and a rag." 

 I cut away the first from its sling, then tore off a piece 

 of my hunting-shirt, and passed them behind me. In 

 a few minutes he recovered his splinter ; this gave us, 

 or rather me, new hopes, for he had no fear firstly, 

 because he could not know how near the bear was ; and, 

 secondly, because, as he assured me afterwards, he was 

 so intent on striking a light, that he could think of no- 

 thing else. He had also succeeded in turning himself 

 round, and his voice sounded to me like an angel's song 

 when he called out that he had found the passage. He 

 had now the advantage of creeping forwards, while I 

 was still obliged to show front to the bear ; but he gave 

 me a few more splinters of fir, and a light, and we again 

 began our slow retreat towards the entrance. 



As I held the torch forwards, the bear gave a deep 

 growl, gnashed her teeth, and retreated a pace or two, 

 but followed again as soon as she saw that I was retir- 

 ing. Necessity sharpens invention, I laid a couple of 

 burning sticks crosswise on the ground, and saw, to my 

 inexpressible delight, that she did not venture to pass 

 them. Shuffling back as fast as I could, I heard Jim 

 (young C.) call out to his father to go back, as the bear 

 was coming. No other words were spoken, and indeed 

 the growling came nearer ; the fire had probably gone 

 out on the moist ground, and then she followed us 

 again. 



I now crawled over the place where we had first dis- 



