Old Rphraim. 



and we advanced with noiseless caution, slowly climbing 

 over the dead tree trunks and upturned stumps, and not 

 letting a branch rustle or catch on our clothes. When in 

 the middle of the thicket we crossed what was almost a 

 breastwork of fallen logs, and Merrifield, who was leading, 

 passed by the upright stem of a great pine. As soon as 

 he was by it he sank suddenly on one knee, turning half 

 round, his face fairly aflame with excitement ; and as I 

 strode past him, with my rifle at the ready, there, not ten 

 steps off, was the great bear, slowly rising from his bed 

 among the young spruces. He had heard us, but appar- 

 ently hardly knew exactly where or what we were, for he 

 reared up on his haunches sideways to us. Then he saw 

 us and dropped down again on all fours, the shaggy hair 

 on his neck and shoulders seeming to bristle as he turned 

 toward us. As he sank down on his forefeet I had raised 

 the rifle ; his head was bent slightly down, and when I 

 saw the top of the white bead fairly between his small, 

 glittering, evil eyes, I pulled trigger. Half-rising up, the 

 huge beast fell over on his side in the death throes, the 

 ball having gone into his brain, striking as fairly between 

 the eyes as if the distance had been measured by a car- 

 penter's rule. 



The whole thing was over in twenty seconds from the 

 time I caught sight of the game ; indeed, it was over so 

 quickly that the grizzly did not have time to show fight at 

 all or come a step toward us. It was the first I had ever 

 seen, and I felt not a little proud, as I stood over the 

 great brindled bulk, which lay stretched out at length in 

 the cool shade of the evergreens. He was a monstrous 



