TWENTY YEARS IN THE ROCKIES. 175 



He stopped for a moment, roaring with pain and twisting his 

 head to get at the wound; but started again in pursuit of 

 poor Steward. I fired a second time, just as the brute was 

 getting ready to strip the buckskin coat from Steward's back, 

 but did not stop the animal. A thrill of horror ran through 

 me at the thought of what must speedly occur if something 

 was not done to stay the bear. I nerved myself, with great 

 effort, and fired at its head, just as Steward made a leap to 

 grasp the edge of the rock. He caught it, but the frail brink 

 broke and let him down. Luckily for him, however, my last 

 shot had struck the bear in the neck and had broken the 

 spinal cord and they fell together at the same moment. 



I could hardly find courage to look. The bear in its 

 deathstruggle did not forget Steward, but caught the old 

 man by the waistband of his elk-skin pantaloons, and threw 

 him twenty feet down the hill. The fearful cry that escaped 

 the lips of Steward as he was tossed through the air un- 

 nerved me. I tore through the brush, across the hollow and 

 up the hill. Steward lay motionless, to all appearances life- 

 less. I feared the bear was not quite dead, and gav,e it 

 another ball to make sure. The report caused Steward to 

 stir feebly. I examined him carefully and found no marks 

 of violence upon him, but his eyes were encircled by a yellow 

 band, often seen in the face of the dead. I filled my hat with 

 water and bathed his face, which revived him slowly, and 

 looking wildly around, his eyes fell upon the dead bear. 



"How did I git away from him?" he asked in a low, 

 feeble voice, a gleam of intelligence lighting up his face. 



"He threw you down hill because he did not like your 

 company any better than mine," I replied. 



I raised him to a sitting posture. He remained in a 

 profound silence for a time, evidently going through the 

 late adventure in his mind. Finally he said with a great 

 solemnity of manner : 



