AMONG THE ALLEGHANIES. 293 



whose savour recalls that of a " confused " mixture of 

 beef and pork, with an additional " wildness " of taste 

 about it. 



And now for an anecdote of bear-hunting, in which I 

 was one of the principal heroes during my residence in 

 the United States. 



The scene lies on the slope of the Alleghany Mountains. 

 I was returning, accompanied by two friends, from a day's 

 sport against the birds of passage who crowded the waters 

 of a fine lake. The snow covered its shore, where we 

 had moored our little bark. Before us rose a forest of 

 cedars, and our guide made us remark, at the foot of one 

 of these venerable trees, a mass of leaves, moss, and 

 boughs, in the middle of which an opening had been 

 effected. He was persuaded that it was the retreat of a 

 Grisly. 



With a hatchet, which he carried in his belt, our guide 

 cut down a young cedar, and sharpened the extremity ; 

 posting himself at the entrance to the den, with the stake 

 in one hand and his hatchet in the other, he began to 

 forage among the decayed timber. He had scarcely com- 

 menced this game before a bear sprang to the opening; 

 but the guide dealt him on the skull so terrible a blow 

 that, growling and moaning, he retired to the further end 

 of his asylum. 



The stake was again thrust into the opening, and the 

 stirring recommenced. As the noise had ceased, I pro- 

 posed, at all hazards, to fire a bullet into the interior. 

 The ball went on its way whistling, and a few seconds 

 afterwards a cub, scarcely so big as a fox, sprang out, 

 bounded to the edge of the lake, and plunged into its 



