Memories of a Bear Hunter 



I dropped on one knee and prepared to fire. In 

 the meantime, it had paid no attention to me. 

 When it exposed its side, I fired. As if expect- 

 ing it, and without looking around, the bear came 

 charging directly toward me, with long jumps. 

 The dog met it about half way, dashed at it, 

 when it turned and again exposed its side. I fired 

 again. At the crack of the rifle the bear left the 

 dog and dashed straight toward me. The dog was 

 unable to stop the charge, but when within thirty 

 feet I delivered another shot, which stopped her, 

 for it proved to be a female. 



In the meantime^ George Herendeen had come 

 up carrying the first weapon he could pick up, a 

 lo-gauge shotgun loaded with 4 drams of powder 

 and 9 buckshot. He gave her the coup de grace, 

 shooting at the shoulder, but the buckshot flat- 

 tened on the bone. She weighed only about 350 

 pounds, but had what is called by furriers a silk- 

 robe skin. Each of the shots hit her, and any one 

 of them would have been fatal in a short time. 



The actions of this bear were so aggressive that 

 we were curious to learn how she had entered this 

 basin, and as it had rained enough to make the 

 ground soft, this was not difficult. An examination 

 of her tracks in the mud showed that she had 

 come down the stream on the north side of the 



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