'Memories of a Bear Hunter 



Just before he reached the gulch, I fired another 

 shot, and on reaching its edge, he had become so 

 weakened from loss of blood that he could not 

 make the jump, but fell down into the ravine, and 

 was soon beyond doing any harm. 



During the last part of this excitement, I noticed 

 George Herendeen standing by at the foot of a 

 tree, and after the bear had fallen into the gulch 

 and become quiet, George came up to me and said, 

 "Old fellow, a bear will get you yet!" I replied 

 by asking, "Well, George, why didn't you pitch in 

 and help?" 



"Help?" he answered; "now you are forgetting 

 that you have always said, in a scrimmage with a 

 bear you did not wish any help; that you could 

 handle them, and that if anything happened it 

 was your lookout." 



This, of course, was true; but if I had needed 

 help, George would certainly have done his part. 



I had always felt that if by any chance my rifle 

 should fail me, as a last resort, I would face the 

 bear, use the rifle with its heavy breech action as a 

 club and endeavor to deliver a crushing blow over 

 the animal's brain. I felt that on this occasion I 

 came near being obliged to face this test. If the 

 bear had succeeded in jumping the gulch, I do not 

 know what might have happened. 



