Memories of a Bear Hunter 



single shot. None of these bears gave any trouble. 

 As a rule, the first shot was fatal after a little time, 

 yet even though mortally wounded, some of them 

 might have made good fights had they seen by 

 whom the shot was delivered, but shot at from 

 ambush, their first move was to get out of danger 

 and to run in the direction toward which they 

 happened to be headed. On the other hand, I 

 have never known of an instance where, if a bear 

 saw from whence the bullet came, it did not start 

 directly toward the person firing the shot. In such 

 event the safest course is to face the bear, deliver 

 shots as fast as possible, and as a last resort use 

 the rifle as a club, and endeavor to strike a blow 

 on the top of the head just over the brain. In 

 cases where I have been charged, I have always 

 succeeded in stopping the bears when within a few 

 jumps of me, and have never been within reach of 

 their claws. I determined early in my experience 

 that to run away from an angry bear was useless. 

 One of these bears, when badly wounded, was fol- 

 lowed a short distance into the brush, and when 

 she turned, was given another shot. Another 

 bear, badly wounded, was followed into the timber 

 by my dog, which brought him to bay. Following 

 the dog's bark, I found the bear in the last 



agony. 67 



205 



