BEAR WITH SPECTACLES. 127 



right foot resting on it, was the shaggy 

 little beast we were hunting for. We had 

 found our bear, or rather, he had found us, 

 and it was clear that he meant to come 

 over and interview us at once. 



The preacher crouched behind me as I 

 cocked and raised my gun, the blacks hid 

 behind the preacher, and I think, though 

 I had not time to see certainly, that the 

 dogs hid behind the blacks. 



I fired at the dim white spot on the bear's 

 breast and sent shot after shot into his 

 tattered coat, for he was not ten lengths 

 of an old Kentucky ramrod distant, and 

 he fell dead where he stood, and I went 

 over and dragged him safely up on the 

 higher bank. 



Then the wild blacks danced and sang 

 and sang and danced, till one of them 

 slipped and fell into the lagoon. They 

 fished him out and all returned to where 

 I was, with the dead bear, dogs and all in 

 great good spirits. Tying the bear's feet 

 together with a withe they strung him on 



