io8 Hunting the Grisly 



hunter must be cautious in meddling with a 

 wounded animal which has retreated into a 

 dense thicket, and has been once or twice 

 roused; and such a beast, when it does turn, 

 will usually charge again and again, and fight 

 to the last with unconquerable ferocity. The 

 short distance at which the bear can be seen 

 through the underbrush, the fury of his 

 charge, and his tenacity of life make it neces- 

 sary for the hunter on such occasions to have 

 steady nerves and a fairly quick and accurate 

 aim. It is always well to have two men in 

 following a wounded bear under such con- 

 ditions. This is not necessary, however, and 

 a good hunter, rather than lose his quarry, 

 will, under ordinary circumstances^ follow 

 and attack it, no matter how tangled the fast- 

 ness in which it has sought refuge; but he 

 must act warily and with the utmost caution 

 and resolution, if he wishes to escape a ter- 

 rible and probably fatal mauling. An ex- 

 perienced hunter is rarely rash, and never 

 heedless; he will not, when alone, follow a 

 wounded bear into a thicket, if by the exer- 

 cise of patience, skill, and knowledge of the 

 game's habits he can avoid the necessity; but 

 it is idle to talk of the feat as something which 

 ought in no case to be attempted. While dan- 



