128 Hunting the Grisly 



snarling and threatening. Unfortunately 

 while thus walking backward the man struck 

 a dead log and fell over it, whereupon the 

 beast instantly sprang upon him and mortally 

 wounded him before help arrived. 



On rare occasions men who are not at the 

 time hunting it fall victims to the grisly. 

 This is usually because they stumble on it un- 

 awares and the animal attacks them more in 

 fear than in anger. One such case, resulting 

 fatally, occurred near my own ranch. The 

 man walked almost over a bear while crossing 

 a little point of brush, in a bend of the river, 

 and was brained with a single blow of the 

 paw. In another instance which came to my 

 knowledge the man escaped with a shaking 

 up, and without even a fright. His name 

 was Perkins, and he was out gathering huckle- 

 berries in the woods on a mountain side near 

 Pend d'Oreille Lake. Suddenly he was sent 

 flying head over heels, by a blow which com- 

 pletely knocked the breath out of his body; 

 and so instantaneous was the whole affair that 

 all he could ever recollect about it was get- 

 ting a vague glimpse of the bear just as he 

 was bowled over. When he came to he found 

 himself lying some distance down the hill- 

 side, much shaken, and without his berry pail, 



