MY FIRST GRIZZLY. 37 



this time. The fact is, they used to leave 

 tracks in the pack trail every night, and 

 right close about the camp, too, as big as 

 the head of a barrel. 



Now father was well up in woodcraft, no 

 man better, but he never fired a gun. Never, 

 in his seventy years of life among savages, 

 did that gentle Quaker, school-master, 

 magistrate and Christian ever fire a gun. 

 But he always allowed me to have my own 

 way as a hunter, and now that I was get- 

 ting well of my wound he was so glad and 

 grateful that he willingly joined in with 

 the soldiers to help me kill one of these 

 huge bears that had made the big tracks. 



Do you know why a beast, a bear of all 

 beasts, is so very much afraid of fire? Well, 

 in the first place, as said before, a bear is 

 a gentleman, in dress as well as address, 

 and so likes a decent coat. If a bear should 

 get his coat singed he would hide away 

 from sight of both man and beast for half 

 a year. But back of his pride is the fact 

 that a fat bear will burn like a candle; 



