130 HUNTING THE GRISLY. 



and charge as fiercely as ever, though evi- 

 dently beginning to grow weak. At last, when 

 still a couple of hundred yards from cover the 

 man found he had used up all his cartridges, 

 and then merely followed at a safe distance. 

 The bear no longer paid heed to him, but 

 walked slowly forwards, swaying its great head 

 from side to side, while the blood streamed 

 from between its half-opened jaws. On reach- 

 ing the cover he could tell by the waving of 

 the bushes that it walked to the middle and 

 then halted. A few minutes afterwards some 

 of the other cowboys rode up, having been 

 attracted by the incessant firing. They sur- 

 rounded the thicket, firing and throwing stones 

 into the bushes. Finally, as nothing moved, 

 they ventured in and found the indomitable 

 grisly warrior lying dead. 



Cowboys delight in nothing so much as the 

 chance to show their skill as riders and rop- 

 ers ; and they always try to ride down and 

 rope any wild animal they come across in 

 favorable ground and close enough up. If a 

 party of them meets a bear in the open they 

 have great fun ; and the struggle between the 

 shouting, galloping rough-riders and their 

 shaggy quarry is full of wild excitement and 

 not unaccompanied by danger. The bear 

 often throws the noose from his head so rap- 

 idly that it is a difficult matter to catch him ; 

 and his frequent charges scatter his tormentors 

 in every direction while the horses become 

 wild with fright over the roaring, bristling 

 beast for horses seem to dread a bear more 



