6o HUNTING AND FISHING IN FLORIDA. 



the scales at exactly 351 pounds. This was not at all heavy for 

 the size of the bear. He was rather thin and in good running con- 

 dition, which accounted for the long chase he had given us. He 

 measured eight feet and four inches from hind claw to end of nose, 

 six feet and two inches from nose to tail, forearm seventeen inches, 

 and chest forty-seven inches. When fat he would probably have 

 weighed nearly five hundred pounds. The width of his forefoot 

 was six and a quarter inches. 



Monday, April 9, 1894 : To-day I found a fresh trail of a 

 medium-sized bear about five miles to the south. It was early, the 

 ground was still damp, and the dogs were fresh and eager. Away 

 they went in a bunch in full cry. Trip and Tige in the lead. Brown 

 and Dan are down with the " staggers," and I miss Brown's voice. 

 I followed them the best I could, which was not very fast, as the 

 scrub was thick. They " jumped " the bear within five minutes of 

 starting, and he ran due south, so I turned and rode for the open 

 beach. Once out of the thick scrub, I galloped south for several 

 miles before again taking the scrub, hoping to head the bear. After 

 waiting for ten or fifteen minutes and hearing nothing of the dogs, I 

 saw a man in the distance waving his hat. It was Gale, with the 

 cheerful information that the bear had turned and gone north. 

 Away I went up the beach to a trail some miles north of me, and as 

 I neared it I heard Trip baying something, apparently all alone in a 

 small hummock about half a mile away. The scrub was very thick 

 and high, but, pushing my way through it I arrived within about two 

 hundred yards of the spot, when, crash, away went the bear, show- 

 ing himself for an instant as he dashed into a lot of high bushes, and 

 I never saw him again. Ride where I would, I could not hear the 

 dogs anywhere, or, rather, the dog, for Trip was the only one follow- 

 ing him. The others had given it up and joined us, one after the 

 other, as we rode back to the wagon. Just as I was starting home 

 Trip came back to me, looking very tired and hot, and, I have no 

 doubt, thoroughl}' disgusted. Three of the hounds have the " stag- 

 gers," which often proves fatal in this climate. Their hind legs seem 

 to be paralyzed, but they apparently suffer no pain. 



