82 HISTOET OF CALIFORNIA. 



consternation in the ranks of the Indian warriors, and 

 that they were gathering up their wounded prepara- 

 tory to retiring. I had my eye on an old man, who 

 had just leaped from his horse. My finger was on 

 the trigger, when I saw him coolly advance, and, 

 taking one of his wounded companions, who had been 

 shot through the leg, in his arms, place him on a 

 horse, then mounting his own, and catching hold of 

 the other animal's bridle, gallop off at full speed. 

 Although I knew full well that if the fortune of the 

 day had gone against us, these savages would not 

 have spared a single man of our party, still I could 

 not find it in my heart to fire on the old chief, and he 

 carried off his wounded comrade in safety. 



" In a few minutes the hill-sides were clear, and 

 when we emerged from our shelter, all that was visible 

 of the troop of warriors was three of them weltering 

 in their blood, a bow or two, and some empty quivers, 

 and a few scattered feathers and tomahawks, lying on 

 the ground." 



The grizzly bear is also one of the terrors encoun- 

 tered by the gold-seekers. This animal grows to the 

 size of four feet in height and six in length. It is one 

 of the most ferocious animals of North America. 

 Mules and cattlo of various kinds, and even men, are 

 attacked by it, and its great strength generally enables 

 it to come off with its prey. Great quickness and 

 courage are absolute essentials of those who hunt these 

 animals, or encounter them accidentally. An adven- 

 ture of two or three gold-seekers, on their road to the 

 mines, accidentally meeting with a grizzly bear, is 

 thus shortly detailed in the journal of a returned 

 adventurer.* 



* Six Months in the Gold Mines, by E. Gould Buffum. 



