OLD EPHRAIM, THE GRISLY BEAR. 77 



jaws, and possessed both intelligence and a 

 fierce, resolute temper. Woody killed three 

 grislies with its aid. It attacked with equal 

 caution and ferocity, rushing at the bear as 

 the latter ran, and seizing the outstretched 

 hock with a grip of iron, stopping the bear 

 short, but letting go before the angry beast 

 could whirl round and seize it. It was so 

 active and wary that it always escaped da- 

 mage ; and it was so strong and bit so severely 

 that the bear could not possibly run from it at 

 any speed. In consequence, if it once came 

 to close quarters with its quarry, Woody could 

 always get near enough for a shot. 



Hitherto, however, the mountain hunters 

 as distinguished from the trappers who have 

 followed the grisly have relied almost solely on 

 their rifles. In my own case about half the 

 bears I have killed I stumbled across almost 

 by accident ; and probably this proportion 

 holds good generally. The hunter may be 

 after bear at the time, or he may be after black- 

 tail deer or elk, the common game in most of 

 the haunts of the grisly ; or he may merely be 

 travelling through the country or prospecting 

 for gold. Suddenly he comes over the edge of a 

 cut bank, or round the sharp spur of a mountain 

 or the shoulder of a cliff which walls in a ravine, 

 or else the indistinct game trail he has been 

 following through the great trees twists sharply 

 to one side to avoid a rock or a mass of down 

 timber, and behold he surprises old Ephraim 

 digging for roots, or munching berries, or 

 slouching along the path, or perhaps rising 



