180 TEN YEARS IN SWEDEN. 



the beast mauled me somewhat severely, about the head in 

 particular. My body also suffered greatly from his ferocious 

 attack, which extended from the neck and shoulder down- 

 ward to the hip ; but he did not attempt to hug or embrace 

 me, as we in England seem to imagine his custom to be when 

 carrying on offensive operations, nor did he seemingly molest 

 me in any way with his claws ; all my wounds were, to the 

 best of my belief, inflicted with his fangs. 



' ' This goes somewhat to corroborate the idea that com- 

 monly prevails in Sweden, that in attacking a man, and 

 beyond holding him fast with his claws, the bear never, in 

 the manner of the lion or the tiger, strikes with his paw> 

 which they say is his usual habit when making an onset on 

 horses or cattle. If this be true, it is well, as otherwise, 

 from the very great muscular power of his arm, annihilation 

 would probably quickly follow the blow. But after all, no 

 inference can fairly be drawn in my case, as the beast's for- 

 bearance towards me might have arisen simply from my re- 

 maining quite passive. Had I, on the contrary, been on 

 my legs, and offered resistance, I might probably have felt 

 not only the weight of his paws, but the pressure of his em- 

 braces. Neither at the time of receiving my first fire, nor 

 whilst making his rush, did the bear, as is usually the case 

 when enraged, utter his usual half roar, half growl, even 

 when I was lying at his mercy. No other than a sort of 

 subdued growl, similar to that of a dog when disturbed 

 whilst gnawing a bone, was made by the beast, and so far 

 from coming at me with open jaws, as one would suppose to 

 be the case with a wild beast when making his onset, his 

 mouth at the time was altogether closed. 



"The pain I suffered from his long-continued attacks 

 was bearable. When I had my limbs in his jaws it more 

 resembled their being stuck in a huge vice than any- 

 thing else. But when his jaws grasped, as they did, 

 the whole crown of my head, during which I distinctly 

 felt the fleshy part of his mouth to overlap my fore- 

 head, and his fangs very deliberately scored my head, my 

 sufferings were intense. The sensation of his fangs slowly 



