178 ELDORADO 



into the tough shaggy coat of the grizzly, but bounded 

 back as if bruin had been a ball of rubber. After a 

 few plunges and passes from the bull, and scratches 

 or heavy blows from the paws of the bear, with roar 

 and growl they grappled with each other, bruin dodg- 

 ing the sharp points of the bull's horns, and, as he 

 rolled upon his back, embracing the neck of his an- 

 tagonist in his powerful arms. By a few desperate 

 plunges the bull released himself from the bear's hold, 

 while he bled profusely from the effect of his claws. 

 This only seemed to increase his rage, and, nerved to 

 desperation he, in an unguarded moment, charged up- 

 on bruin, causing a wound in his side from which the 

 blood flowed freely. The bear's courage now seemed 

 to fail, and in an attempt to get away, he severed the 

 chain by which they were bound together. In a mo- 

 ment the crowd of men and boys that had formed a 

 larg-e circle around the combatants scattered, giving the 

 bear a free passageway to a large live oak standing at 

 no great distance in the race track. He climbed the 

 tree some twenty or thirty feet, and laid himself out on 

 one of the large branches, whereupon one of the va- 

 queros threw a lasso over his head and taking one or 

 two turns around the horn of his saddle jerked him 

 from his perch. Another soon had a rope around one 

 of his hind legs, and when the well trained horses 

 pulled in opposite directions he was made harmless and 

 powerless. The two animals were chained together 

 again, but the fight was soon over, the bear crawling 

 as far under the building as the length of his chain 

 would permit. The bull was declared the winner, but 

 both were prettv severely injured. The grizzly 

 weighed about looo pounds. In some instances griz- 



