THE GRIZZLY BEAR. 21 iJ 



bre:ulth from the straight line he is a dead man. 

 The common brown bear has an extraordinary 

 tenacity of life, and sometimes after being wounded 

 will fight for hours together, but the grizzly bear is 

 more terrible still. The thickness of its far and the 

 strength of its bones seem to protect its heart effec- 

 tually from the bullets, and its brain is encased in a 

 skull which is as hard as granite. When a bullet 

 hits the grizzly bear in the middle of its forehead, 

 it is flattened as if it had struck against an iron 

 plate. The middle of the eye is the only certain 

 place to aim at, for it is the only road for the bullet 

 to penetrate the brain and paralyse the strength of 

 the gigantic brute. 



The bear advances towards the candle and raises 

 its paw to strike it down ; at the same moment the 

 Red Skin fires, and from the darkness which ensues 

 a cheer may be heard celebrating the victory of the 

 conqueror. The trapper has killed the grizzly bear. 



During my stay among the Cherokee Indians, in 

 a village near the Creek River, one of the Red Skins 

 stated in my presence that he expected a fine day's 

 sport on the morrow, for he had discovered the lair 

 of a grizzly bear. I asked to be allow^ed to accom- 

 pany him. Next morning a large number of the 

 men in camp followed us, and we had scarcely made 

 our way a mile through the cotton plants and 

 creepers, before the Indian assured me that he had 

 come upon traces of the animal. Guided by him, 



