BEAR HUNTING. 273 



longer space so to become ; and scarcely less familiar with his 

 brother, who, at that time, held a farm in the valley just below 

 our feet. I had been resident at Tom's above six weeks; and, 

 during that spell, as he would call it, we had achieved much 

 highly pleasant and exciting slaughter of Quail, Woodcock, and 

 Partridge ; not overlooking sundry Foxes, red, black, and gray, 

 and four or five right Stags of ten, whose blood had dyed the 

 limpid waters of the Greenwood Lake. It was late in the 

 autumn ; the leaves had fallen ; and lo ! one morning we awoke 

 and found the earth carpeted far and near with smooth white 

 snow. Enough had fallen in the night to cover the whole sur- 

 face of the fields, hill, vale, and cultivated level, with one wide 

 vest of virgin purity — but that was all ! for it had cleared off 

 early in the morning, and frozen somewhat crisply ; and then a 

 brisk breeze rising, had swept it from the trees, before the sun 

 had gained sufficient power to thaw the burthen of the loaded 

 branches. 



" Tom and I, therefore, set forth, after breakfast, with dog 

 and gun, to beat up a large bevy of Quail which we had found 

 on the preceding evening, when it was quite too late to profit 

 by the find, in a great buckwheat stubble, a quarter of a mile 

 hence on the southern slope. After a merry tramp, we flushed 

 them in a hedgerow, drove them up into this swale, and used 

 them up considerable, as Tom said. The last three birds pitclied 

 into that bank just above you ; and, as we followed them, we 

 came across what Tom pronounced, upon the instant, to be the 

 fresh ti'ack of a Bear. Leaving the meaner game, we set our- 

 selves to work immediately to trail old bruin to his lair, if pos- 

 sible ; — the rather that, from the loss of a toe, Tom confidently, 

 and with many oaths, asst;rted that this was no other than ' the 

 damndest etarnal biggest Bar that ever had been knowed in 

 Warwick,' — one that had been acquainted with the sheep and 

 calves of all the farmers round, for many a year of riot and im- 

 punity. In less than ten minutes we had traced him to this 

 cave, whereunto the track led visibly, and whence no track le- 

 tui'ned. The moment we had housed him, Tom left me with 

 18 



