THE GRIZZLY BEAR 269 



Kentuckian," he says, *' was not to be intimidated by 

 man or monster. Levelling his rifle, he pulled the 

 trigger. The bear was wounded, but not mortally : 

 instead, however, of rushing upon his assailant, as is 

 generally the case with this kind of bear, he retreated 

 into the bushes." The trapper followed him for some 

 distance, but the bear effected his escape. 



In " A Tour on the Prairies " the same writer fur- 

 nishes another account of one of their hunters named 

 Beattie, who wounded a bear with a rifle-shot. " The 

 bear took to the brook, which was swollen and rapid. 

 Beattie dashed in after him and assailed him in the 

 rear with his hunting-knife. At every blow the bear 

 turned furiously upon him with a terrific display of 

 white teeth." This bear also escaped, " scrambling off 

 among the thickets." 



Another hunter, one of the rangers who accom- 

 panied Irving on his tour, one day shot a deer and 

 heard it fall in the bushes of a ravine. Stealing for- 

 ward, he looked down into the ravine, "and beheld a 

 huge bear dragging the carcass of the deer along the 

 dry channel of a brook, and growling and snarling at 

 four or five officious wolves, who seemed to have 

 dropped in to take supper with him. The ranger 

 fired at the bear, but missed him. Bruin maintained 

 his ground and his prize, and seemed disposed to make 

 battle." Night was coming on, and the young hunter 

 withdrew. 



Irving sums up the information he obtained from 

 the hunters and trappers of the West, saying: 



"This powerful and ferocious animal is a favorite 

 theme of hunter's story, both among red and wiiitc 



