^6 HUNTING AND FISHING IN FLORIDA. 



hundred pounds. We extemporized a harness with a rope and some 

 straps and Bob succeeded in dragging her out to the beach. The 

 skull of this bear is now in the National Museum. 



Tuesday, Jan. 2, 1894 : Trip and one of the other dogs jumped 

 a bear in a hummock, and I had a snap shot at him as he crossed a 

 narrow strip of open ground, and think I wounded him slightly. 

 He ran for a mile or more and then stopped in a thick bit of high 

 palmetto. The day was hot and it was hard work following on 

 foot through the thick scrub, and when I reached the place where 

 the bear was lighting the dogs I was completely exhausted, and 

 instead of going in at once I waited a moment or two to recover my 

 breath. As I stood, gasping and dizzy, the bear started off again, 

 and I had a good view of him as he jumped a fallen tree, and should 

 have hit him, but my hand was too unsteady, and I believe I made a 

 clean miss. In getting over the tree he rested his fore feet and then 

 his hind feet on it, as a dog does going over a wall. After a few 

 moments' rest I pushed my way through the scrub to the beach, 

 where I found Pat leading Bob. Hastily mounting, I galloped south 

 for a couple of miles and heard the dogs "baying '" in a thick piece of 

 very high palmetto scrub, filled with small, dead oak trees which had 

 evidently been killed by fire. The bushes were so high and thick I 

 could not see the bear, but the dogs were close to me, and I knew they 

 . were close to the bear. I cheered on the dogs, hoping the bear 

 would show himself, and he did. There was a rush and out came Trip 

 and Brown, and the next instant I caught a glimpse of a black object 

 directly under my horse's nose. I tried to shoot, but a branch caught 

 my arm, and Bob's sudden start disconcerted me, and the next instant 

 the bear had disappeared. I followed as long as I could hear the 

 dogs ; but I soon lost them, and after riding about for an hour or 

 more I gave it up and rode back to camp, w^here I found two of the 

 dogs. Trip and Brown did not get back until late in the evening. 



Tuesday, April 3, 1894: The dogs found the fresh trail of a 

 small bear and " jumped" him near a small creek. He ran directly 

 south and I never saw or heard the dogs after the first fifteen min- 

 utes. Several hours later they all came back except Tige and 



