EUROPEAN BIG GAME 159 



Next day several Lapps came and looked at the bear, 

 and expressed themselves well pleased that she was killed. I 

 noticed that when they saw the skin they invariably crossed 

 themselves, and, if not prevented, spat at it. A Norwegian 

 told me that the Lapps dread bears very much, and will 

 not attempt to hunt them except in parties of five or six. 



On another occasion a bear let me off in the kindest 

 manner. My wife and I, our Norwegian servant and a Lapp, 

 had ensconced ourselves in a good position, overlooking an 

 excellent feeding place, and had hardly settled ourselves before 

 we saw old Bruin come waddling down for his dinner. I was 

 then shooting with a double-barrelled Purdey polygroove 

 muzzle-loading rifle, a most excellent weapon, but requiring a 

 nice adaptation of the sights for any distance over a hundred 

 yards, and slow to load, the bullet having to be entered into 

 the grooves of the muzzle by force. I now quote from my 

 wife's journal : 



A. then crept down to stalk him, leaving us on the hill holding 

 our breath with excitement and lying with our heads over the side 

 of the rock in front of us. A. made a good stalk, but was not able 

 to get near Bruin on account of the wind, so he lay down in the 

 grass and put up the 1 50-yards sight, took a steady aim, and pulled. 

 The bullet, we think, must have hit the ground under the beai-'s 

 foot, for afterwards, on looking over the ground, we found that the 

 distance must have been at least two hundred yards, the line being 

 partly over water, and very deceptive to the eye. Anyhow, up 

 jumped the bear on his hind legs to look all round for the being 

 who had sent that nasty whistling ball, and seeing no one, he began 

 to move quickly off in the contrary direction to where A. lay hid. 

 A. then let drive the second barrel, which turned the bear, who 

 then made straight for him. A. was unable to see the bear on 

 account of the scrub (though we could see perfectly well from our 

 elevated position), and before he had time to reload, old Bruin 

 appeared fifteen yards from him. Both were equally surprised at 

 the meeting. A. stopped loading to pull out his hunting-knife, 

 iting it into his teeth, expecting a charge, and then went on load- 

 A^ and there they stood, man and bear, looking at each other for 

 full minute ; but before A. had time to get his muzzle-loader 



