392 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



whirling round and round in his furious efforts to release 

 himself, I soon had the satisfaction of finding myself and 

 horse twisted up in a net that would have defied the strength 

 of Samson to have burst. The pleasure of this predicament 

 was not a little increased, by the sight of the bear rushing 

 past at a few feet distance, with the whole pack biting at his 

 heels. 



Alas for my prowess ! in what a helpless case was I. 

 The moment my horse saw the bear, he uttered a wild 

 neigh it was the first one he had ever faced and backed 

 with such ungovernable terror and strength, that I was 

 almost torn to pieces by the vines, and choked in the bar- 

 gain. However, at the expense of my coat sleeve, which 

 was torn out at the arm-hole, my bleeding right arm was 

 freed from the infernal mesh, when a few desperate strokes 

 of my bowie-knife freed us from our desperate thraldom. 

 Now came, from near at hand, the deafening clamor of 

 baying, of shrieks, and hoarse growling, which told that 

 the bear had stopped to fight the dogs. Now is the chance 

 for the coveted shot, and it required no spur to urge my 

 horse in that direction. I commenced hewing my way 

 towards the scene, which seemed to be at the foot of a 

 large tree. I heard the shouts of my friends, who seemed 

 to be urging their way towards the same point. At about 

 the same moment two of us burst our way through the wall 

 of cane into the open space, about twenty feet in circum- 

 ference, that had been beaten down by the weight of the 

 enormous bear, during the battle. And such a scene as it 

 was ! The bear, hearing our approach, had made an attempt 

 to climb the tree, and the dogs, encouraged by the same 

 sounds, had made a simultaneous rush, and were literally 

 all over his huge carcass, having hold of him on every side ; 

 our guns were instantly presented, but we feared to fire lest 

 we should kill the dogs. 



While we stood thus hesitating, and the bear was tossing 



