THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 93 
utes with his auditors, in a grave silence; I saw there 
was a mystery to him connected with the bear whose 
death he had just related, that had evidently made a 
strong impression on his mind. It was also evident 
that there was some superstitious awe connected with 
the affair,—a feeling common with all “children of the 
wood,” when they meet with any thing out of their 
every-day experience. 
He was the first one, however, to break the silence, 
and, jumping up, he asked all present to “liquor” before 
going to bed,—a thing which he did, with a number of 
companions, evidently to his heart’s content. 
Long before day, I was put ashore at my place of 
destination, and I can only follow with the reader, in 
imagination, our Arkansas friend, in his adventures at 
the “ Forks of Cypress,” on the Mississippi. 
