136 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 
The country in which the Osage finds a home pos- 
sesses abundantly the grizzly bear, an animal formidable 
beyond any other inhabitant of the North American 
forests—an animal seemingly insensible to pain, uncer- 
tain in its habits, and by its mighty strength able to 
overcome any living obstacle that comes within its reach, 
as an enemy. ‘The Indian warrior, of any tribe, among 
the haunts of the grizzly bear, finds no necklace so -hhon- 
orable to be worn as one formed of the claws of this 
gigantic animal, slain by his own prowess; and if he 
can add an eagle’s plume to his scalp-lock, plucked from 
a bird shot while on the wing, he is honorable indeed. 
The Indian’s ‘“‘ smoke,” like the fire-side of the white 
man, is often the place where groups of people assemble 
to relate whatever may most pleasantly while away the 
hours of a long evening, or break the monotony of a dull 
and idle day. On such occasions, the old “brave” will 
sometimes relax from his natural gravity, and grow lo- 
quacious over his chequered life. But no recital com- 
mands such undivided attention as the adventures with 
the grizzly bear—even the death of an enemy on the 
war-path hardly vies with it in interest. 
We have listened to these soul-stirring adventures 
over the urn, or while lounging on the sofa; and the 
recital of the risks run—the hardships endured—have 
made us think them almost impossible, when compared 
with the conventional self-indulgence of enlightened life. 
But they were the tales of a truthful man—a hunter— 
tall 
