METAPHYSICS OF BEAR HUNTING. 355 



bobtail with such unwonted enerjXY, that he, feelinn; himself 

 furiously insulted, commenced a series of caperings even 

 more vivacious and complicated than usual, and persevered 

 in them Avith such determination, that, after a hard struo-o-le, 

 the Doctor was fairly somerseted, bear-spear and all, amidst 

 a roar of merriment. He got nimbly to his legs again, dealt 

 two kicks this time, with a little more vigor than usual, and 

 remounted. 



By night, we could clearly distinguish the diiFerent knobs, 

 and the shaded valleys between them. We camped in high 

 spirits, for no traces had yet been discovered of Indians, and 

 we were near enough the hills to reach them in time for sport 

 in the morning. 



Bright and early we were under way — our arms all over- 

 hauled and in fine order — with a keen relish for the rough 

 work before us. As we neared the hills, they presented 

 singular features. They rose directly and abruptly from the 

 level of the plain we had been traversing. It seemed to be 

 a succession of ridges, marched out like an army of Titans 

 upon the meadows — the lowest in front — rising higher and 

 higher as the eye traced each line back until it grew up into 

 the clouds ; and, from the level, we could look into the deep, 

 cool, green valleys that went winding among their feet. 



Those in front were by no means precipitous, but rose 

 from the valleys with a gentle curve, clothed all the way to 

 the top with mighty live oaks, bearded like patriarchs, whose 

 trunks stood far apart to give room for their long knotty 

 arms, festooned with silvery moss, to spread, over the girth, 

 not unfrequently of half an acre. As these trees forked 

 very soon, and as there was no underbrush beneath, the 

 heavy drapery of the moss hung drooping as from a low- 

 roofed temple of the Druids ; and the thick green sward 

 spread under it, mellowed the gray shades deliciously. The 

 trees became gradually smaller and more sparse, as the eye 

 descended to the valleys, and then in the centre of each was 



