BEAR AND PANTHER CHASE. 823 



tin and I were coming up the lake, we saw a bear 

 swimming across. We put after him, when he made 

 for that island. I was heavily loaded, or I could hav,e 

 caught him. As it was, I believe I should, but for that 

 rock you see just under the water below the log. The 

 bear undertook to crawl out on the log, but every time 

 he mounted it it rolled over, dumping him again into 

 the lake. The third time he tried it I was close upon 

 him, and should have run my boat slap against him had 

 it not grounded on that rock. If I had reached him 

 and got one blow of my oar across his nose, I think I'd 

 have fetched him." 



Looking with some interest on the spot where bruin 

 had such a narrow escape, we kept on until Chet, look- 

 ing behind him, pointed to another island, and said : 

 "There Steve, Martin's brother, came on a panther 

 swimming the lake. His boat was loaded down with 

 furniture, or he would have caught him. He had no 

 gun, but he rowed after him, hoping to head him off. 

 The panther got ashore before he could reach him. 

 If he had only thought," added Chet, "that his 

 furniture would float, he could have dumped it 

 overboard and put after the panther and killed 

 him, then come back and picked up his furniture." 



