70 HUNTING SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



bably suffering from his wound ; as soon as I got a clear 

 view of his head, I fired again, but only grazed his skull. 

 As I ran towards him, his fury increased, and he turned 

 to meet me ; on taking aim with my second barrel, at 

 about thirty paces, it missed fire. With open jaws, and 

 ears laid back, he rushed towards me ; in this mortal 

 danger I preserved my presence of mind. Dropping my 

 gun, and drawing my knife, I sprang back a couple of 

 paces, behind a small tree ; at this moment, the bear was 

 only a few feet from me. As he rose on -his hind" legs to 

 embrace me, he was almost as tall as I, and his fiery 

 eyes and long teeth had nothing very attractive ; but he 

 was not destined to know the taste of my flesh. 



I was quite collected, feeling sure that one or the 

 other must die. The moment he tried to grasp me, I 

 thrust my long double-edged hunting knife into the 

 yawning abyss of his jaws, and boring it into his brain, 

 I brought him to the ground. I did not then know bet- 

 ter, but I ought to have sprung back after wounding 

 him, and then I should have escaped unhurt. As it was, 

 he dragged away my coat in falling, and tore my arm 

 slightly. I thanked God that it was no worse. There 

 I sat on the sweet smelling heath, with my coat all in 

 rags, and no other to put on. To assuage my sorrow, I 

 cut a large ^teak from the bear, which tasted particu- 

 larly good after my severe exertions. I carried away 

 the skin. In the evening, I fell in with a herd of deer, 

 but did not fire at them, as I was well provided with 

 meat. 



On the following evening, I heard a shot. The sound 

 ran through me like an electric shock. There were, 



