374 



Wild Beasts 



panion in the ravine beneath. A deer was roused and shot 

 by the latter, when a large bear rushed upon him, struck 

 the rifle out of his hands, and knocked him down, but with- 

 out causing any serious injury. He said that he dared 

 not fire for fear of infuriating the animal, and shouted to 

 his brother to pretend to be dead. This was done; the 

 beast walked round him, smelt at his body, and finally lay 

 down close beside it. Suddenly he seized upon one of the 

 arms and bit it savagely. The unfortunate man probably 

 could not control respiration sufficiently, or there was some 

 involuntary muscular movement. At all events, this is what 

 happened, and the pain caused him to start up with a loud 

 cry, upon which the bear rose erect, grasped him with his 

 arms, and, in the language of the narrator, " bit the top of 

 his head off clean." 



Roosevelt relates that a neighbor of his, "out on a mining 

 trip, was prospecting with two other men near the head- 

 water of the Little Missouri, in the Black Hills country. 

 They were walking down along the river, and came to a 

 point of land thrust out into it, which was densely covered 

 with brush and fallen timber. Two of the party walked 

 round by the edge of the stream ; but the third, a German, 

 and a very powerful fellow, followed a well-beaten game 

 trail leading through the bushy point. When they were 

 some forty yards apart, these two men heard an agonized 

 shout from the German, and at the same time the loud 

 coughing growl or roar of a bear. They turned just in 

 time to see their companion struck a terrible blow on the 

 head by a grizzly, which must have been roused from 

 its lair by his almost stepping on it ; so close was it 



