Old Epkraim, the Grisly Bear. 293 



bite and avoiding the counter-stroke. The only dog I ever 

 heard of which, single-handed, was really of service in 

 stopping a grisly, was a big Mexican sheep-dog, once 

 owned by the hunter Tazewell Woody. It was an agile 

 beast with powerful jaws, and possessed both intelligence 

 and a fierce, resolute temper. Woody killed three grislies 

 with its aid. It attacked with equal caution and ferocity, 

 rushing at the bear as the latter ran, and seizing the out- 

 stretched hock with a grip of iron, stopping the bear short, 

 but letting go before the angry beast could whirl round 

 and seize it. It was so active and wary that it always 

 escaped damage ; and it was so strong and bit so severely 

 that the bear could not possibly run from it at any speed. 

 In consequence, if it once came to close quarters with its 

 quarry, Woody could always get near enough for a shot. 

 Hitherto, however, the mountain hunters as distin- 

 guished from the trappers who have followed the grisly 

 have relied almost solely on their rifles. In my own case 

 about half the bears I have killed I stumbled across almost 

 by accident ; and probably this proportion holds good 

 generally. The hunter may be after bear at the time, or 

 he may be after blacktail deer or elk, the common game 

 in most of the haunts of the grisly ; or he may merely be 

 travelling through the country or prospecting for gold. 

 Suddenly he comes over the edge of a cut bank, or round 

 the sharp spur of a mountain or the shoulder of a cliff 

 which walls in a ravine, or else the indistinct game trail 

 he has been following through the great trees twists 

 sharply to one side to avoid a rock or a mass of down 

 timber, and behold he surprises old Elphraim digging for 



