A BEAR IN THE CAMP. 27 



" After him ! " shouted Mike, and with cheer and cry every 

 soul dashed out in pursuit, and the camp that stood so pictur- 

 esquely still in its first awakening, after the one rude rush of the 

 chase was left deserted, while we followed the trail and cry of the 

 hounds. 



The game, immediately after crossing the camp, turned toward 

 the river, and entered the dense canebrake that fringed the shore 

 for some miles, and hunters and negroes followed helter-skelter, 

 now over grassy holes, now over slippery trunks of fallen trees 

 that had been floated by the water, and left to moulder green in 

 the damp. One moment held back by a vine, at another so 

 crowded by the reeds as to be obliged to lean down and run like 

 a rail. One moment the crashing of reeds and baying of the 

 hounds were close to us ; then again they would gain on us ; but 

 far or near, we went plunging and rushing forward with a sense of 

 intentness that gave no thought to anything but the chase. Soon 

 we became separated ; one man, plunged into a slough to his waist, 

 was left to extricate himself ; another was turned here, another 

 there, by intervening obstacles, and presently I was left alone, 

 following always the sound before me, that wound hither and 

 thither among the reeds, now pausing as if at bay, and then rush- 

 ing on to the right or the left, as the hunted animal was assailed 

 by the dogs coming up from either side. 



Shortly there was a pause, and the prolonged " Oo-oo-o ! " of 

 the hounds told the bear was at bay, and hastening in the direction, 

 I came into a close thicket of canes that had sprung up as thick 

 as wheat from the rich bottom land. 



I could hear the bear, before I came to him, snorting and 

 champing with rage, and as I entered his covert, I saw him on his 

 haunches, with his back against a bank, his eyes red, his mouth 

 open, shedding foam as he surveyed the dogs that were ranged in 

 a semicircle around him, panting with rage, and bearing marks of 

 his claws that had evidently taught them discretion. 



But the greatest mark of respect was presented in the person of 

 the Doctor. He sat directly in front of the bear, and scarcely six 

 steps off; his feet were half buried in the mud, and he was seated 

 on the same easy cushion. His coat and vest were wide open, his 



