THE HU^'T. 161 



clumsy appearance, he is by no means a slow-footed 

 beast, but shuffles along with considerable speed. 



On some occasions, particularly when fat, he pre- 

 fers to climb a tree at once, even when not hardly 

 pressed by the dogs ; and sometimes he is so worried as 

 to be obliged to take refuge over the heads of his per- 

 secutors. The dogs remain baying under the tree till 

 the hunters arrive, when a few bullets well aimed bring 

 him to the ground. 



But I had hunted alone in the woods, and killed at 

 least half-a-dozen bears by myself, before I had a chance 

 of taking part in a regular hunting frolic. At length 



I was invited by Major C to make one of a party 



of about a dozen in a regular camp-hunt through a 

 swampy district on the banks of the Caney Creek, which 

 was well known to be alive with game of every descrip- 

 tion. We were not, on this occasion, to hunt any parti- 

 cular robber, or avenge any specially injured plantation, 

 but hunt for the sake of sport, making a long journey 

 during one day, sleeping in the woods at night, and on 

 the following morning we were to explore the cane- 

 brake, which, according to the words of an experienced 

 hunter who knew the ground, was rswarming with all 

 the varmints on airth.' 



The swamp had originally been the bed of the river 

 Colorado, which had changed its course into a new 

 channel. In a few spots, stouter vegetation had forced 

 its way up through the brake, but still the canes were 



M 



