810 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 



at least thirty shots made at him, and probably 

 few missed him, yet such was his tenacity of 

 life, that I have no doubt he would have suc- 

 ceeded in crossing the river but for the last shot 

 in the brain. He would probably weigh, at the 

 least, six hundred pounds, and was about the 

 height of an ordinary steer. The spread of the 

 foot, laterally, was ten inches, and the claws 

 measured seven inches in length. This animal 

 was remarkably lean ; when in good condition 

 he would, doubtless, much exceed in weight the 

 estimate I have given. 



" In the afternoon one of our men had a some 

 what perilous adventure with a grizzly bear 

 He saw the animal crouching his huge frame 

 in some willows which skirted the river, an(? 

 approaching him on horseback to within twent;) 

 yards, fired upon him. The bear was only 

 slightly wounded by the shot, and with a fierce 

 growl of angry malignity, rushed from his cover, 

 and gave chase. The horse happened to be a 

 slow one, and for the distance of half a mile the 

 race was hard contested, the bear frequently 

 approaching so near the terrified animal as to 

 snap at his heels, whilst the equally terrified 

 rider, who had lost his hat at the start, used 

 whip and spur with the most frantic diligence, 

 frequently looking behind, from an influence 

 which he could not resist, at his rugged and 



