52 VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. 



and much curved, like those of the great Cats. He 

 is amazingly strong, and his courage is proportioned 

 to his strength. He attacks and overcomes the 

 gigantic Bison, and even drags away the carcase to 

 bury it. Far from fearing man, he seems to scorn 

 even the stealthy manoeuvring of the Lion and Tiger, 

 rearing on his broad hind feet at the first sight of 

 his adversary, and rushing down upon him with fear- 

 less violence. He is not only dangerous on account 

 of his strength and courage, but also from his tena- 

 city of life. Lewis and Clarke state that there is 

 no chance of killing him by a single shot, unless the 

 ball go directly through the brain. They record an 

 instance in which a Bear having received five shots 

 through his lungs, and five other wounds in his body, 

 swam a considerable distance, and lived twenty mi- 

 nutes. In another instance, one that had been shot 

 through the centre of the lungs, pursued his assailant 

 half a mile, returned more than a mile, dug himself 

 a bed in the earth, and was alive two hours after- 

 wards ; and a third, though shot actually through 

 the heart, ran a quarter of a mile before he fell. 

 Many stirring narrations have been given by the 

 enterprising officers above-named and others, of en- 

 counters with the Grizzly Bear : but the following, 

 of recent occurrence, may not be unacceptable. 



" In June, 1833, as a party of hunters were pre- 

 paring to encamp under a bluff on the banks of the 

 Arkansaw, one of their dogs upon going round a 

 ledge of rocks, began to bark loudly. As they were 

 in the vicinity of large game, they seized their guns ; 



