166 FROM NORTH POLE TO EQUATOR. 



to the ring finger, is prized by the love-lorn maiden of the Ural, 

 for the youth whom she secretly scratches with it is bound to 

 return her love ardently. Teeth and claws have, therefore, a high 

 value, and have more effect in inciting the huntsman to pursue the 

 most formidable carnivore of the forest, than any damage which 

 Bruin does. But the chase is neither easy nor without danger. 

 Traps do not seem to be of any avail. The hunter must seek out 

 the bear, and, weapon in hand, helped by his practised dogs, must 

 do battle. During the summer the restless habits of the bear make 

 the chase very difficult; during winter there is the chance of finding 

 a lair and of killing the sleeper in or near it. The poor peasant 

 who discovers a lair sells the bear in situ to any well-to-do sports- 

 man, who, on a suitable day, goes with him and the requisite 

 associates and surrounds the sleeper with sure marksmen. Beaters 

 rouse the creature from his slumbers and bring him into view, and 

 the huntsman shoots from the nearest possible distance. It is thus 

 that the great majority of the bears are secured, and to good shots 

 there is little danger. In summer and autumn they track the bear 

 with small dogs, and while these bait him on all sides, the sports- 

 man seizes a good opportunity for a telling shot. Or he may use 

 the bear-spear, as the bold Ostiaks do, and charge the animal. Or 

 else he may wind birch-bark several times round his left arm, and, 

 holding this as a shield against the angry bear, may plunge a long, 

 broad knife into his heart as he snaps at the bark. In these modes 

 of attack accidents do, indeed, often happen; but in the course of 

 time some hunters become so expert and cold-blooded that they 

 prefer the spear or knife to any other weapon. Indeed, a peasant 

 girl in the village of Morschowa is famous all over West Siberia for 

 having killed more than thirty bears with the knife. 



Of undesired encounters with bears many stories are told. A 

 hunter, armed only with a pea-rifle, came across a large bear in the 

 forest, but did not dare to shoot, knowing that his weapon was 

 too small for such big game. He therefore remained still, so as 

 not to irritate the bear. But Bruin came along, raised himself, 

 snuffed at the huntsman's face, and then gave him a blow which 

 stretched him senseless on the ground. Thereupon the bear ran 



