THE PANTHER AND BEAR. 241 



nor children, nor any near kindred, and I believe lie 

 loved me mor'n he did all the rest of human kind. 

 He didn't hate, or dislike anybody but an Ingen, and 

 him he hated like pison, and well he might. If the 

 dark deep woods could speak, they'd tell, may be, 

 strange stories, of Ingens that crossed old Pete's trail 

 in the forest, and never got back to their wigwams. 

 But that was long, long ago, while the grass was 

 growin' on the graves of his father, and mother, and 

 sisters, and brother, massacred by the murderin' cusses, 

 and the thirst for vengeance was rank in his heart. 

 But what I was goin' to tell you, is this : 



" One day, he was passin' from St. Eegis to Big 

 Clear Pond, and in goin' over a ridge had sat down 

 on the trunk of a fallen tree to rest. As he sat there, 

 he heard a crashin' through the brush, as of some 

 animal, that seemed to be in a monstrous hurry to get 

 away from somethin' that he seemed to think, warn't 

 a great ways behind him. Presently a bear rushed 

 by him, over the ridge, gruntin' and talkin' to himself, 

 as is the way of the animal sometimes. He seemed to 

 be orfully afraid of something, but had no idea that old 

 Pete, and his rifle was around. Them things warn't 



very healthy for bears, and if that one had knowed 



11 



