BEAR HUNTING 265 



hcadloiiii; career by .seiziiiii' ii tree with llie oilier, wlmli 

 al\v;i\'s l)riiiL;,'s liiiii to t]\o ni'oiiiul witli ;i j<'rl<." I sIkuiM 

 lliiiik that ;i lioi'sc in 'j,(i(»(l roiidit i(»ii would, with his heels 

 render a good accoimt of a bearwliicii attempted this tiick, 

 and indeed when the hitter desires a meat diet he generally 

 eontents himself with niiitti>ii. IWit according to Pontoppi- 

 daii this is nol his method of defence. That author says : 

 " Horses show a ureal deal of eourai>;e when lhf\- liiihl wilh 

 the wolves and hears, which they are oft obliged to do, 

 jtai'ticularK tlir latter, for. when a horse pereeives any of 

 them near, and has a marc with him. he puts the weaker 

 behind him and attacks his antagonist with \\\r\ fore-legs 

 which he uses like drumsticks to strike withal, and comes 

 oil' u>uall\- the eon(picroi'. . . . lUit sometimes the bear 

 who has the double strcnij;th o-ets the ad\antao-e, and 

 especialK' if the horse happens to turn about to kick with 

 his hind-legs. If he attempts this he is ruined, for the 

 bear instantlx' leaps upon him and fixes himself on his 

 back." Bears niust occasionally attack elk. foi- in the forest 

 of a IVieihl of mine a eow elk was shot froni whose 

 shoulder a lar"f t lianu'ular piece of skin had been toi'U, ami 

 the wound showed unmistakalde sions of a bear's claws. 

 The state of her udder pi-o\c(l that she had been smkling 

 a call, in derendmu' which she had [)erha[)s receued her 

 wound, but which had probabK' I'allen a victim notwith- 

 standing. 



Whatever the tiuth of tln^ particulai- tale which reached 

 us may have been, it was sutlicit'iitly exciting to induce us 

 to change our (piarters, and we crossed tin,' Ijoid and wcni 

 several miles up a latei'al \alle\'. We were c,irl\- ;d<iot 

 the next nioininij but iL was jioL nj\ turn to m.) with fV-r. 



