00-KOO-HOO PLAYS THE GAME 139 



slowly lest the brute be feigning death. The hunter advances, 

 with his gun cocked and in readiness, to within perhaps five 

 paces, and then waits to see if his quarry is really dead. If the 

 bear is not dead and sees that the hunter is off his guard, the 

 chances are it will rush at him. But an experienced hunter is 

 not easily fooled, for he knows that if an animal makes a 

 choking sound in its throat, caused by internal bleeding, it is 

 mortally wounded; but if it makes no such sound — watch 

 out!" 



"My son, no animal is ever instantly killed, for there is 

 always a gradual collapse, or more or less of a movement 

 caused by the contraction of its muscles, before death actually 

 comes; but when an animal feigns death, it is always in too 

 much of a hurry about it, and drops instantly without a final 

 struggle, or any hard breathing — that is the time when one 

 should wait and be careful. 



"Then again, my son, if a wounded or cornered bear comes 

 suddenly upon a hunter, the beast will not at once rush at him, 

 grab him or bite him, but will instantly draw back, just as the 

 hunter will do; then it will sit up upon its haunches for a 

 moment, as though to think over the situation; that pause, 

 slight as it is, gives the hunter a moment to uncover his gun, 

 cock it, and aim, and fire it at the beast's mouth. In such a 

 situation the hunter prefers to fire at its mouth, because if shot 

 in the heart, the bear can still lunge at the hunter before it 

 falls, but if struck in the mouth, the brute is dazed and stops 

 to rub its face; meanwhile, the hunter has a chance to re-load 

 and try for a shot behind the ear, as that is even more fatal than 

 one in the heart. But if the bear happens to be in a tree, the 

 hunter does not try for either the brain or the heart, because 

 the former is usually out of aim, and the latter is protected by 

 the trunk or limb of the tree; so he shoots at the small of the 

 back for that will paralyze it and cause it to let go hold of the 

 tree, and drop to the ground. The fall will leave very little 



