A hunter's LIFE. 121 



Rutircly under water. After a smart struj^gle, I inount<Ml 

 the bank, and ran after the dogs ; whom I found under a 

 large pine-tree, and the bear sticking on the side of it, 

 about fifteen feet from the ground. The bear wanted to 

 come down, but seemed afraid. 



Hugh came soon after ; but as we were without any 

 means of sliooting, I told him that if I could get the bear 

 dDwn I could kill it with my knife, as it was only a com- 

 mon-sized fellow. I directed him to take a good strong 

 club and go behind a tree, in order that the bear should 

 not see hlni, while I would coax him down and try to kill 

 him. 



All being ready, and Hugh concealed, I called the dogs 

 to me, and stepped behind the tree the bear was on ; thus 

 giving him a chance to run. 



As soon as he saw such a good opportunity to escape, 

 he began to come down ; but the dogs, hearing him 

 scratching the bark of the tree as he was descending, both 

 darted round the tree. The bear was not yet within their 

 reach ; and to escape them, he scrambled round to my side 

 of the tree. I jumped up as he was peeping at the dogs, 

 caught him by the hind-foot, and brought him to the 

 ground ; and in a moment the dogs were into him for 

 death or victory. The bear seized one of the dogs by the 

 shoulder ; but the instant I saw that I sent my knife into 

 his side, through the lights, and stretched him lifeless at 

 my feet. 



When the fight was over, my brother-in-law accused me 

 of being crazy ; and said he would not run such risks for 

 all the bears and dogs in the woods. We then skinned the 

 animal ; which we found to be a very large female, though 

 we thought w^e had been fighting a common-sized he-bear. 

 She had wounded my dog so severely that he was unable 

 to hunt any more during that Reason. 



I then turned rry attention to bee-hunting, and killed 

 11 



