A U IJ N T KK's LI I'K. 179 



accorapauy him the next day ; and in the morning we sat 

 out for the bear-hole. 



When we drew near the phice, he said that I should go 

 before, as I was a better shot ; but I thought it was be- 

 cause he felt afraid to be the foremost. However, I took 

 the lead, and we went on till we got in sight of the hole ; 

 where I saw that a bear had been scratching in the rubbish 

 to make a bed. 



I said, in a low tone, " Look, John, how a bear has 

 been at work ;" and walking up quietly to the mouth of 

 the hole, we found there was one in it then, sure enough. 



The wax candle was liglited ; and, as it had been agreed 

 on before we left home that I should be the one to enter 

 and do all the shooting, I of course said nothing to hira 

 about going into the den, but pi'epared to descend and 

 shoot the bear myself. 



When I got about my own length into the hole, I found 

 it turned to the right, and continued on, very narrow, 

 about eight or ten feet. At the farthest end lay the bear, 

 sound asleep, or apparently so. I was in such a tight 

 place that I could not put my gun to my face, but was 

 cempelled to level it as well as I could ; and in laying my 

 face to it, to see that it was pointed right, my head was 

 brought close to the lock. I then reached back, and with 

 my thumb fired off the gun. I was stunned ; my ears 

 rang with the noise, and the flash from the lock set the 

 heavy mop of hair on one side of my head in a blaze. I 

 shuffled out of the hole with all my head on fire ; but by 

 beating it with my hands, and rubbing it with handfuls of 

 snow, I soon put it out. 



All being again quiet, I loaded ray gun, went in, and 

 found the bear's under-jaw hanging down, and broken to 

 pieces close to her ears. She was in such pain that she 

 was tearing at her own jV.w-bone, trying her best to pull it 

 it off 



