A hunter's life. 221 



caught my right leg, tilted me over a fallen tree, and heels 

 over head I went, his nails tearing out of my pants a piece 

 the size of his huge foot. The bear was in the act of 

 springing on me when I fell ; but the two faithful dogs, 

 seeing my danger, seized him by the hams, and as he could 

 not bear to have his breeches torn, he turned to defend 

 himself When I got up, I found the same dog was down, 

 and the bear again biting him. I repeated my thrusts 

 with the knife, and thus relieved the dog ; and so I con- 

 tinued to give one stab after another, till I had driven my 

 knife into him seven times. All these severe cuts wei'e 

 made in a space the size of a large dinner-plate — four 

 of them touching his heart, and the others cutting his 

 lights. 



Although it may appear improbable, yet it is not the 

 less true, that a hunter may steal on a bear, and shoot him 

 through the lungs, when he will die in three minutes ; but 

 if the dogs attack him, and worry him until he becomes 

 reckless and furious, he will live and fight for fifteen 

 minutes, and perhaps longer, though wounded in the 

 same manner. After I had given him the first five cuts, 

 he would not let the dog loose, and I suppose that he was 

 not then sensible of his wounds. Seeing that he was still 

 biting the dog severely, and that I could effect nothing 

 with the knife, I ran up suddenly, seized him by the wool 

 on his hips, and gave him a hard jerk, which, as he was 

 very weak, threw him flat on the ground. He then gave 

 a long groan, which was so much like that of a human 

 being, that it made me feel as though I had been dealing 

 foully with the beast ; but there I had to stand, and hear 

 nis heavy groans, which no person could have distin- 

 guished from those of a strong man in the last agonies 

 of death. 



I .stood loosing calmly at him, until the sport was 

 [uarred by the thought of the brave manner in which b*" 



