A HUNTER'S LIFE 299 



CHAPTER XII. 



Finds an old Bear and Cubs in the Trap — Shoots her and one Cuh — Takes two Cubt 

 home — Their Docility — Raises one, the other escapes — Mary sends the Author to 

 Hunt — Kills five Deer in an afternoon— Parts with his Rifle — No success with hia 

 new Gun — Hunts a week, and only kills two Deer — Reflections on outside Ap- 

 pearances — Gets the Rifle in order — Two Bucks fighting— Kills one — Hunts with 

 his son William — Kills three Deer — Dog-fight — Goes to the Glades with two boys 

 to feed the Stock — Very Cold, and Snow on the ground — In two days, kills eight 

 deer — Next day, kills two Deer, and has a shot at a Wolf— Did not get him — En- 

 low's Hunt — Kills a wounded Bear with his Knife — Kills several Deer — They 

 hunt at Cherry-Tree Meadow — Kills a Bear with the Knife, after two shots and 

 hard fighting — Catches a Wolf in a Trap — Kills an old Bear and two Cubs — 

 Makes a Deer-Park — Catches a number of Deer in the deep Snow, and puts them 

 in the Park- Mode of catching them — Hoa a desperate Fight with a large Buck. 



Having mentioned something about the trapping sea- 

 son, I will here state one circumstance, which took place 

 during the same spring, on an occasion when, with two of 

 my sons, I went to attend to my traps. 



We had taken two bears, and, as we approached an- 

 other trap, we saw two cubs climbing a tree. We went 

 to the trap, and found an old she-bear and one cub in it. 

 One of the boys shot one cub from the tree ; but, as I 

 would not have either of the other two cubs killed, one of 

 the boys climbed the tree and threw off the one remaining 

 on it, and we caught him as he fell toward the ground. 



We were then going to turn the old one out, to have a 

 fight ; but I concluded to try and get the cub from her 

 before we did so. The mother, finding we were trying 

 to take her cub away, determined to keep us from it; 

 so she took ic and put it under one of her fore-legs, and 

 tamed the other side of her body toward us, in^rder to 



