A SWIMMING-RACE WITH THE DOGS. 135 



After an hour or two, the dogs started a young bear, 

 and followed him in full cry, but had not gone far 

 when they were stopped by the river I'Anguille, or, as 

 they call it here, the Langee ; neither coaxing nor 

 threats could induce them to take to the water, and Saint 

 thought that if one of us swam over, the dogs would 

 follow, and that we should find the trail again on the 

 other side. Saint could not swim, Uhl would not : so 

 I threw off my clothes, and plunged in. The river, 

 which in summer is very shallow, and hardly seems to 

 flow, was now much swollen, and had overflowed its 

 banks. As soon as I had swam some distance. Saint 

 began to cheer on the dogs, and I soon heard them 

 spring into the water, one after the other, and follow 

 me. I was swimming slowly with long strokes, and 

 had reached about the middle of the river, M^hen I 

 heard two of the dogs close behind me, while Saint was 

 still cheering them on from the bank, as if to attack a 

 bear. The two near me Avere barking furiously, and 

 the thought flashed upon me : su})pose they were to 

 seize me ? If only one had attacked me, all the rest 

 would have joined, and as they were strangers to me, 

 if they had fallen upon me I should have had no 

 chance : so I began to strike out as hard and as fast 

 as I could to reach the shore. Exerting myself for my 

 life, I came nearer and nearer the bank, but the 

 excited dogs swam faster still, and I heard the snorting 

 , of one of them close to me when I felt the ground : in 

 an instant I and the dogs were both on shore. The 

 danger was over now, and they began to hunt ; but 

 either the bear had followed the stream, and landed 

 lower down, or the ground was too wet for the scent ; 



