ANOTHER BRUIN IN HIS LAIR. 325 



snuffed the air for an instant, and then made off in a 

 different direction. I seized the opportunity offered, 

 and sent him a ball ; but I was not quite cool enough, 

 and only wounded him in the hip. Meantime, the 

 dogs having been stopped by the bluff which Bruin had 

 so unceremoniously disposed of, he gained a good space 

 in advance; but the wound checked his speed, and I 

 could soon distinguish by the dogs' bark that they had 

 come up with him again, but were keeping out of 

 reach of his paws. A young man named Erskine, who 

 was shooting near us, attracted by the report of my 

 gun and the barking of the dogs, came up and gave the 

 mortal wound. The two Conwells joined soon after, 

 and we broke him up together. 



Erskine told us that he had found a cave, which he 

 was sure contained a bear, and asked one of us to go 

 with him and try it, as he had neither torches nor wax 

 candles. I was ready at once, took one of the candles, 

 and explaining to the others w^here they might find us, 

 we set off, and reached the place about sunset. We 

 first made a large fire before the entrance of the cave, 

 and then crept into it, E. preceding. Further on, the 

 passage grew larger, so that we could walk upright, 

 side by side. After going some distance, we heard the 

 regular low whine of the bear, who was sucking his 

 paws, and Erskine, also a regular bear-hunter, asserted 

 that he was fast asleep. Passing a sharp turn in the 

 cave, we discovered him at our feet, and, as my com- 

 rade had stated, fast asleep, his head between his paws, 

 uttering a low monotonous whine. Erskine set the 

 muzzle of the rifle to the back of his head, and fired ; 

 he gave a convulsive start, and lay dead. I probed the 

 28 



