of the Old World. 397 



or the melting of the snow, dashed down the steep 

 descent with immense force, and swept away all the 

 underwood in their course. Here our guide assured 

 us the lair was, and indeed, it looked a likely place 

 to meet with queer customers, for in all my pere- 

 grinations I never saw wilder country. 



After an hour's careful investigation, during which 

 I came across several trails of red and roe deer, hogs, 

 wolves, jackals, and foxes, as I was crossing a patch 

 of sand in the dry bed of a stream I perceived the 

 fresh footprints of a bear, which I instantly saw must 

 be a very large one from his long stride and the size 

 of his pugs, my hand hardly covering them. 



I followed up the trail for some distance, but lost 

 it on some rocky ground, and was making casts in 

 different directions in order to regain it, when some of 

 the Bey's dogs, which had gone on some short distance 

 ahead, gave tongue, and immediately after I heard a 

 sullen roar, followed by four or five dropping shots. 

 I sprung upon a boulder of rock and discovered an 

 enormous, dirty, white-looking bear in full pursuit of 

 four or five Abassians, who were running shrieking 

 up the hill-side about two hundred yards distant. 

 One of them, in his frantic flight, tripped over a 

 stone, and before he could rise the brute was upon 

 him. Although the hinder-quarters of the animal 

 only were presented to me, I threw up my rifle and 

 let drive ; whether it was that my hand was unsteady 



