io 4 A SPORTING PARADISE 



but the raftsman came too close to a bear that 

 was at bay, and it broke away from the dogs, 

 rushed at and overthrew him, then lying on him, 

 it bit him deeply in the thigh, through the 

 femoral artery, so that he speedily bled to 

 death." 



Mr. Roosevelt once saw a man who had been 

 hurt by a black bear. This was an Indian. He 

 had come on the beast close up in a thick wood, 

 and had mortally wounded it with his gun : it 

 had then closed with him, knocking the gun out 

 of his hand, so that he was forced to use his 

 knife. It charged him on all fours, but in the 

 grapple, when it had failed to throw him down, 

 it raised itself on its hind legs, clasping him 

 across the shoulders with its fore-paws. Appa- 

 rently it had no intention of hugging, but merely 

 sought to draw him within reach of its jaws. 

 He fought desperately against this, using the 

 knife freely, and striving to keep its head back : 

 and the flow of blood weakened the animal, so 

 that it finally fell exhausted, before being able 

 dangerously to injure him. But it had bitten 

 his left arm very severely, and its claws had 

 made long gashes on his shoulders. 



Black bears, like grizzlies, vary greatly in their 



