274 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



fired, wounding the Bear and killing a dog — fortunately 

 not old Kate. Before we crossed, the Parson and Phillips 

 were in the river, urging their horses to swim as fast 

 as possible; and by the time we had got a hundred yards 

 ahead of them, both had crossed, and were coming at full 

 speed behind us. 



It was no use for me to try to get ahead of Howell. The 

 Bear was evidently weakening, and the dogs were grow ing 

 more and more furious. A dash of a quarter of a mile, 

 with Howell not fifty yards ahead of me — he right behind 

 the dogs — and the old Bear i)lunged into a cave-root, and 

 turned for her final stand. 



In a moment, Howell was on the ground. Reckless of 

 everything, he rushed almost into the jaws of the beast, 

 and fired a fatal shot into her side, just behind the shoul- 

 der, the gun almost touching her body. She sank to earth, 

 and before she could have risen, he buried to the hilt in her 

 heart his glittering bowie-knife, and gave a long yell of 

 triumph. 



By this time, the Parson, Phillips, and I w^ere up, and, 

 dismounting, we all united in a genuine old Bear-hunter's 

 yell, and hugged each other, just as men and comrades do 

 after a deadly and successful charge of a battery. 



Then the question came up, ' ' What must we do with 

 the Bear?" The sun was nearly down, it was ten miles to 

 camp, and a river, deep and tw^o hundred yards wide, to 

 swim — we were wet, hungry, and the cold was growing 

 more intense every moment. The Bear proved to be a 

 barren female, as predicted; but she was not poor, being, 

 on the contrary, in good condition for that time of the 

 year. 



"What shall we do?" w^as now the absorbing question, 

 and it was quickly decided to let her lie there until the 

 next morning, when she could be taken to the hills, skirt- 

 ing both the Ouachita and Cypress Creek. Our wagon 

 could be crossed over at the Coleman ford, and driven down 

 the Camden road to a point where the Bear could be taken 

 to it. There was no help for it, but the river had to be 



