THE -303 AND BEARS 239 



then again the invincibility of the '303 plus dum-dum bullet had 

 been so constantly dinned into my ears that without loss of time 

 I gave it a trial, firing at the now exposed neck and scoring a 

 hit. Instead of dropping the grizzly at once the shot had the 

 opposite effect ; he jumped like a flash from the ledge, gave two 

 hoarse, angry coughs, and rushed down the sharply-sloping 

 ground straight towards us at his very best pace, turning, 

 fortunately for our skins, sharply to the right when about fifteen 

 yards away. Here, on getting another bullet, this time in the 

 side, he stumbled badly and would have fallen had not a young 

 cotton-tree caught and held him up. We thought that he was 

 ours, but the grizzly was of a different opinion ; he went on and 

 on and very fast too, eventually crossing the mountain-top on 

 his way probably to a deep gulch on the other side. The cotton- 

 tree stem was thickly smeared with blood ; there was blood on 

 the trail which we followed until dark, but at last realising the 

 ease with which the bear had scrambled up the steep mountain- 

 side, we most unwillingly gave up the pursuit to be renewed 

 next day with no better result. It was a bitter disappointment, 

 but the old bear hunter guide told me that he had several times 

 seen the dum-dum bullet fail, and therefore, with bears, had 

 no confidence in it ; it appears to lose impetus when passing 

 through the thick, hairy coat the animal carries, to bury itself in 

 the dense layer of fat, and it breaks no bones. The fat and 

 hair again quickly close the small external wound, making the 

 pursuit difficult and slow. The blood on the trail, abundant at 

 first, became rapidly less and less, until all sign was lost ; only 

 on a tree here and there it still showed as the bear had brushed 

 against it in his flight. The uselessness of the dum-dum bullet 

 against these animals was evidenced still more decidedly in the 

 case of the black bear. Shortly after our encounter with the 

 grizzly we found the fresh spoor of his black brother, and him 

 we also tried to coax to a savoury dish of venison, specially 

 prepared by us and the sun. The bear, however, outwitted us, 

 ate the bait during a dark, moonless night, and never showed 

 himself, although n we waited for him morning and evening ; 

 afterwards he left the country, our presence having probably 

 interfered with his accustomed hours for meals. 



When climbing about one day on the mountain-side among 

 thick scrub we suddenly came upon another black bear grubbing 



