106 MAMMALIA-BEAR. 



regard him with the utmost terror. His extreme tenacity of life renders 

 him still more dangerous; for he can endure repeated wounds which would 

 be instantaneously mortal to other beasts, and, in that state, can rapidly 

 pursue his enemy. So that the hunter who fails to shoot him through the 

 brain, is placed in a most perilous situation. 



One evening the men in the hindmost of one of Lewis and Clark's canoes 

 perceived one of these bears lying in the open ground about three hundred 

 paces from the river ; and six of them, who were all good hunters, went to 

 attack him. Concealing themselves by a small eminence, they were able 

 to approach Avithin forty paces unperceived ; four of the hunters now fired, 

 and each lodged a ball in his body, two of which passed directly through the 

 lungs. The bear sprang up and ran furiously with open mouth upon them ; 

 two of the hunters, who had reserved their fire, gave him two additional 

 wounds, and one breaking his shoulder-blade, somewhat retarded his mo- 

 tions. Before they could again load their guns, he came so close on them, 

 that they were obliged to run towards the river, and before they had gained 

 it the bear had almost overtaken them. Two men jumped into the canoe ; 

 the other four separated, and concealing themselves among the willows, 

 fired as fast as they could load their pieces. Several times the bear was 

 struck, but each shot seemed only to direct his fury towards the hunter ; at 

 last, he pursued them so closely that they threw aside their guns and 

 pouches, and jumped from a perpendicular bank, twenty feet high, into the 

 river. The bear sprang after them, and was very near the hindmost man, 

 when one of the hunters on the shore shot him through the head and finally 

 killed him. When they dragged him on shore, they found that eight balls 

 had passed through his body in different directions. 



On another occasion, the same enterprising travellers met with the largest 

 bear of this species they had ever seen ; when they fired he did not attempt 

 to attack, but fled with a tremendous roar, and such was his tenacity of 

 life, that although five balls had passed through the lungs, and five other 

 wounds were inflicted, he swam more than half across the river to a sand 

 bar, and survived more than twenty minutes. 



Mr John Dougherty, a very experienced and respectable hunter, who 

 accompanied Major Long's party during their expedition to the Rocky 

 Mountains, several times very narrowly escaped from the grizzly bear. 

 Once while hunting with another person on one of the upper tributaries to 

 the Missouri, he heard the report of his companion's rifle, and when he 

 looked round, beheld him at a short distance endeavoring to escape from one 

 of these bears, which he had wounded as it was coming towards him. 

 Dougherty, forgetful of every thing but the preservation of his friend, hasten- 

 ed to call off the attention of the bear, and arrived in rifle-shot distance just 

 in time to effect his generous purpose. He discharged his ball at the ani- 

 mal, and was obliged in his turn to fly ; his friend, relieved from immediate 

 danger, prepared for another attack by charging his rifle, with which he 



