310 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 
at least thirty shots made at him, and probably 
few missed him, yet such was his tenacity of 
life, that I have no doubt he would have suc: 
ceeded in crossing the river but for the last shot 
in the brain. He would probably weigh, at the 
least, six hundred pounds, and was about the 
height of an ordinary steer. The spread of the 
foot, laterally, was.ten inches, and the claws 
measured seven inches in length. This animal 
was remarkably lean; when in good condition 
he would, doubtless, much exceed in weight the 
estimate I have given. 
“Tn the afternoon one of our men had a some 
what perilous adventure with a grizzly bear. 
He saw the animal crouching his huge frame 
in some willows which skirted the river, ane 
approaching him on horseback to within twenty 
yards, fired upon him. The bear was only 
slightly wounded by the shot, and with a fierce 
growl of angry malignity, rushed from his cover, 
and gave chase. The horse happened to be a 
slow one, and for the distance of half a mile the 
race was hard contested, the bear frequently 
approaching so near the terrified animal as to 
snap at his heels, whilst the equally terrified 
rider, who had lost his hat at the start, used 
whip and spur with the most frantic diligence; 
frequently looking behind, from an influence 
which he could not resist, at his rugged and 
