THE OREGON SJPORTSMA^ 37 



next to me. I shot again and hit him in the shoulder. He stopped 

 now and threw his head around and bit at the place where the bullet 

 struck him, which gave me time to load and fire again, hitting him 

 this time behind the shoulder. This shot caused him to let go and 

 come tumbling down to the ground with a crash, but he was up again 

 in a second just as the dogs piled on him. As bad luck would nave it, 

 Trailer was at the head and before the bear was up had him by the side 

 of the head, something he seldom did. I am sure he thought the bear 

 was as good as dead or he wouldn't have done it this time. 



Quicker than a flash the bear had both paws around him and 

 crushed him down to the ground and would have crushed the life out 

 of him in no time if it had not been for Bugle, who showed his blood 

 right then and there, for he sprang forward with a bellow without the 

 least sign of fear, brave old dog s . that he was, seized him by the side of 

 the head and the bear went over backwards, letting go of Trailer and 

 throwing Bugle entirely loose. By the time the dogs were up the bear 

 was up and backing against a bush. He stood them off. 



I waited for a good chance now and shot him in the head at the 

 butt of the ear and he rolled over. I let Bugle and Trailer go after 

 him now to their hearts' content. He was too big to hang up, so I 

 dressed him and straightened him around so he would drain, then 

 started along up the hill to look out a way to get the horse down to 

 where he was. I had proceeded about three hundred yards and was 

 going through some open timber when I noticed the dogs raise their 

 heads and sniff like they'd caught the scent of some kind of game. I 

 kept them back, however — thinking it might be deer — as old Bugle 

 liked to run deer pretty well. I kept moving along up the hill and 

 after awhile came to the edge of a thick patch of brush and studied a 

 minute whether to go around it or through it. I decided to go through 

 it, and hadn't got more than twenty steps when the brush cracked in 

 front of me, and both dogs went by me like a shot and after running 

 three or four hundred yards began to bay up a tree. 



* * * 



I went on up to where I heard the brush crack and there on a big 

 log saw where an immense cougar had been lying. As there was a 

 little snow on I could see his track plain. I went on around the sidehill 

 and came in on the upper side of the tree and there he was. He was 

 standing up on the limbs looking down at the dogs just like he would 

 just as soon spring down right among them as not. I kept behind a 

 tree until ready to shoot and then stepped out where he could see me. 

 He had his side to me and turned his head and looked, but not for long — 

 a bullet went crashing through his brain and he rolled out of there 

 dead. 



1 knew Fred would be delighted at the part Bugle had taken in 

 the two chases as he had been waiting to get him after a bear for a 

 long time, and if he had kept Trailer awhile he would have made a 

 fine dog. I wanted to keep him, but Fred couldn't bear the idea of 

 giving him up and I couldn 't blame him, for he wag certainly a fine 

 hound. I went to camp now and got there early, but Fred did not get 

 in until after dark. I had supper ready for him. I asked him if he 

 had killed anything. He said he had killed two deer. I told him then 

 about the bear eating the deer and he got interested right away and 

 wanted to know how Bugle performed. 



It fairly took his breath away as I told about the dogs treeing the 

 cougar and that it was one of the largest he ever saw. Fred had seen 

 a great many and he thought that part of it was a mistake. I told him 

 we would go get them the next morning and he would see. We took 



