AMOS, Tim MIGHTY HUNTER 



219 



and the grub on the end of the gun. 

 fist behind me was the dog, and the old 

 man was behind him again with the ax, 

 carryin' the trap. I had the gun and 

 the grub, he had the ax and the trap, 

 and just as I went to go in the door 

 of the old camp, 'there was a bruin in- 

 side ! The bear he turned to git out. He 

 brushed right past me and nearly 

 pushed me over ; I could have kicked 

 him ; I never thought of the gun ; 1 jist 

 looked at the bear ! The old man hol- 

 lered, 'Shoot! shoot!' and that brought 

 me to me senses, and I got the grub 

 off the gun. By that time he was 

 pretty near acrost the camp-yard, and 

 I fired, as I thought, the bullet. The 

 bear kept right on, the dog hot after 

 him, and the bear run, lookin' back 

 at the dog but it ap- 

 peared like the dog 

 didn't keer to take 

 holt. I run after the 

 bear, I had a good 

 chanst at him two 

 or three times, but 

 I thought I had 

 nothing but the 

 shot. I meant when 

 he turned to give 

 him the shot, clost. 

 I gained on the bear 

 on the road, for I 

 was letthT out my best, but when he 

 struck the hill, there he left us. How 

 the old man did swear when he found 

 the bullet still in the gun ! and didn't 

 I feel cheap ! Well, we set the trap, and 

 we got him. He had the shot ! They 

 were jist in his hide, and didn't hurt 

 him at all, only stung him a mite. I 

 wonder he didn't turn when he ketched 

 it, but we always found the bears 

 around here was cowardly. 



"About the orter? Well, old man 

 Scott was in the woods and he had killed 

 an orter. Now there ain't nothin' '11 

 eat a mink, nor a black-cat, nor an or- 

 ter. I've left a carcase hangin' for a 

 year and at the end of that time it 

 was all there, except it was dried up 

 some. A 'gorbie,' or a crow, or a 

 chicken — nothin' '11 eat an orter. The 

 old man killed an orter, and he give 



Eat orter or star 



a piece to the dog; but the dog 

 wouldn't eal it. 



'Eat orter or starve!' said he, but 

 the dog wouldn't touch it. Next meal 

 he offered a piece to the dog ; again the 

 dog refused it. 



'Eat orter or starve!' said he. Next 

 meal he did the same thing. 'Eat orter 

 or starve!' But the dog jist wouldn't 

 eat the orter. Every day he'd bring 

 out a piece of orter, and every day the 

 dog would turn his head away. Well, 

 it went on for six days. The dog 

 couldn't stand it no longer, so he eat 

 a piece, and he never give him a bite 

 to eat till he'd eat all that orter ! 



"The worst scrape I ever see the 

 old man git into was one time up Sisson 

 Branch, to look for a moose yard. We 

 didn't find the 

 moose yard, a n d 

 were coming back, 

 when I sees the 

 fresh tracks of a car- 

 ibou. I told the old 

 man if he'd hold the 

 dog, I could git a 

 shot at the caribou. 

 Thinks I, 'He'll 

 make a grand pair 

 of snowshoes!" So 

 the old man helt the 

 dog and I went a 

 little ways, it was down hill, and I 

 comes onto the caribou. I had the 

 double-barrel gun, and the bullets did- 

 n't fit the shot gun, and it was wet, too. 

 I raised the gun and took aim, but the 

 gun wouldn't go off. I see the caribou 

 was gittin' uneasy, so I fires the bullet 

 that was in the shot gun, and of 

 course, I misses the caribou. The dog, 

 when he hears the shot, give a jump 

 and started, and down he comes with 

 the old man 'seboy-in' him on. The 

 caribou jist stood still, and watched the 

 dog comin' for him, and I was watchin' 

 the whole circumstance, and trying to 

 pick powder into the lock of the rifle. 

 The old man was right after the dog, 

 with the ax, and when he comes up to 

 the caribou, he struck at him with the 

 ax, but he struck at his side instid of 

 his head. The caribou jumped jist as 



