402 
THE BEAR. 
the far West and in California. A full- 
grown grisly bear will pull down a bison 
and kill it, and afterwards carry away the 
carcass, which often weighs one thousand 
pounds. Like other carnivorous animals, 
it is much more to be dreaded after it has 
obtained a taste of human flesh; and many 
stories are told by Western hunters and trap¬ 
pers of encounters with these animals. Sir 
John Richardson, whose travels are ex¬ 
tremely interesting, tells the following story 
of one of them. ‘A party of voyageurs, 
who had been employed all day in tracking 
a canoe up the Saskatchawan, had seated 
themselves in the twilight by a fire, and 
were busied in preparing their supper, when 
a huge grisly bear sprang over the canoe, 
which was tilted up behind them, and, seiz¬ 
ing one of the men by the shoulder, carried 
him off. The rest fled in terror, with the 
exception of one named Bonnaur, who, 
grasping his gun, followed the bear as it 
was retreating leisurely with his prey. He 
called to his unfortunate companion that 
he was afraid of hitting him if he fired at 
the bear; but the latter entreated him to fire 
immediately without hesitation, as the bear 
