36 o 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
would be called “the public” in the outlying 
portions of Wyoming; but although contented with 
himself, Big Bill was always suspicious of a solitary 
stranger, as he had an undefined idea that some 
relative of the defunct horse-dealer might draw a 
trigger upon him unawares. It was this redoubt¬ 
able Big Bill who now confided to me that he had 
been running away from some monster grizzly bear 
only on the preceding day. He pointed out the 
spot, as nearly as possible, from where we stood 
during his narrative. “There,” he said, “do you 
see that low rocky clifT on the tip top of the hill just 
above us ? That was the place just beneath, on that 
little terrace-like projection with a few spruce firs 
upon it. There’s a steep but not a difficult way 
down by the side of that cliff, and when young 
Edmund and I got down upon that terrace, there 
were a lot of big rocks lying about, and all of 
a sudden one of ’em stood up on end within lo 
yards of me, and sat up regularly smiling at me, 
with the most innocent and amiable expression of 
countenance I ever saw. That was the biggest 
grizzly bear I ever came across ; he was as big as 
the biggest bull I ever saw in the ranche, and there 
he was, sitting up on end like a dog, and almost 
laughing. There was no laugh in me, I can tell 
you; I just lost no time, but turned round, and 
hooked it; and I don’t think I ever ran so fast in all 
my life.” 
“ But why did you not shoot him ? ” I exclaimed 
with astonishment. “Shoot him? Oh yes, that’s 
