BEAR HUNTING* 
153 
indeed, in many instances, even after the hunt¬ 
ers had pointed them out to me, I could but 
barely perceive the prints of their feet on the 
closest inspection ; yet the hunters, on coming 
up to the place, saw these marks with a glance 
of the eye. 
After killing; a bear, the first care of the 
hunters is to strip him of his skin. This bu¬ 
siness is performed by them in a very few' 
minutes, as thejf always carry knives about 
them particularly suited for the purpose ; af¬ 
terwards the carcase is cut up, an operation in 
which the tomahawk, an instrument that they, 
mostly, carry with them also, is particularly 
useful. The choicest parts of the animal are 
then selected and carried home, and the rest 
left in the vroods. The Indians hold the 
paws of the bear in great estimation; stew r ed 
with young puppies, they are served up at all 
their principal feasts. On killing the ani¬ 
mal, the paws are gashed w ith a knife, and, 
afterw ards, hung over a fire, amidst the smoke, 
to dry. The skins of the bears are applied to 
numberless uses, in the country, by the farmers, 
who set no small value upon them. They 
are commonly cured by being spread upon a 
wall or between two trees, before the sun, 
and in that position scraped with.a knife, or 
piece of iron, daily, which brings out the 
«» | 
grease or oil, a very considerable quantity of 
