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Carrying the Boats: Bear

Seeing us, the Bear stopped, and stretched out an inquiring nose towards the horse. The animal was perhaps a hundred feet ahead of us. I felt the horse begin to tremble under me. His Here we remained three days, mainly to gratify our comrade Stein, who became much interested in the mineralogy of the locality. He made numerous excursions ears were bent forward, every nerve to the ledges and hills about the farm, tightening. I kept speaking to him, and and off to adjoining clearings connected shouted at the Bear, which stood looking with it by cart -roads. They let him have sullenly at us. I didn't know what to do; an old farm-horse there, named "Jed," to but old Jed settled that question for me. ride.

Meantime, the rest of us fished and All his fear seemed suddenly to turn into hunted, but saw very little game. Oddly rage, and he bounded at the Bear like a enough, Stein, who was not after game at fury. I came near going off his back at all, had two adventures with Bears. As the first leap, but clutched his mane and he was hero of these, and alone at the hung on.

The next thing I recollect seeing was latter drew no reply from the missing the Bear almost under the horse's fore- man, but had the effect to call forth a feet, running and growling, the horse bit- most dismal howling from far across the ing wildly at him. It seemed as if we lake, a circumstance which by no means must come down plump on to the Bear tended to reassure us. There were some at every spring. He was right under the odd-voiced denizens thereabouts. Two horse's fore-hoofs at each plunge. I of the party set off a few moments later, should think we went a hundred rods down without saying anything to us. the road in just that way, the horse Ten to fifteen minutes later we heard almost trampling on the Bear at every them hallooing from the top of the great jump. crag back of the camp. The opposite.

At length he tacked suddenly out of shores resounded to their shouts. But the lumber-road into the woods, and the we could hear no response. and firing guns at intervals.

Presently we saw a great bonfire on the crag in the rear of the camp. The guides horse, rushing frantically after him, dashed What to do we scarcely knew, and were under some hemlocks, the low boughs of in a fever of suspense. Rike and Moses which scraped me off his back and sent O. started off after the guides; and the me rolling into a little hollow. I got up others went along the lake shore for a and listened awhile, till the horse and mile or more to the eastward, shouting Bear had gone fairly out of hearing, then limped back to the farm in anything but a comfortable condition. Next morning we found the horse near the barn. One had set a large, thick fir standing there of the stirrups was torn off, and he had on fire; and the whole tree blazed like lost the hammer and a part of my speci- one enormous torch. If Stein were lost mens out of the saddle-bags. How he anywhere within ten miles it was incredihad come off with the Bear we could only ble but that he would see it, we reasoned. guess.

Distant howls and cries attested to the Soon after this adventure we were fact that many a savage eye was gazing greatly alarmed one night on account of wonderingly at it. the absence of one of our party. Several To search further in the darkness now went fishing, and came back toward sun- appeared to little purpose; yet this but set, having caught a fine string of tuladi, added tenfold to our fears. Indeed, it as they call them, a species of gray trout. would be quite impossible to describe It was not till we sat down to eat those what we endured from apprehension that broiled tuladi, that Stein was missed. night. No one thought of sleeping; and Where he had gone nobody had the the minutes and hours dragged by in a slightest idea. We shouted and fired two manner too painful to speak of. Day guns-then fell to on the fish, and were broke at last over this, now to us sombrethus employed for three-quarters of an looking, country. hour.