Year: 1878




room for it all, and can't let it alone
So we boil down some of it, serving the
juciest parts whole. 1t happened on a
warm day last August, in the Adiron-
dacks. The author was armed with a
rifle and a six-quart pail-the former
weapon "tO save appearances" and not
for game. "The encounter was unpre-
meditated on both sides. / was not
hunting for bear, and have no reason
to suppose that bear was looking for
ME. The fact is, that we were both out
blackberrying, and met by chance, the
usual way" He had set down the rifle,
and was soon far away from it, 'lured
on from bush to bush by the black
gleam of fruit that always promises
more in the distance than it realizes
when you reach it; penetrating farther
and farther through leaf-shaded cow
paths fecked with sunlight, into clear
ing after clearing"


He was wishing he could meet real
bear, and working up an imaginary one
into a romantic story with a nice moral.


was in the midst of the tale, when l
happened to look some rods away to
the other edge of the clearing, and there
was bear! He was standing on his
hind legs and doing just what l was
doing picking blackberries. With one
paw he bent down the bush, while with
the other he clawed the berries into his
mouth, green ones and all.


To say that l was astonished is inside
the mark. l suddenly discovered that
| didn't want to see bear, after all.
At about the same moment the bear
saw me. stopped eating berries, and re-
garded me with glad surprise. 1t is
all very well to imagine what you
would do under such circumstances.
Probably you wouldn't do it; didn't
The bear dropped down on his fore
feet, and came slowly towards me.
Climbing a tree was of no use with so
good climber in the rear; if started
to run, l had no doubt the bear would
give chase, and although bear cannot
run downhill as fast as he can uphill,
yet felt that he could get over this
rough, ush-tangled ground faster than
| could.


The bear was approaching. 1t sud
denly occurred to me how could divert
his mind until | could fall back upon
my military base: My pail was nearly
full of excellent berries, better
than the bear could pick himself.
put the pail on the ground and slowly
backed away from 1t, keeping my eye,
as beast-tamers do, on the bear. The
ruse succeeded.


The bear came up to the berries and
stopped not accustomed to eat out of
pail, he tipped it over and nosed
about in the fruit, corning" Gf there
is such word) it down, mixed with
leaves and dirt, like pig. The bear
is worse feeder than pig. When
ever he disturbs a maple-sugar camp in
the ring, he always upsets the buckets
of syrup and tramples round in the
sticky sweets, wasting more than he
eats. The bears manners are thorough
ly disagreeable.


AS soon as my enemy's head was
down, | started and ran. Somewhat
ont of breath and shaky, reached my
faithful rifle. 1t was not moment too
soon. | heard the bear crashing TIN ough
the brush after me. Enraged at my
duplicity, he was now coming on with
blood in his eye. l felt that the time
of one of us was probably short. The
rapidity of thought at such moments of
peril is well known. l thought an
octave volume, had it illustrated and
published, sold fifty thousand copies,
and went to Europe on the proceeds,
while that bear was Looping across the
clearing. As was cooking my gun, |
made hasty and unsatisfactory review
of my whole life. noted that even in
such Il compulsory review it is almost
impossible to think of any good thing
you have done. The sins come out un-
commonly strong. recollected a news
paper subscription had delayed pay
ing, years and years ago, until both
editor and newspaper were dead and
which now never could be paid to all
eternity.


The bear was coming on.


tried to remember what had read
about encounters with bears. couldn't
recall an instance in which man had
run away from bear in the woods and
escaped, although l recalled plenty
where the bear had run from the man
and got off. | tried to think what is
the best way to kill bear with a gun,
when you are not near enough to club
him with the stock. My first thought
was to fire at his head, to plant the ball
between his eyes but this is a danger
Gus experiment. The bears brain is
very small, and unless you hit that, the
bear does not mind bullet in his head,
that is, not at the time. l remem-
bered that the instant death of the bear
would follow bullet planted just back
of his fore leg and sent into his heart.
This spot is also difficult to reach unless
the bear stands off side towards you,
like target. / finally determined to
fire at him generally.


The bear was coming on.


The contest seemed to me very diff
ferent from anything at Creedmoor. ]
had carefully read the reports of the
shooting there, but it was not easy tC
apply the experience l had thus acquir-
ed. hesitated whether had better fire
lying on my stomach, or lying on nv
back and resting the gun on my toes. But
in neither position, 1 reflected, could ]
see the bear until he was upon me. The
range was too short, and the beaI
wouldn't wait for ME to examine the
thermometer and note the direction OF
the wind. Trial of the CreedmooI
method, therefore, had to be abandon
ed J and bitterly regretted that had
not read more accounts of off-hand
shooting.


| For the bear was coming on.


tried to fix my last thoughts upon
my family. AS my family is small, this
was not difficult. Dread of displeasino
my wife or hurting her feelings was up.
permost in my mind. What would be
her anxiety be as hour after hour passed
on and l did not return What would
the rest of the household think as the
afternoon passed and no lackberries
1