^4)8^ 
 
'I'to KscuLciiouii. 
 
 P. 3. 
 
BRUIN 
 
 THE GRAND BEAR HUNT 
 
 CAPTAIN MAYNE REID 
 
 AUTHOR OF "the boy hunters" "the young voyageurs" 
 "odd PEorLE" etc. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 7- B. ZIVECKER 
 
 LONDON 
 
 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS 
 Broadway, Ludcati: 1 1 ill 
 
 NEW YORK : 9, LATAYICTTE PLACE 
 
CAPTAIN MAYNE HEID'S BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 THE BUSH BOYS. 
 THE BOY TAR. 
 THE DESERT HOME. 
 THE FOREST EXILES. 
 THE YOUNG YAGERS. 
 THE YOUNG VOYAGEURS. 
 THE PLANT HUNTERS. 
 THE BOY HUNTERS. 
 
 BRUIN. 
 
 ODD PEOPLE. 
 
 AFLOAT IN THE FOREST. 
 
 THE BOY SLAVES. 
 
 THE CLIFF CLIMBERS. 
 
 JASPER THE GAUCHO. 
 
 THE OCEAN WAIFS 
 
 THE GIRAFFE HUNTERS. 
 
 RAN AWAY TO SEA. 
 

 J 
 
 BETIIN. 
 
 CHAPTER I, 
 
 THE PALACE ORODOXOFP. 
 
 OiT the banks of tl:e Neva, near the great city of 
 St. Petersburg, stands a splendid palace, known 
 as tlie Palace Grodouoff. It is the property of 
 a Bussian nobleman of that name, as it is also his 
 place of residence. AVere you to drive up to the 
 front gate of this grand palace, you would see a 
 coat-of-arms sculptured in granite over the en- 
 trance. In this piece of sculpture, the principal 
 and most striking figure is a bear, with the blade 
 of a knife buried in his breast, the haft being 
 clutched by a human hand ! Open the gate, and 
 enter the spacious courtyard. Inside, on the right 
 and left, you will observe two live bears — both of 
 chestnut-brown colour, and each of them as big as 
 
 M1S.^j16 
 
2: • ■ i^EUiN. 
 
 n buffalo. Tou cannot' fail to notice them, for, ten 
 chances to one, tliey will rush towards you -with 
 fierce growls ; and were it not that a strong chain 
 hinders them from reaching you, you might have 
 reason to repent having entered the courtyard of 
 the palace Grodonoff. Look around you in the 
 courtyard and over the different doors that open 
 upon it ; you will again see the crest of the bear, 
 sculptured in stone ; you will see it over the 
 stables, the coach-house, the granary, the kitchens, 
 — everywhere. You may know by all this, that it 
 is the coat-of-arms of the Baron Grodonoff, whose 
 crest is a bear with a blade buried in its breast, 
 and a human hand clutching the haft. 
 
 Tou will naturally conclude that there is some 
 history connected with this singular tableau — that 
 it is the commemoration of some deed done by a 
 Grodonoff, entitling him to use the boar as his 
 heraldic device. This is quite true ; and if you 
 enter the picture-gallery of the palace, you will 
 there behold the deed more explicitly represented, 
 hx a largo oil-painting hung conspicuously in the 
 centre of tho wall. The scene of this painting ia 
 a forest of old trees, whose grey, gnarled trunks 
 stand thickly over tho ground. Tlicro ie only a 
 
THE PALACE GBODOXOFP. 8 
 
 little open space or glade in the middle ; and this 
 is occupied by three figures, two men and a bear. 
 The bear is between the two men ; or, rather, one 
 of the men is prostrate upon the ground — where 
 be has been struck down by a blow from Bruin's 
 paw — while the huge animal stands over him reared 
 up on his hind quarters. The other man is upon 
 his feet, apparently engaged in a desperate wrestle 
 with the fierce brute, and likely to prove the con- 
 queror — as he has already buried the blade of a 
 large hunting-knife in the animal's breast, and 
 directly over the region of its heart. Indeed, 
 the shaggy monster already shows signs of suc- 
 cumbing..' His paw has dropped from the shoulder 
 of his antagonist, his long tongue lolls out, the 
 blood rushes from hia mouth and nostrils, and it 
 is evident that his strength is fast forsaking him, 
 and that he v.ill soon sink lifeless upon the earth. 
 
 You will notice, that the two men who figure 
 in tlie painting are very dissimilar in appearance. 
 Botii are young men, and both arc in hunting 
 costume; but so unlike is their dress, that you 
 could not. fancy they followed the same occupa- 
 tion. Ho upon the ground is richly attired. Ho 
 wears a tunic of finest green cloth slashed with 
 B 2 
 
4 BUUIN. 
 
 sable fur on the skirt, collar, and sleeves ; hia 
 limbs are encased in breeches of ■white doeskin ; 
 and his boots, reaching nearly to his thighs, are 
 of soft russet leather, ample at the tops. A belt 
 around his waist is richly embroidered ; and the 
 bilt of a short hunting-sword, protruding from the 
 sheath, appears chased and studded with jewels. 
 A light plumed hat lies upon the ground near 
 his head— evidently tossed oft" in the struggle — 
 and beside it is a boar-spear that has been jerked 
 out of his fingers as he fell. The whole costume 
 is similar to that used upon the stage — ^when some 
 young German or Sclavonian prince is represented 
 as hunting the wild boar in the forests of 
 Lithuania. 
 
 In reality it is a prince who is depicted in the 
 group of the gallery Grodonoft' — but not a German 
 prince. He is a llussian, and the bear is the 
 llussian bear. 
 
 The otlier hunter — he who has given its death 
 blow to the fierce quadruped — is dressed in a 
 stvle cMitircly diiVcrent. It is the costume of a 
 i'lir-liiiiitcr- a tr;i[)pcr of sables — and consists of 
 ekiu coat and cap, witli a strong leathern belt 
 round his waist, and rougli boots of untanued hide 
 
THE PALACE ORODONOFF. 5 
 
 upon his legs and feet. The costume is rude, and 
 bespeaks liim a peasant ; but his face, as t\w 
 painter has represented it, is neither common nor 
 ill-looking. It is not so handsome as that of the 
 prince: for he would be an unskilful artist — one 
 utterly reckless of his own fortune — who should 
 paint the features of a peasant as handsome as 
 those of a prince. In Russia, as elsewhere, such 
 an imprudent painter would be a rara avis 
 indeed. 
 
 The picture of which we are speaking is the 
 piece de resistance of the Grodonoff gallery. Its 
 size and conspicuous position declare the fact ; 
 and the story attached to it will show that it 
 merits the distinction. But for that picture, or 
 rather the scene which it represents, there woulA 
 be no Grodonoff gallery — no palace — no baron of 
 the name. Paintings, palace, title, all have their 
 origin in the incident there represented — the 
 battle with the bear. 
 
 The story is simple and may be briefly told. 
 As, already stated, he upon his back, hat olf, and 
 spear detached from his grasp, is a Russian prince — 
 or rather was one, for at the lime when our his- 
 tory commences he is an emperor. JIo had been 
 
6 BETJIN. 
 
 hunting the ^vild boar ; aud, as often happens to 
 sporting princes, had become separated from his 
 courtier attendants. The enthusiasm of the 
 chase had led him on, into the fastnesses of the 
 forest, where he came suddenly face to face with a 
 bear. Princes have their hunter ambition as well 
 aa other men ; and, in liopes of takiug a trophy, 
 this one attacked the bear with his boar-spear. 
 But the thrust that might have penetrated the 
 flesh of a wild boar, had no effect upon the tough 
 thick hide of Bruin. It only irritated him ; and as 
 the brown bear will often do, he sprang savagely 
 upon his assailant, and with his huge paw gave the 
 prince such a "pat" upon the shoulder, as not 
 only sent the spear shivering from his grasp, but 
 stretched his royal highness at full length upon 
 the grass. 
 
 Following up his advantage, the bear had 
 bounded forward upon the prostrate body ; and, 
 no doubt, in the twinkling of a bedpost would 
 have made a corpse of it — cither scjueeziug the 
 breath out of it by one of his formidable " hugs," 
 or tearing it to pieces with his trenchant teeth. 
 lu another moment the hope of Eussia would 
 have been cxlinguisliod; but, just at this crisis, a 
 
TUE PALACE GEODOXOFF. 7 
 
 third figure appeared upon the scene — in the 
 person of a young hunter — a real one — who had 
 already been in pursuit of the bear, and had 
 tracked him up to the spot. 
 
 On coming upon the ground, the hunter fired 
 his gun ; but, seeing that the shot was insufficient, 
 he drew liis knito and rushed upon the bear. A 
 desperate struggle ensued, in which, as may be 
 already anticipated, the young hunter proved vic- 
 torious — iiaving succeeded in sheathing hia blade 
 in the heart of the bear, and causing the savage 
 quadruped to " bite the dust." 
 
 Neither the prince nor the peasant came scath- 
 less out of tlie encounter. Botli were well 
 scratched ; but neither had received any wound of 
 a serious nature; and the amateur hunter rose 
 once more to his feet, conscious of having made 
 a very narrow escape. 
 
 I need not add that the prince was profuse in 
 his expressions of gratitude to him who had saved 
 his life. The young hunter was not one of his own 
 party, but a stranger to him, whose homo was in 
 the forest where the incident occurred. But their 
 acquaintance did not end with the adventure. The 
 l^rinoe became an emperor — the peasant hunter a 
 
8 BEUIN. 
 
 lieutenant in the Imperial Guard, afterwards a 
 captain, a colonel, a general, and finally a baron 
 of the empire ! 
 
 His name ? 
 
 GrodonofF, — he in whoso palace Langs the 
 picture we have described. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BAKON OEODOKOFF. 
 
 In one of the apartments of tlie palace Grodonoff, 
 behold its proprietor the baron himself! He is 
 seated in an old oak chair, with a heavy table of 
 tlie same material in front of liim. On the table 
 is spread out a map of the world ; and by the 
 side of the chair stands a large terrestrial glolv^. 
 Several shelves standing against the walls contain 
 books; and yet the apartment is not a library in 
 the proper sense of the word : rather is it a largo 
 oblong saloon ; having three of its sides occupied 
 by spacious glass cases, in which are exhibited 
 objects of natural history, — birds, quadrupeclB, 
 
TUE BAKOX GRODON'OFF. 9 
 
 reptiles, and insects, — all mounted in proper form, 
 and arranged in due order. It is, in fact, a 
 museum, — a private collection — made by the baron 
 himself; and the books that fill the shelves are 
 works relating to natural history alone. 
 
 In a man of military aspect— an old \eteran with 
 snow-white hair, and grand moustaches of like 
 hue — such as he who is seated at the table — you 
 would scarce expect to meet the lover of a study 
 80 pacific in its character as that of natural history ? 
 Eathcr would you look to find him pouring over 
 plans of fortifications, with the pages of Vauban 
 spread open before him ; or some history detailing 
 the campaigns of Suwarrow, Diebitsch, Paskie- 
 witch or Potemkin ? In this instance, however, 
 appearances were deceptive. Though the baron had 
 proved an excellent military officer, and seen 
 service, he was a student of Nature. His early ]'So, 
 spent as a hunter, had begot within him a taste 
 for natural history ; which, as soon as the oppor- 
 tunity ofTered, had become developed by study and 
 research. It was now no longer a predilection, but 
 a passion ; and in his retirement nearly the whole 
 of his time was devoted to his favourite study. A 
 vast fortune, which his grateful sovereign had 
 
 / 
 
10 BEUIN. 
 
 bestowed upon bim, enabled bim to command the 
 means for gratifying bis taste ; and the magni- 
 ficent collection by wbicb be was surrounded gave 
 evidence tbat no expense was spared in its gratifi- 
 cation. 
 
 It was a map and globe of tbe world tbat now 
 occupied bis attention. Could tbese bave reference 
 to a question of natural bistory ? 
 
 In an indirect manner tbey bad, — and what 
 follows will account for tbeir presence, 
 
 A band-bell stood upon tbe table. Tbe baron 
 rang it ; and before its tingling bad ceased, tbe 
 door opened, and a servant entered tbe apartment. 
 
 " Summon my sons to attend me ! " 
 
 Tbe servant bowed, and retired. 
 
 A few minutes after, two youtbs entered tbe 
 apartment. Tbey appeared to be of tbe respective 
 ages of sixteen and eigbteen. One, tbe cider aud 
 taller, was of a darkisb complexion, witb brown 
 waving bair, and bazcl eyes. The expression of 
 his countenance was tbat of a youtb of firm aud 
 ratber serious cbaracter; while tbe stylo of bia 
 dress, or ratber bis manner of wearing it, showed 
 that he was altogether witliout vanity in matters 
 of personal appearance. lie was hauJ^ome witbal, 
 
THE BAUON GKODOXOFF. 11 
 
 having tbat aristocratic air common to the nobilitj 
 of Kussia. This was Alexis. 
 
 The younger brother differed from him as much as 
 if no kinsliip existed between them, lie was more 
 the sou of his mother, the baroness ; while Alexis 
 inherited the features and a good deal of the dis- 
 position of his father. Ivan was a fair-haired lad, 
 with golden locks curling over a forehead of bright 
 blonde complexion, and cheeks that exhibited the 
 hue of the rose. His eyes were of a deep azure-blue — 
 such as is often seen among the Sclavonic races — 
 and their quick sparkle told that in the breast of 
 Ivan there beat a heart brimming with bright 
 thoughts, and ever ready for mischief and merri- 
 ment, but without any admixture of malice. 
 
 Both approached their father with a serious ex- 
 pression of countenance. That of Alexis bespoke 
 sincerity ; while Ivan stole forward with the air of 
 one who had been recently engaged in some sly 
 mischief, and who was assuming a demure deport- 
 ment with the design of concealing it. 
 
 A word about these two youths, and the object 
 for which their father had summoned them into his 
 presence. They had now been each of them more 
 than ten years engaged in the study of books, under 
 
12 BnriN. 
 
 Bome of the ablest teachers that Russia could fur- 
 nish. Their father himself had given much time to 
 their instruction ; and, of course, an inclination to 
 their minds similar to that which characterized his 
 own, but chiefly to the mind of Alexis. 
 
 The latter had imbibed a fondness for tlie study 
 of nature, while Ivan was more given to admire 
 the records of stirring events, with a strong 
 penchant for the splendours of the world, in wliich 
 he felfc longing to bear a part. The nature of the 
 books which had passed through their hands — a 
 great number of them being books of travel — 
 had begotten within these youths a wish to see 
 the world, which, increasing each day, had grown 
 into an eager desire. This desire had been often 
 expressed in hints to their father; but at length, 
 in a more formal manner, by means of a written 
 petition, which the boys, after mucli deliberation, 
 had drawn up and presented to him, and which was 
 now seen lying open before him upon the table. 
 
 Tlie petition was simply their united request, 
 that their father would be so good as to allow 
 them to travel and see foreign countries- -whore, 
 and how, to be left to his wise guidance and dis- 
 cretion. 
 
TnE SEALED 0RDEI18. 13 
 
 It was to receive an answer to this petition, 
 that his sons were dow sutnmoned into his 
 presence. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE SEALED OnOERS. 
 
 ** So, my youngsters ! " said the baron, directing 
 his glance upon them, " you have a desire to 
 to travel ? You wish to see the world, do you ?" 
 
 " True, papa !" modestly answered Alexis ; " our 
 tutor tells us that wo are sufficiently educated to 
 go abroad ; and, if you have no objection, we 
 should very mucli like to niaiie a tour." 
 
 " "What! before going to the University ?" 
 
 " Why, papa! I thought you were not going to 
 send us to the University for some time to come ? 
 Did you not say, that a year of travelling was 
 worth ten at a University?" 
 
 " Perhaps I may have said so ; but that dy 
 
14 BEUIK. 
 
 pends upon how one travels. If you travel merely 
 to amuse yourselves, you may go over all tlie 
 world, and come buck no wiser than when you 
 started ! I have known many a man return from 
 a circumnavigation of the globe, without bringing 
 ■with Iiira the knowledge of a single fact that he 
 might not have obtained at home. Tou would 
 expect to travel in snug railway-carriages, and 
 comfortable steam-ships, and sleep in splendid 
 hotels — is that your expectation ? " 
 
 "Oil no, papa! whatever way you may direct, 
 that will be agreeable to me," said Alexis. 
 
 " As for me," rejoined Ivan, " I'm not parti- 
 cular, I can rough it, I'm sure." 
 
 There was a little flavour of bravado in the 
 manner of Ivan's speech, that showed he was 
 scarce inclined to the roughing system, and that 
 he merely assumed the swaggering air, because he 
 had no belief that he would bo called upon to 
 make trial of it. 
 
 " If I permit you to travel," continued Uie 
 baron, " whore would you like to go ? Tou, Alexis ! 
 to what part of th« world would your inclination 
 lead you?" 
 
 " I should like to see the new world of America 
 
THE SEALED 0RDEU8. 16 
 
 — its noble rivers, and forests, and mountains. I 
 should certainly visit America, if it were left to 
 my cboice ; but I shall be guided by you, papa, 
 and do as you direct." 
 
 " You, Ivan?" 
 
 " Paris, for me, of all places in the world ! '* 
 replied Ivan, without any suspicion that the 
 answer would be displeasing to the father. 
 
 " I might have known so," muttered the baron, 
 with a slight frown clouding his forehead. 
 
 " O papa!" added Ivan, noticing the shade of 
 displeasure which his answer had produced ; " I 
 don't care particularly about Paris. I'll go any- 
 where — to America, if Alexis likes it best — all 
 round the tvorld for that matter." 
 
 "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the baron; "that 
 sounds better, Ivan ; and, since you offer no ob- 
 jection to it, all round the world you shall go." 
 
 *' Indeed ? I'm glad to hear it," said Alexis. 
 
 " What ! visit all the great cities of the world ?" 
 exclaimed Ivan, wliosc mind was evidently occni.- 
 picd with the delights of great cities. 
 
 " No," replied his father ; " it is just that which 
 I do not intend you sliall do. There is a great 
 deal to be learnt in cities, but much that would be 
 
16 BBUIN. 
 
 better not learnt at all. I have no objection to 
 your passing through cities — for you must needs 
 do so on your journey — but one of the con- 
 ditions which I shall prescribe is, that you make 
 stay in no city, longer than you can arrange for 
 getting out of it. It is through countries I wish 
 you to travel — amidst tlie scenes of nature — and 
 not in towns and cities, where you would see 
 very little more than you can in St. Petersburg 
 itself. It is Nature I wish you to become ac- 
 quainted with, and you must see it in its most 
 primitive forms. There only can you appreciate 
 Nature in all its sublimity and grandeur." 
 
 " Agreed, papa ! " exclaimed both the boys at 
 once. " Which way do you wish us to go ? " 
 
 "All round the world, as Ivan has suggested." 
 
 " Oh, what a long voyage ! I suppose we shall 
 cross the Atlantic, and then by the isthmus of 
 Panama to the Pacific ; or shall we go as Magellan 
 went, around Cape Horn r" 
 
 "Neither way — I wish you to make groat 
 journeys by land, rather than voyages by sea. 
 The former will be more instructive, though they 
 may cost more time and toil. Remember, my 
 Bons ! I do not send you forth to risk your Uvea 
 
THE SEALED OBDEBS. IT 
 
 without a purpose. I have more than one pur- 
 pose. First, I wish you to complete your studies 
 of natural science, of whicli I have taught you the 
 elements. The best school for this is the field 
 of Nature herself, xhich you shall explore in your 
 travels. Secondly, as you both know, I am fond of 
 all natural object-s, but especially those that have 
 life — the beasts of the field and the birds of the 
 air; these you must observe in their native haunts, 
 with their habits and modes of existence. You 
 will keep a journal of all facts and events that 
 may be worth noting down, and write out in detail 
 such adventures as may occur to you upon your 
 route, and you think may prove interesting to me 
 to read on your return. I shall provide you with 
 ample means to accomplish your journey; but no 
 money is to be wasted by idly sojourning in large 
 cities : it must be used only for the necessary ex- 
 penses of your travels. The emperor has been kind 
 enough to give you a circular letter, which will get 
 you funds and such other assistance as you may 
 require from his agents in all parts of the world." 
 " We promise, dear father, strictly to adhere to 
 your instructions. But whither do you desire ua 
 to go ?" Alexis asked the question. 
 
 
 
18 BEUIN. 
 
 The baron paused for some time before making 
 reply. Then, drawing from his desk a sealed paper, 
 which showed signs of having been but recently 
 folded, he gravely said as he held it towards them — 
 
 " In this document you will find the conditions 
 upon which I give you permission to travel. I do 
 not ask you to agree to them, until you have care- 
 fully examined and reflected upon them. You will 
 therefore retire to your room, read this document 
 over, and, having given its contents due considera- 
 tion, return, and signify whether you accept the 
 terms ; for if not, there is to be no travelling." 
 
 " By the Great Peter!" whispered Ivan to Alexis, 
 " they will be hard indeed if we don't accept them." 
 
 Alexis took the paper, and both, bowing to their 
 father, retired to their own apartment. 
 
 The seal was immediately broken, and not with- 
 out some surprise did they peruse the contents of 
 the document. It was in the form of an epistle, 
 and ran thus : — 
 
 "My Sons Alexis and Ivan!- -You have expressed a 
 desire to travel, and have requested me to give you my 
 permission. I accede to your request, but only upon the 
 following conditions : You must procure for mo a skin of 
 every variety o. jcar known upon the earth. 1 do not mean 
 ■uch varieties as are termed ' accidental,' arising from al* 
 
TUE SEALED ORDERS. 19 
 
 binism or like circumstances, but every species or variety 
 known to naturalists and acknowledged as " permanent." 
 The bears from which these skins are to be taken must be 
 killed in their native haunts, and by your own hands — with 
 no other assistance than that of an attendant whom I shall 
 appoint to accompany you. In order to accomplish the task 
 which I have imposed upon you, it will be necessary for 
 you to go ' round tho world;' but I add the further con- 
 dition, that yoa are- to go only once round it. In latitude, I 
 leave you free to range — from pole to pole, if it so please 
 you [this was a stretch of liberty at which both boys 
 laughed] ; but longitudinally, no. You must not cross the 
 same meridian twice before returning to St. Petersburg. I 
 do not intend this condition to apply to such traverses as 
 you may be compelled to make, while actually engaged in 
 the chose of a bear, or in tracking the animal to his den : 
 only when you ore en route upon your journey. You will 
 take your departure from St. Petersburg, and go east or 
 vest, which you please. From the conditions I have im- 
 posed npon you, I hope you will have skill enough to discover 
 that a route is traced out for you, and, that, on starting, you 
 can f illow it either eastward or westward. This, wilh all mat- 
 ters relating to your means and mode of travelling, I leave 
 to your own choice ; and I trust tl>nt the practical education 
 you have received will enable you to make your tour with 
 proper judgment. ['Tour, indeed !' excLiinitd Ivan.] Once 
 out of my pal.ioe, I take no farther charge of you. You may 
 be Home years older before I see yuu again ; but I trust the 
 time will not be niis-spcnt ; and that upon your return you 
 may be able to give a proper account of yourselves, is tbs 
 •amest hope and wish of your affectionate father, 
 
 " Michael Gbodonok»." 
 
 C 2 
 
BELIX. 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 D1SCUSSI>'0 THE C0>"DITI0N8. 
 
 The two youths were no little astonished by the 
 contents of this singular epistle ; but, for all that, 
 the terms imposed did not seem to them either 
 harsh or iinreasouable, and they were only too 
 pleased to accede to them. They partly guessed 
 their father's motive. They knew that he loved 
 both of them with a true paternal love ; but his 
 affection was not of that kind to pet and pamper 
 them within the precincts of his luxurious palace. 
 He had a diilVrent idea of what would be beneficial 
 to their future interests. ]Ie believed in the edu- 
 cation .vhioh is acquired in the rude school of toil 
 aud travel, more than in the book-loro of classic 
 universities; and he was determined that they 
 should have a full measure of tliis sort of training. 
 He had resolved that they should see the world ; 
 not according to the ordinary understanding of 
 this hackneyei' phrase — not tho world of towns aud 
 
Discussiya the co:TDiTioy9. 21 
 
 great cities, with their empty shows and vices — 
 but tiie tcorld of Nature; and, in order that 
 they should have the o{)portunity of becoming 
 thoroughly acquainted with this sort of world, 
 he had traced out for tliem a route that would 
 lead them into its very wildest scenes, and disclose 
 to them its rarest and most primitive forms. 
 
 ''By my word, brother!" exclaimed Ivan aa 
 soon as Alexis had finished reading the letter, 
 " we shall have travelling to our hearts' content 
 Certainly, papa has adopted a strange plan to keep 
 U8 out of the walls of great cities." 
 
 " Yes," quietly answered Alexis ; " there are 
 not many cities where bears abound." 
 
 "Such strange conditions!" added Ivan. "I 
 wonder what father can mean by imposing them 
 upon us." 
 
 " Indeed, I hardly know myself. One thing 
 only seema to explain it." 
 
 " What is that, brother ? " 
 
 " You are aware, Ivan, of the interest that papa 
 takes in all matters relating to beara. Aa people 
 lay, it is almost a mania with him." 
 
 " Oh ! the great picture in the gallery will 
 account for that," said Ivan, laughing. " But for 
 
22 BKUnr. 
 
 a lear, you know, our papa would never have been 
 a laron." 
 
 " True : that may have been what first led him 
 to take an interest in these animals." 
 
 " And yet to impose upon us these queer con- 
 ditions ! " continued Ivan ; " it certainly does seem 
 a little eccentric ? " 
 
 "No doubt papa has his purpose," said Alexis, 
 , " who knows that he may not be intending to 
 write a monograph of the bears ; and it is for this 
 he wishes to have a full set of their skins — the 
 j complete costume of each individual member of 
 Monsieur Bruin's family ? "Well, we must do our 
 best, and procure them for him. It is not for us 
 to inquire into the motives of our dear father. It 
 is our duty to obey his orders — even tliough the 
 task be ever so irksome or difficult." 
 
 "Oh, certainly, brother! I admit that; and I 
 am ready to yield obedience and perform any task 
 dear papa may think proper to impose on us," 
 
 Certainly there was some reason for the surprise 
 with which the youths had read the letter. Its 
 contents might have appeared still more whim- 
 sical to them, liad it not been their father that 
 had written it ; and, but for tlie fact that he 
 
DI8CU8SUTO THE CONDITIONS. 23 
 
 had already given them a thorough training in tho 
 natural sciences, they would have found it difficult, 
 if not altogether impossible, to carry out his in- 
 structions. A bear of every known variety was 
 to bo killed and skinned — killed, too, in its own 
 haunts and by their own hands ; which, of course, 
 meant that they were to visit every country where 
 bears are to be found, and obtain a skin of each 
 kind. Notwithstanding their youth both boys 
 were skilled hunters, and excellent marksmen. 
 Himself brought up to the calling, their father 
 had early initiated them into the hunter's craft ; 
 and, in addition to the knowledge of natural his- 
 tory, which he had imparted, he had taught them 
 habits of self-reliance — such as are only acquired 
 by ordinary individuals at tho full age of manhood. 
 Both were already inured to such perils and hard- 
 ships as are incidental to a hunter's life ; both 
 could endure to go a day or two without food or 
 drink — could sleep in the open air, with no other 
 tent than tho canopy of heaven, and no other 
 couch than the gra.-^ay covering of the earth. All 
 this sort of experience they had already gone 
 through, in the cold climate of their own country; 
 and it was not likely they wouUl meet with one 
 
24 BRUIN. 
 
 much more rigorous anywhere ou the earth. The 
 young Grodonoffs had been submitted to a train- 
 ing of ahnost Spartan severity — a perfect Cijro' 
 poedia — and dreaded neither hardships nor dan- 
 gers. They were just tlie youths to carry out tliat 
 singular programme which had been traced for 
 them by the paternal hand. 
 
 Was it possible, however to do so ? This was 
 their first query. Tiiere were some very nice points 
 in that brief chapter of instructions. Lntitudinally 
 they might traverse as circumstances required, but 
 not longitudinally. Under these limitations would 
 it be possible to visit the haunts of all the bears, — 
 to cover, as it were, the whole area of Bruin's 
 geographical distribution ? 
 
 That it was possible might be inferred, from the 
 fact of their father having issued the orders ; but 
 it was necessary for the young expeditionists to 
 Bet out with caution : else might they take a 
 wrong route, and be altogether unable to fuUil 
 his injunctions. They must not twice cross the 
 same meridian. It was this quaint condition that 
 puzzled them, and rendered it necessary to guard 
 against making a false start. 
 
 Lucky it was that Alexis was an accomplished 
 
ri8CU8SI>'0 TUE CONDITIONS. 25 
 
 zoologist, and thoroughly uuderstood the geo- 
 graphical distribution of the genua ursus. But for 
 this knowledge, they would certainly have been 
 puzzled as to the route they were to take. 
 
 " AVell, brother Ivan ! " said Alexis with a smile 
 " had these orders been issued when the great 
 Swede published his Systema KaturoE, our task 
 would have been easily accomplished, llow far 
 do you suppose our travels need to Lave ex- 
 tended ? " 
 
 " I don't quite comprehend you, Alexis. How 
 far ? " 
 
 " Why, simply into the courtyard of our palace. 
 It would have been only necessary to kill and skin 
 one of the great bears chained by the gate, and 
 that would have fulfilled all the conditions papa 
 has imposed upon us." 
 
 "And yet, I don't understand you," rejoined 
 Ivan, with a puzzled look. 
 
 " JIow obtuse you are, brother ! Ecad the ktter 
 again ; note well its terms ! " 
 
 ** Well, I understand them. "\Ve arc to travel 
 on, and not como home again till wc linvo killed a 
 bear of every variety known." 
 
 "There — ^just so. Of course papa means every 
 
26 BEUIN. 
 
 variety known to naturalists, — that is, to the 
 * scientific world,' as ifc is termed. Now you com- 
 prehend my meaning ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " answered Ivan ; " you mean that 
 when Liunneus published his ' System of Nature,' 
 only our own brown bear of Europe was known to 
 naturalists ? " 
 
 " Precisely so — only the ursus arctos ; and con- 
 sequently we should have had but a very short 
 journey to make, compared with what is before us 
 now. It is true that previous to his death, the 
 Swedish naturalist had made the acquaintance of 
 the ' Polar ' bear (iirsus maritimus) ; but, strange 
 enough, he regarded this as a mere variety of the 
 ursus arctos — an error that one may wonder 
 Linnaeus could have made 
 
 " Oh, they are very different. I could tell that 
 myself. To say nothing of the colour, they are 
 unlike in shape ; and, as everybody knows, their 
 habits are very dissimilar. Why, one lives in 
 forests, and feeds chiefly upon fruits ; while the 
 other dwells amidst fields of snow and ice, and sub- 
 sists almost exclusively on flesh, or fisli ! Variety, 
 indeed ! no, they are surely difl'erent species." 
 
 "Undoubtedly," answered Alexis; "but we 
 
DISCUSSING THE CONDITIONS. 27 
 
 shall have an opportunity of comparini]; them 
 hereafter. For the present we must drop the 
 subject, and find out the route of travel which 
 papa has traced out for us." 
 
 " But he has not indicated any route — has he ? 
 He gives us permission to go where we please, so 
 long as we get the. bear-skins, and do not return 
 upon our meridian. We are not to take the hack- 
 /rflcifc^-ha! ha! ha!" 
 
 " Of course not ; but you will find, to avoid 
 doing this, we shall have to go by a definite 
 course, and can take no other." 
 
 " By my word ! brother, I don't see what you 
 mean. I shall trust all to you : so take me where 
 you please — which way, then ? " 
 
 " Ah ! that has yet to be determined. I cannot 
 tell myself; and it will take mo some time before 
 I can make quite sure as to what direction we are 
 to take on starting out — whether cast, west, north, 
 or south. It will be nerc'^sary for mo to examine 
 a map of the world, and trace out the boundaries 
 of the different countries in which King Bruin v 
 holds sovereignty." 
 
 " Ah ! that will bo an interesting lesson for 
 me. Here is the map ; let me spread it out| 
 
28 BBTJIK. 
 
 and do what I can to assist you in finding our 
 way." 
 
 As Ivan said this, he drew a large travelling 
 map of tlie world from its case, and opening it out, 
 laid it upon the table. Both the youths sat down ; 
 and, running their eyes over the chart, proceeded 
 to discuss the direction which, by the conditions 
 imposed upon them, they must necessarily take. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 TRACING THE EOTTTE. 
 
 "In the first place," said Alexis, "there is the 
 brown bear {ursits arctos). Him we might find 
 in many parts of our own country — since he is 
 emphatically our *' Eussim bear"; but there is 
 also a black bear, which some naturalists say 
 is a variety of the ursus arctos, while others 
 believe it to be a separate species, having given 
 to it the specific name of ursus niger — urus ator 
 
Tn\CINO Tlin KOUTE. 29 
 
 it is sometimes called. Now, wlietlier it be a species 
 or only a variety, we must get a skin of it all the 
 same — since papa has definitely expressed it so." 
 
 " This black bear is to be found in our own 
 northern forests, is it not ? " 
 
 " Yes ; it has been observed tliere ; but more 
 frequently in the mountains of Scandinavia; and, 
 as we might wander through all the north of 
 Bussia without finding one, our best plan will be to 
 proceed at once to Norway or Lapland. There wo 
 shall be certain also of finding the brown bear, 
 and thus kill two birds with one stone." 
 
 •' Say Lapland : I should like to see the little 
 Laps, but where ne.\t ? To North America, I 
 suppose ?" 
 
 " By no moans. There is a boar in the 
 Pyrennees, and other mountains of Spain — in the 
 Asturias especially. It is also deemed by most 
 naturalists to be only a variety of the vrsus 
 arctos, but it is certainly a distinct species ; and 
 papa thinks so. Some naturalists would have it 
 that there are only three or four distinct species 
 in the whole world. They might just as well say 
 there was but one. I think it better to fuliow 
 papa's views upon this subject, and regard 
 
30 BEUIIT. 
 
 all those bears which have permanent marks of 
 distinction — whether it be in size, colour, or 
 otherwise — as being so many separate species, 
 however much they may approximate in habits or 
 disposition. Why, some naturalists even call the 
 American black bear merely a variety of our 
 brown ; and, as I said a moment ago, Linnaeus him- 
 self believed the Polar to be the same species. Thia 
 is now known to be an erroneous theory. Since 
 papa has given as much time to the study of the 
 bears as perhaps any one else, I shall follow his 
 theory, and regard the Spanish bear (tirsus pi/re- 
 naicus it is called) a distircfc species." 
 
 " You propose, then, to go next to Spain, and 
 kill the Spanish bear ? " 
 
 " Wc onust. Having started in a westerly 
 course by going to Lapland, we must keep on 
 in that direction." 
 
 " But how about the white bear of the iVlps ? " 
 " Tou mean the ursus albiis of Lesson ? " 
 " Yes. To reach the Alps, where it is said 
 be found, we should have to recross a meridian 
 of longitude ?" 
 
 " We should, if there were such an animal to be 
 found iu the Alps ; but there is not. The white 
 
TBACINQ TUE ROUTE. 31 
 
 bear of Buffon and Lesson (ursus albus) was only ^ 
 a mere accidental variety or albino of the brown 
 bear; and papa does not mean that we should 
 collect the skins of such as these. He has said so. 
 Indeed, Ivan, were that task imposed on us, we 
 should both be old men before we could complete it, 
 and return home again. It is only the skins of the 
 permanent varieties we are to procure, and there- 
 fore the U7-SIIS albus is scratched out of our list." 
 
 " Out with him then ! where go we next ? To 
 North America, then no doubt ? " 
 
 "No.' 
 
 " Perhaps to Africa ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Are there no bears in Africa ? " 
 
 " That is a disputed point among writers, and 
 has been so since the days of Pliuy. Bears are 
 mentioned as having been exhibited in the Roman 
 circus, under tlie name of Numidian bears ; and , 
 Herodotus, Virgil, Juvenal, and Martial all ' 
 mention Lybian bears in their writings. Pliny, 
 however, stoutly denies that there wero any of 
 these animals in Africa ; but it must be remem- 
 bered that he equally denies that stags, goats, and 
 boars existed oo the African continent : therefore 
 
32 ERCIN 
 
 his statement about the non-existence of the 
 Numidian bears is not worth a straw. Strange 
 enough, the point is as much disputed now as in 
 the days of Pliny. The English traveller Bruce, 
 states positively that there are no bears in Africa. 
 Another English traveller to Abyssinia, Salt, makes 
 no mention of them ; while the German, Ehren- 
 berg, says that he has seen them in the mountains 
 of Abyssinia, and heard of them also in Arabia 
 Felix ! Several French and English travellers 
 (Dapper, Shaw, Poucet, and Poiret), bear testi- 
 mony to the existence of bears in different parts 
 of Africa — in Nubia, Babur, and Congo. In the 
 Atlas mountains, between Algiers and Morocco, 
 according to Poiret, bears are common enough ; 
 and this writer even gives some details as to their 
 habits, lie says that tl)ey are exceedingly fierce 
 and carnivorous, and that the Arabs believe they 
 can lift stones in their paws and liiug tliem at 
 those who may be in pursuit of them ! He relates 
 that an Arab hunter brought him the skin of one 
 of those bears; and also showed him a wound in 
 his leg, wliich ho had received by the animal having 
 launched a stone at him while he was pursuing it ! 
 Monsieur Poiret, however, doea not vouch for the 
 
Tn\CINO THE nOUTE. 33 
 
 truth of the stone-tlirowinj», though ho stoutly 
 maintains the existence of African bears." 
 
 "What docs papa tliiiik about it?" inquired 
 Ivan. 
 
 "That there are bears in Africa — perlinps in 
 all the mountainous parts of Africa — but certainly 
 in the Atlas and Tetuan ranges. Indeed, an 
 English traveller of veracity has put tlie question 
 bevond a doubt, by giving some points in the 
 description of these African bears. Naturali^sts 
 thought that if such an animal existed in Africa, 
 it would be the same species as the Syrian ; but 
 although the bears reported in the Arabian and 
 Abyssinian mountains are likely enough to be of 
 that species, those of the Atlas are evidently not 
 only distinct from the Syrian bear, but from all 
 other known kinds. One that was killed i:car 
 Tetuan, about twenty-five miles from the Atlas 
 mountains, was a female, and less in size than the 
 American black bear. It was black al.-io, or rather 
 brownish black, and without any white niarking 
 about tho muzzle, but under the belly its fur was 
 of a reddish orange. Tho hair was ehiiggy and 
 four or five inches long, while tho snout, toes, and 
 clawa were all shorter than in the American black 
 
 D 
 
34t BEUIN. 
 
 bear, and tlie body was of tliicker and stouter 
 make. The Englishman had learnt something of 
 its habits too. The Arabs said it was rarely met 
 with near Tetuan ; that it fed on roots, acorns, 
 and fruits, but was only an indifferent climber. 
 Indeed it would be very improbable," continued 
 Alexis, " that the great ranges of the Atlas and 
 Abyssinian mountains should be without these 
 mammalia, since they exist in nearly all the other 
 mountains of the globe. Moreover, it should be 
 remembered that it is only a few years since the 
 bears of the Himalayas, of the Great Andes of 
 America, and those of the East-Indian islands — 
 and even the bear of Mount Lebanon — became 
 known to the scientific world. Why, then, should 
 there not be a species in Africa — perhaps more 
 than one — though civilized people are yet unac- 
 quainted with it ? " 
 
 " But you say we are not going to Africa ? " 
 " No ; our instructions relate only to every 
 variety of bear known to naturalists ; and the 
 African bear does not come under this category — 
 since it has not yet been described b}- any natura- 
 list. Eor that reason we shall have no errand into 
 Africa." 
 
THACIKO THE nOUTE. 8ff 
 
 "Tlien, surely North America is our next 
 Btage ? " 
 
 " Certainly not — you arc aware that tlicre is a 
 South American bear." 
 
 "Tes, the 'spectacled bear,' as he is called." 
 
 " Just 80 — the ursus ornatua. I think we shall 
 find two species ia South America, though that is 
 also a disputed point." 
 
 " Well, brother, what if we should ?" 
 
 " Why, both will be found in the Andes of 
 Chili and Peru, and not in the eastern parts of 
 South America." 
 
 " And how should that afTcct our route of 
 travel?" 
 
 *' Very essentially indeed. "Were we to go first 
 to Xorth America, we should find no less than five 
 species, or four species and ono well-marked 
 variety. To reach the native haunt of one of 
 these — I mean tlio gri>ly (ursus fcrox) — we 
 should have to go farther west than any part of 
 the South American Andes : how, then, could we 
 afterwards reach the spectacled bear without 
 doubling back on our meridian?" 
 
 " True, brother — I see that, by looking on the 
 map. Tou propose, then, steering first to South 
 s 2 
 
3G Euuix. 
 
 America, and afterwards to the northern division 
 of the American continent?" 
 
 " "We are compelled to do so, by the very nature 
 of our contract. Having procured the skins of 
 ursus ornatus and another variety we shall find in 
 the Andes, we can then travel almost due north. 
 On the Mississippi we sliall be able to pick up a 
 skin of the American black bear (ursus ameri- 
 canns) and by the help of the lludson's Bay 
 voyageurs we shall reach the shores of the great 
 ^ulf from which that territory takes its name. 
 There the ' polar bear' (ursus mai-ilimus) can be 
 found. Farther westward and northward we may 
 hope to capture the ' barren-ground bear,' which 
 the English traveller Sir John Eichardson thinks 
 is only a variety of our European brown bear, but 
 which papa — and good rcaso;is he has — believes to 
 be nothing of the kind. Crossing the Eocky Moun- 
 tains, we shall be able, I hope, to knock over tlu^ 
 famed and formidable grisly (ursus ferox), and it. 
 Orpgou, or British Columbia, we shall strip his 
 hide from the 'cinnamon bear' (ursus cintiamonus), 
 believed to be a variety of the American black. 
 That will finish w ith the boars of America." 
 
 " A-sia nest, I suppose 'i " 
 
TBACINO THE ROUTE. 37 
 
 " Tes, straight across to Kamschatka. Thcro 
 we shall meet with the ' Siberian,' or ' collared 
 bear' (ursus coUaris). Of these, two varieties aro 
 paid to cxijit, one of which, specified b\' the name 
 ursus sibiriciis, is also found iu Lapland and 
 Siberia." 
 
 " Go on, brother ! Where next f " 
 
 " From Kamschatka we shall make a long 
 traverse to the south-west. Our next hunting- 
 ground will be Borneo." 
 
 " Ah ! the beautiful little bear with the orange- 
 coloured breast !" 
 
 " Yes ; that is- the ' Bornean bear' {ursus eiinja- 
 pilus), or ' Bruang,' as he is called by the Malays." 
 
 " But there is another Bruang ?" 
 
 "Yes — the ' Malayan sun bear' (^ursus malaga- 
 nufi). This we shall encounter in Sumatra or 
 Java, whichever wo choose to visit." 
 
 " Well, the list is much larger than I expected : 
 certainly it has been wonderfully lengthened since 
 the days of the good old Linnicus." 
 
 " T/iTe have not reached the end yet." 
 
 " Where next, brother f" 
 
 " Up the Bay of Bengal, and on to the ITima 
 layas. First in the foot hills of these uountaini 
 
38 BRUIN. 
 
 we shall have to search for the curious ' sloth 
 bear,' or 'juggler's bear' {ours de jongleirrs) as 
 the Trench writers term him. He is the ursus 
 laliatus of naturalists ; and we may find him in 
 the plains of India, before reaching the Himalayas. 
 Having skinned him, we shall proceed to climb 
 the great mountains, and higher up we are certain 
 to come across the ' Thibet bear ' (ursus tliiletanus) 
 — by some very erroneously described as being one 
 of the numerous varieties of the European brown 
 bear! Still higher up we shall, I hope, have the 
 good luck to encounter and kill a specimen of the 
 ' Isabella bear ' {ursus isalelinus), so called from his 
 colour, but termed by Anglo-Indian sportsmen the 
 ' snow bear,' because he frequents the declivities 
 near the snow-line of these stupendous mountains." 
 
 "That is all, is it not?" 
 
 "No, Ivan — one more, and that will be the 
 last." 
 
 "What is he?" 
 
 " The ' Syrian ' {ursus st/riacus) ; and though 
 the last in our catalogue, this is the very first on 
 record: for they wcro bears of this species that 
 came out of the wood and ' tare forty and two ' of 
 the mockers of the prophet Elisha. AVe shall 
 
TBACINO THE HOUTE. 39 
 
 have to visit Syria, to procure a skiu of the ursui 
 tyriacus." 
 
 " "Well, I Iiope their ferociousness has beca 
 tamed down since Elisha's time, else we may 
 stand a fair chance of being served in a similar 
 fashion." 
 
 " No doubt we shall have many a scratch before 
 we encounter the bears of Mount Lebanon. When 
 we have obtained a robe from one of them, there 
 will be nothing more for us to do but take the most 
 direct route home. AVe shall then have gone once 
 round the icorld." 
 
 " Ah, that we shall ! " said Ivan, laughing ; " and 
 all over it too. Great Czar ! I think by the time 
 we have captured one of Elisha's bears, we shall 
 have had a surfeit of travel." 
 
 " Xo doubt of it ; but now, brother, that we 
 know where we are going, let us waste no more 
 time, but signify our acceptance of the conditions, 
 and bo off at once." 
 
 " Agreed," said Ivan; and both returning into 
 the presence of the baron, announced their readi- 
 ness to take the road. 
 
 " Are wc to travel nlone, papa ? " inquired Ivan ; 
 " I think you spoke of an atteudant ? " 
 
46- BEUIN. 
 
 " Tes, one attendant. You must not be en- 
 cumbered with too many servants to wait upon 
 you. One will be quite sufHcient." 
 
 " Who is it to be ? " asked Ivan. 
 
 The baron rang the bell, and a servant enter-ed. 
 
 " Send Corporal Pouchskin to me ! " 
 
 Shortly after, the door reopened, and a man of 
 about fifty appeared. The tall well-balanced form 
 and erect attitude — tlie close-cropped hair and 
 enormous grizzled moustaclie — combined with 
 great gravity of features, denoted a veteran of the 
 Imperial Guard, — cue of those grand and re- 
 doubtable soldiers who have seen service in the 
 presence of an emperor. Though no longer wear- 
 ing the military uniform, but dressed somewhat as 
 a park or game keeper, the silent salute and atti- 
 tude of " attention " were sufficiently indicative of 
 the profession which Pouchskin had followed : for 
 it was the veritable Pouchskin who had entered the 
 apartment, lie said not a word, nor did ho look 
 either to the right or left, — only directly forward, 
 and at the baron. 
 
 " Corporal Pouchskin ! " 
 
 " General ! " 
 
 " 1 wish you to make a journey." 
 
TO THE TOnNEA. 41 
 
 " I am ready." 
 
 " Not quite, corporal. ] \\\\\ give you an hour 
 to prepare." 
 
 "Where does the general wish me to ■.',■>?" 
 
 " Round the world." 
 
 "Half an hour will suffice." 
 
 "So mucli the better, then, Piepnr>^ lo start i.i 
 half an hour." 
 
 Pouchskin bowed and retired. 
 
 ClIAPTEK VI. 
 
 TO THE T O R K E A. 
 
 We shall not detail the parting interview between 
 the Baron GrodonofT and his sons; there was the 
 usual interchange of affectionate expressions, with 
 03 much feeling as is common en such occasions. 
 Neither need wo relate the ordinary incidents of 
 travel which befell our expcditioni.sts, on their way 
 to the mountains of Lapland. Suflicq it to say 
 
42 BEriN". 
 
 that they journeyed by post from St. Petersburg 
 direct to Tornea, at the head of the Great Bothnian 
 Gulf. Thence they proceeded northward up the 
 river Tornea — till they had reached the mountainous 
 region in which this stream takes its rise. They 
 were amply furnished with the means of travelling 
 in the most expeditious manner, and were not 
 encumbered with any great amount of luggage. 
 A bag of roubles, which Pouchskin carried in a 
 safe pocket, proved the most convenient article 
 they could have taken along with them ; since it 
 enabled them to supply their wants from day to 
 day, without troubling themselves with any cum- 
 bersome baggage. There are few parts of the 
 world in which ready money will not command the 
 necessaries of life ; and as this was all our hunters 
 cared for, they had no difficulty in obtaining 
 supplies — even in the remote regions of uncivilized 
 Lapland. The wild, half-savage Lap perfectly 
 comprehends the value of a coin ; and will exchange 
 for it his reindeer flesh and milk, or anything else 
 that may be asked from him. Our young hunters 
 therefore travelled lightly — with litil? else in the 
 shape of baggage than a pair of knapsacks which 
 they carried on their backs, and which contained 
 
 i 
 
TO TUE TOllNEA. 43 
 
 only a chaugc or two of linen, and such toilet 
 articles aa were absolutely necessary to tbeir 
 comfort. A knapsack of much larger dimensions 
 formed the chief care of Pouchskiu ; and although 
 this, with its contents, would have been a heavy 
 load for an ordinary man, the veteran of the 
 Imperial Guard thought no more of it than if it had 
 been a bag of leathers. Each in addition carried 
 an ample fur cloak ; which, on the march, was 
 folded up and strapped to their backs on top of 
 the knapsack, but at night was wrapped around 
 their bodies, and served both as bed and bed- 
 clothes. All three were armed and equipped, in 
 the moat substantial manner. They carried guns, 
 though differing in kind. The piece of Alexis was 
 a handsome Jiiger rifle ; Ivan's was a double- 
 barrelled shot-gun or fowling-piece ; while Pouch- 
 skin balanced over his shoulder an immense fusil, 
 the bullet of which weighed a good ounce avoir- 
 dupois. All were provided vtth a knife of one 
 fashion or another. 
 
 In such guise did our young hunters enter 
 the mountaiucj of Lapland ; and commence their 
 search after the " old man in the fur coat," as 
 the Laplanders term the bear. 
 
 ^/ 
 
44 BEUIN". 
 
 They had taken proper measures to secure 
 success. They had secured the services of a guide, 
 wlio engaged to conduct them to a district where 
 bears existed in great plenty, and where be him- 
 self lived in a state almost as savage as the 
 bears — for he was a true Laplander and .lived 
 in a tent in the very heart of the mountains. 
 He was one of those who had no reindeer ; and 
 was therefore forced to depend on the chase for 
 his subsistence, lie trapped the ermine and 
 beaver — killed the wild reindeer when he could — 
 spent his whole life in battling with wolves and 
 bears ; and witli the skins of these animals — 
 which he sold to the fur-traders — he was able to 
 supply himself with the few necessaries which 
 such a state of existence called for. 
 
 Under his tent of coarse wadmal cloth tho 
 travellers found ehelter, and such rude hospitality 
 na the poor Lap could afl'ord them — in return for 
 which they had to live in the midst of a smoke 
 that nearly put out their eyes. But they knew 
 they had entered upon aii expedition, in which n:any 
 hardships were to be expected; and they bore the 
 inconvenience with becoming fortitude. 
 
 It is not my intention to give the details of 
 
TO TUE TOnSEA. 
 
 45 
 
 the everr-day life of the young hunter?, nor yet an 
 account of the very many curious incidents, wliiili 
 occurred to them during their sojourn in Laphind. 
 Much was noted down in their journal — from 
 wliich tins narrative has heen drawn — interesting 
 on'y to themselves, or perhaps still more to thiir 
 father the baron. For him tlicv wrote an account 
 of everything peculiar that they obsern^d — such 
 as the odd customs of the Laplanders — their 
 mode of travelling in sledges with reindeer — their 
 snow-skating on ihe skithrs and slahargcrs — and, in 
 short, a full account of the habits and manners of 
 these singular people. Especially, however, did 
 Alexis describe the objects of natural history which 
 came under his notice — giving such details as he 
 drew from personal observation, or derived from 
 the native hunters, many of whom they encoun- 
 tered while engaged in the chase of the bear. 
 
 These details, were tl;ey given in full, would fill 
 a book of themselves. We must content ourselves, 
 therefore, willi relating only the more interesting 
 incidents, and striking adventures which happened 
 to our heroes. 
 
 Wo may here state that it was in the early part 
 of spring that they arrived in Lapland, or rather 
 
46 BnuiN. 
 
 in the latter part of winter, ';vhen the ground 13 
 still covered with deep snow. At this season the 
 bears are hidden away in their caves — in crevices 
 of the rocks or hollow trees — from which they only 
 issue forth when the spring sun makes itself felt, 
 and the snow begins to disappear from the siJea 
 of the hills. 
 
 Every one has heard of this icinter sleep of the 
 bears ; and it has been attributed to bears of all 
 species. This, however, is a mistake, as it is only 
 indulged in by a few kinds ; and the climate and 
 nature of the country which the bear inhabits has 
 more to do with his hylernation than any natural 
 instinct of the animal : since it has been observed 
 that bears will go to sleep, or liybernate, as it is 
 termed, in one part of a country, while individuals 
 of the same species, in another region, will be found 
 roaming about all the winter through. The state 
 of torpor seems to be voluntary with these animals : 
 since it is generally in districts where food could 
 not be procured, that they submit themselves to 
 this prolonged siesta. 
 
 llo\v(;ver this may be, the brown bears of Lap- 
 land certainly indulge in a period of slinibcr — 
 during which they are difficult to Ce\1. Never 
 
TO THE TOn>'EA. 47 
 
 issuing from their places of concealment, they 
 make no track in the snow by which they might be 
 followed. At such seasons it is only by accident, 
 or by the aid of his dog, that the Lap hunter 
 chances to discover the retreat of a bear; and, 
 when one is thus discovered, various methods are 
 adopted for securin^g the valuable skin and carcass 
 of the animal. 
 
 It so chanced that, previous to the arrival of the 
 young Russians upon their hunting-ground, there 
 had been a show of spring — that is, a few days 
 of warm sun— but this had been succeeded by a 
 return of the cold weather, with a fresh fall of 
 snow. The spell of warmth, however, had aroused 
 many bears from their lethargy — some of which 
 had ventured out of their caves, and made short 
 excursions among the hills — in search, no doubt, 
 of the berries, that, preserved all winter by the 
 snow, are sweet and mellow at this season, and a 
 favourite food of the bears. 
 
 This casual occurrence of the spring having 
 made a promise and not kept it, was just the 
 chance for our hunters ; since it enabled them in a 
 very short time to track a bear to his den. 
 
 A few days after their arrival upon the hunting' 
 
48 BEifiy. 
 
 ground, they were able to do thirj — Laving come 
 upon ilie footmarks of a bear, that, followed for a 
 mile or so through the snow, led them to the 
 animal's lair. It led them also to an adventure, 
 which was the first they had yet encountered ; 
 and which came very near being the last that 
 Pouchskia was ever to have in the world. Pouch- 
 skin was certainly in great peril ; and how he 
 escaped from it will be Icvirnt, by reading an 
 account of the adventure. 
 
 CHAPTEK YII. 
 
 JACK-IN-THE-BOX. 
 
 Iv was early in the morning, shortly after leaving 
 the tent of the Laplander, they had chanced upon 
 tlic track of the bear. 
 
 After following it for nearly a njile, it conducted 
 them to a narrow gorge or ravine, lying between 
 two rocky ridges. The ravine itself was not more 
 
JACK-IN-TIIE-BOX. 49 
 
 tlian ten or a dozen yards in width, and its bottonrj 
 vas filled with snow to the depth of several feet. 
 Along the sides the snow lay sparsely; and in fact 
 tliere had been scarce any iu that place before the 
 fall the preceding night. This had only covered 
 the ground to the depth of a few inches : but 
 it was sufTicient to show the footmarks of tho 
 bear; and they were able to follow the spar — so 
 the Scandinavian hunters call tho tracks of an 
 animal — as fast as they chose to go. 
 
 Following it up, then, our hunters entered the 
 ravine. They kept for some distance along ono 
 Bide — ^just by the edge of the deep snow ; but at 
 length, the track indicated where the bear had 
 crossed to the other side ; and of course they 
 K^ere compelled to cross likewise. 
 
 This deep snow was tho accumulated deposits 
 of different storms that had occurred during 
 the winter; and, shadowed from tho sun by the 
 long branches of evergreen pines from both sides 
 stretching outward over tho ravine, it had re- 
 n;ained without melting. There was a crust over 
 it — strong enough to carry a man on skUlors, but 
 not without them, unless ho proceeded with caro 
 and caution. The bear had gone over it; but 
 » 
 
50 BEriK. 
 
 these animals, notwithstanding their enormous 
 weight and bulli, can pass ovor ice or crusted snow 
 that will not carry a man. Their weight rests 
 upon four points instead of two ; and as they 
 need only lift one foot at a time, they still have 
 three points of support. A man must also lift 
 one foot, which leaves him only one to stand upon ; 
 and therefore his wholo weight presses upon a 
 single point, and so endangers his breaking 
 through. The great length of a bear's body, 
 moreover, and the vast stretch between his fore 
 and hind legs give him an additional advantage — 
 enabling him to distribute his weight over a 
 large surface — and this is why he can shuffle over 
 ice or snow-crust, that may be too weak to carry 
 a human being. Every boy knows — at least every 
 boy who has skated or ventured upon a frozen pond 
 — that by creeping on hands and knees, or, more 
 certain still, by sprawling along on the breast, ice 
 may be passed over, that would not bear the same 
 boy in an erect attitude. 
 
 Such advantage, then, had the bear which our 
 young hunters were tracking up ; aud it would 
 have been well for tlicm — at least for Pouchskin — 
 had they thought of it. They did not. They sup- 
 
JACK-IN-THE-BOX. 51 
 
 posed that where a great heavy animal like a bear 
 had goue they might go too ; and, without further 
 reflection, they stepped out upoa the deep bed 
 of enow. 
 
 Aleiia and Ivan being light weights passed over 
 the snow safely enough ; but Pouchskin, weighing 
 nearly as much as both of them — and further loaded 
 witli a ponderous wood-axe and his huge gun, to 
 say nothing of sundry well-filled pockets and 
 pouches — was more than the crust would carry. 
 Just when he had got about half way across, there 
 was heard a tearing crash ; and before the boys 
 could turn to inquire the cause, Pouchskin had dis- 
 appeared, and all his paraphernalia along with him ! 
 
 No, not quite all. There was seen about two 
 feet of the barrel of his gun above the surface ; 
 and as that still pointed upward — while it moved 
 around the circular hole through which the old 
 guardsman had fallen — the boys concluded that the 
 piece was in his h:indd, and that Pouchskin was 
 still upon his feet. 
 
 At the same instant a voice reached their cars 
 — in a hollow sepulchral tone, like that of a man 
 speaking from the bottom of a well, or through 
 the bungholo of an empty cask ! 
 K 2 
 
52 BRUIJT. 
 
 JsTotwithstandirig its baritone notes, tlie boys 
 perceived that the exclamations made by the voice 
 were not those of terror, but rather of surprise, 
 followed by a slight laugli. Of course, therefore, 
 their attendant had received no injury, nor was he 
 in any danger ; and, assured of this, Ivan first, and 
 then Alexis, broke out into yells of laughter. 
 
 On cautiously approaching the trap-like hole, 
 through which Poi;chskiu had disappeared, their 
 merriment burst forth afresh, at the ludicrous 
 spectacle. There stood the old guardsman, like a 
 jack-in-the-box in the centre of a hollow funnel- 
 shaped cylinder which he had made in the snov/. 
 But what was strangest of all, there was no snow 
 among his feet : on the contrary, he was up to 
 his knees in water, and not stagnant water either, 
 but a current, that ran rapidly underneath the 
 snow, and had swished the crusted fragments 
 irom the spot where he was standiug! 
 
 A stream, in fact, ran down the ravine ; and, 
 although the snow couiplotely hid it from view, 
 there it was, rushing along underneath through a 
 tunnel which it had melted out for itself — the 
 Bnow forming a continuous bridge above it. 
 
 The boys did not know all this — for they could 
 
JACE-IX-TllE-BOX. C3 
 
 only just SCO the top of Pouchskin'a head, with 
 lii3 loiiij arms holding the gun — but they could 
 hear the rushing noise of the water, and Pouch- 
 skin reported the rest. 
 
 It did not appear so easy to extricate him from 
 bis unpleasant predicament ; for the resemblance 
 between his situation, and that of jack-in-the-box, 
 went no further. There was no jerking n.acliinery 
 by which the ex-guardsman could be jumped out of 
 his box ; and, since his head was full three feet 
 below the crust of the snow, how he was to be 
 raised to the surface required some consideration. 
 
 Neither of the young hunters dared to approach 
 the circumference of the circular hole througli which 
 Pouchikin had sunk. They might have broken 
 through themselves, and then all three would have 
 been in the same fix. Of course, under this appre- 
 hension, they dared not go near enough to pull 
 hiai out with their hands— even had they been able 
 to reach down to him. 
 
 It 13 true he might have got out, after 80!no 
 time, by breaking the snow before him, and work- 
 ing his way at right angles to the courao of the 
 etream : for it was evident that the ground sloped 
 eharply up iu that direction, and the snow became 
 
54 BEUIN. 
 
 shallower. Except above the water, it was firm 
 enough to have borne his weight, and after a time 
 he might have scrambled out ; but a more expe- 
 ditious plan of relieving him, and one far less 
 troublesome to Pouchskin, suggested itself to 
 Alexis. 
 
 One of the impedimenta, which the old guards- 
 man carried on his shoulders, was a coil of stout 
 cord — almost a rope. This they had brought with 
 them, in the anticipation of being successful in 
 their hunt ; and, with the idea of its being required 
 at the skinning of the bear — as also for packing 
 the hide, or any similar purpose. 
 
 It was the presence of this cord that suggested 
 to Alexis the scheme he had conceived, for relieving 
 his faithful follower from his unhappy position ; 
 and the plan itself will be understood by our 
 describing its execution, which took place on the 
 instant, 
 
 Alexis called to Pouchskin to tie one end of the 
 rope round his body, and then fling the other out 
 upon the snow — as far as he could cast it. This 
 request was instantly complied with ; and the end 
 of the rope made its appearance at the feet of 
 Alexis. 
 
JACK-IN-THE-BOX. 55 
 
 The latter taking it in his hand, ran up the bank 
 to the nearest tree ; and, giving it a turn or two 
 round the trunk, he handed it to Ivan, with the 
 direction to hold it fast and keep it from slipping. 
 A knot would have served the same purpose ; but 
 the whole thing was the work of only a few mo- 
 ments ; and as Ivan was standing by doing nothing, 
 his brother thought he might just as well take hold 
 of the rope and save time. 
 
 Alexis now crept back, as near to the edge of the 
 trap as it was safe to go. He took with him 
 a long pole, which by a lucky chance, he had found 
 lying under the trees. tSlippiug this under the 
 rope, and placing it crosswise, he shoved it still 
 nearer to the circumference of the broken circle — 
 his object being to give support to the cord, and 
 keep it from cutting into the snow. 
 
 The contrivance was perfectly correct ; and as 
 soon as Alexis had got all ready, he shouted to 
 Fouchskin to haul upon the rope, and help himself. 
 
 Meanwliile, the old guardsman had slung his 
 fusil upon his back; and, immediately on receiving 
 the signal, commenced bis ascent — pulling hand 
 over hand upon the rope, and assisting his urms 
 by working his feet against the wall of snow. 
 
50 EEuiy, 
 
 The moment his head nppcared above the 
 surface, the laughter of his young masters, that 
 had been for a-while suspended, burst forth afresh. 
 And it was no wonder: for the expression upon 
 the old soldier's visage, as it rose above the white 
 crust, his bent attitude, and the desperate exertions 
 he was making to clamber upward, all combined 
 to form a most ludicrous picture. 
 
 Ivan screamed till the tears ran down his 
 cheeks. So overcome was he wiLh mirth, that it 
 is possible he would liave let go, and permitted 
 Pouchskin to tumble back into his trap ; but the 
 more sober Alexis, foreseeing such a contingency, 
 ran up and took hold of the rope. 
 
 By this means, Pouchskin was at length landed 
 safely on the surface of the snow ; but even his 
 tall boots of Russia leather had not saved his legs 
 and feet from getting well soaked ; and ho was now 
 dripping with muddy water from the thighs 
 downwards. 
 
 There was no time, however, to kindle a fire 
 and dry him. They did not think of such a thing. 
 So eager were all three iu the chase of the bear, 
 that they only waited to coil up the cord, and 
 then continued onward. 
 
THE 6CA5DI>'AVL4.X BEAHS. 67 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TUE 6CA>'DIKAVIA>' liEAnS, 
 
 "Beallt, now," said Ivan, pointing to one of 
 tbe tracks, "if it wasn't that I see the marks of 
 claws instead of toes, I should fancy we were 
 tracking a man instead of a bear — some bare- 
 footed Laplander, for instance. How very like 
 these tracks are to those of a human foot! " 
 
 " That is quite true," rejoined Alexis ; " there 
 is a very remarkable resemblance between the 
 footprints of the bear and those of a human being — 
 especially when the tracks have stood a w bile. As 
 it is, now, you can sec clearly the marks of the 
 claws ; but in a day or two, when the sun or the 
 rain has fallen upon the snow, and melted it a little, 
 the claw marks will then be filled up with the thaw, 
 and, losing their sharp outlines, will look much 
 more like the tracks of toes. For tliat reason, an 
 old bear-track is, indeed, as you say, very like that 
 of a human foot " 
 
58 BETITN. 
 
 " And quite as large too ? " 
 
 " Quite as large : tlie tracks of some kinds even 
 larger than those of most men. As, for instance, 
 the -R-hite and grisly species — many individuals of 
 both Laving paws over twelve inches in length ! " 
 
 " The bear does not tread upon his toes in 
 ■walking, but lays the whole sole of his foot along 
 the ground — does he not ? " asked Ivan. 
 
 " Precisely so," replied Alexis ; '•' and hence he 
 is termed a plantigrade animal, to distinguish him 
 from those other kinds, as horses, oxen, swine, 
 dogs, cats, and so forth, that all, in reality, step 
 upon their toes." 
 
 " There are some other plantigrade animals 
 besides bears ? " said Ivan, interrogatively ; " our 
 badger and glutton, for instance ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered the naturalist. " These are 
 plantigrade ; and for this reason they have been 
 classed along with the bears under tlie general 
 name ursidce ; but in father's opinion, and mine 
 too," added Alexis, with a slight sparkle of scien- 
 tific conceit, " this classification is altogotlicr an 
 erroneous one, and rests upon the very insig- 
 nificant support of the plantigrade feet. In all 
 other respects the diflfereut genera of small ani- 
 
THE SCAyDIXAVIAN BEARS. 59 
 
 als, that have thus been introduced into the 
 
 mily of tlie bears are, as unlike the latter almost 
 bears are to blue bottles." 
 
 " "What animals have been included in this 
 family ursidce?" 
 
 " The European glutton and American wolve- 
 rene {gulo), the badgers of both continents, and 
 of Asia (meles), the raccoon (proct/on), the Cape 
 ratel (jneUivora), the panda (ailurus), the ben- 
 turong (ictides), the coati (nasua), the paradoxure 
 (jparadoxurus) , and even the curious little tcledu 
 of Java (mydaus). It was LinnsBus himself who 
 first entered these animals under the heading of 
 leara — at least, such of them as were known in 
 his day ; and the French anatomist, Cuvier, ex- 
 tended this incongruous list to the others. To 
 distinguish them from the true bears, they divided 
 the family into two branches — the ursince, or bears 
 properly so called, and tho subursincp, or little 
 bears. Now, in my opinion," continued Alexis, 
 " there is not tho slightest necessity for calling 
 these numerous species of animals even ' litfle 
 hears.'' They are not bears in any sense of the 
 word : having scarce any other resemblance to 
 the noble Bruin than their plantigrade feet. All 
 
60 Buny. 
 
 these animals — the Javanese teledii excepted — have 
 long tails ; some of them, in fact, heing very long 
 and very hushy — a characteristic altogether want- 
 ing to the bears, that can hardly be said to have 
 tails at all. But there are other peculiarities 
 that still more widely separate the bears from 
 the so-called ' little bears ;' and indeed so many 
 essential points of difference, that the fact of their 
 being classed together might easily be shown to 
 be little better than mere anatomical nonsense. 
 It is an outrage upon common sen;?e," continued 
 Alexis, warming with his subject, " to regard a 
 raccoon as a bear, — an animal that is ten times 
 more like a fox, and certainly far nearer to the 
 genus canis than that of ursus. On the other 
 hand, it is equally absurd to break up the truo 
 bears into dillerent genera — as these same ana- 
 tomists have done; for if there be a family in the 
 world the individual members of which bear a close 
 family likeness to one another, that is the family 
 of Master Bruin. Indeed, so like are the different 
 species, that other learned anatomists have gone 
 to the opposite extreme of absurdity, and asserted 
 that they are all one and the same ! However, we 
 shall see as we become acquainted with the dif* 
 
THE 6CAXDTNATIAK BEAES. Gl 
 
 ferent members of this distinguished family, in 
 what respects they difler from each otlicr, and in 
 what they are alike." 
 
 " I have heard," said Ivan, " that here, in 
 Norway and Lapland, there are two distinct 
 species of the brown bear, besides tlie black 
 variety, which is so rare ; and 1 have also heard 
 Bay that the hunters sometimes capture a variety 
 of a greyish colour, which they call the ' silver 
 bear.' I think papa mentioned these facts." 
 
 "Just 80," replied Alexis; "it has been the 
 belief among Swedish naturalists that there are 
 two species, or at least permanent varieties, of the 
 brown bear in Northern Europe. They have even 
 gone 80 far as to gi/e them separate specilic names. 
 One is the ursus arctos major, while the other is 
 ursus arctos minor. I'iio former is the larger 
 animal — more fierce in its nature, and more carni- 
 vorous in its food. The other, or smaller kind, is 
 of a gentler disposition — or at all events more 
 timid — and instead of preying upon oxen and 
 other domestic animals, confines itself to eating 
 grubs, ants, roots, berries, and vegetable sub- 
 etances. In their colour there is no perceptible 
 difTcrence between the two supposed varieties — 
 
02 BBTJIN. 
 
 more than may be often found between two indi- 
 viduals notedly of the same kind ; and it is only iu 
 size and habits that a distinction has been ob- 
 served. The latest and most accurate •writers 
 upon this subject believe that the great and little 
 brown bears are not even varieties ; and that the 
 distinctive characteristics are merely the effects of 
 age, sex, or other accidental circumstances. It is 
 but natural to suppose that the younger bears 
 •would not be so carnivorous as those of greater age. 
 It is well known that preying upon other animals 
 and feeding upon their flesh, is not a natural 
 instinct of the brown bear ; it is a habit that lias 
 its origin, first in the scarcity of other food, but 
 ■which, once entered upon, soon develops itself into 
 a strong propensity — almost equalling that of the 
 felidce. 
 
 " As to the black bear being a distinct species, 
 that is a question also much debated among both 
 hunters and naturalists. The hunters say that 
 the fur of the black European bear is never of 
 that jetty blackness wliicli characterizes the real 
 black bears of American and Asiatic countries, 
 but only a very dark shade of brown ; and tlicv 
 believe that it is nothing more than the brown 
 
THE SCANDINAVIAN BEAUS. G3 
 
 fur itself, grown darker iu old age. Certainly 
 they have reason for this belief: since it is a well- 
 known fact that the brown bears do become darker 
 03 they grow older." 
 
 "Ha!" said Ivan, with a laii^h, "that is just 
 the reverse with us. Look at Pouchskin there ! 
 Tour hair was once black, wasn't it, old Pouchy ? " 
 
 " Yes, Master Ivan, black as a crow's feathers." 
 
 " And now you're as grey as a badger. Some 
 day, before long — before we get home again may be 
 — your moustache, old fellow, will be as white as 
 an ermine." 
 
 "Very like, master, very like — we'll all be a bit 
 older by that time." 
 
 " lla ! ha ! ha ! " laughed Ivan ; " you're right 
 there. Pouchy; but goon, brother!" he added, 
 turning to Alexis, " let us hear all about these 
 Scandinavian bears. You have not spoken yet of 
 the 'silver' ones." 
 
 " Xo," said Alexis; "nor of another kind that 
 is found in these countries, and tliat some natura- 
 lists have elevated into a different species — the 
 * ringed bear.' " 
 
 " You mean tho bears with a white ring round 
 their necks ? Yes, I have heard of them too." 
 
6db BRUIS. 
 
 " Just so," rejoined Alexis. 
 
 " "Well, brother, what do you think ? Is it a 
 distinct species, or a permanent variety?" 
 
 " Neither one nor the other. It is merely an 
 accidental marking which some young individuals 
 of the brown bear chance to have, and it scarcely 
 ever remains beyond the age of cuhhood. It is 
 only very young bears that are met with of this 
 colour ; and the white ring disappears as they get 
 older. It is true that hunters now and then meet 
 with an odd ringed bear of tolerable size and age ; 
 but all agree that he is tlie brown bear, and not a 
 distinct kind. The same remarks apply to tl>e ' sil- 
 ver' bear; and hunters snythat in a litter of three 
 cubs they have found all three colours — the com- 
 mon brown, the 'ringed,' and the 'silver,' — while 
 the old mother liersclf was a true tirsiis arclos." 
 
 " Well, since papa only binds us to the brown 
 and black, it will be a nice thing if we could lall 
 i;i with a skin of the ringed and silver varieties. 
 It would please him all the better. I wonder 
 now what sort is this fellow wo aro following ? By 
 the size of his tracks ho must be a wopper ! " 
 
 *' No doubt an old male," rejoined Alexis ; " but 
 if I am not mistaken, wc shall soon be able tt) 
 
THE SCAXDIKAVTAK BEAB3. G5 
 
 determine that point. The spar gct3 freslicr and 
 fresher. He must have passed here but a very 
 short while ago; and I should not wonder if we 
 were to find him in this very ravine." 
 
 " See ! " exclaimed Ivan, whose eyes had been 
 lifted from the trail, and bent impatiently for- 
 ward ; — "see! by flie great Peter! yonder's a 
 hole, under the root of that tree. Why might 
 it not be his cave ? " 
 
 " It looks like enough. Hush ! let us keep to 
 the trail, and go up to it with caution— not a 
 word ! " 
 
 All three, now scarce breathing — lest the sound 
 should be heard — stole silently along the trail. 
 The fresh-fallen snow, still soft as eider-down, 
 enabled them to proceed without making the 
 slightest noise ; and without making any, they 
 crept up, till within half-a-dozen paces of the tree. 
 
 Ivan's conjecture was likely to prove correct. 
 There was a line of tracks leading up the bank ; 
 and around the orifice of the cavity the snow was 
 considerably trampled down — as if the bear had 
 turned himself two or three times before entering. 
 That he had entered, the hunters did not entertain 
 a doubt : there were no return tracks visible in the 
 
66 ERriN. 
 
 snow — only the single line that led up to the 
 moutli of the cave, and this seemed to prove con- 
 lusively that Bruin was " at home." 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 HTBEENATION OF BEAES. 
 
 As already stated, it is the custom of the brown 
 bear, as well as of several other species, to go to 
 sleep for a period of several months every winter, — 
 in other words, to Tiylernate. When about to take 
 this long nap, the bear seeks for himself a cavo 
 or den, in which he makes his bed with such 
 soft substances as may be most convenient — dry 
 leaves, grass, moss, or rushes. He collects no 
 great store of these however — his thick matted fur 
 serving him alike for bed and coverlet ; and very 
 often he makes no further ado about the matter 
 than to creep into the hole he has chosen, lie down, 
 snugly couch his head among the thickets of long 
 hair that cover his hams, and thus go to sleep. 
 
nTHEnxATioy of bears. 67 
 
 Some naturalists liavo asserted that this sleep is 
 a state of torpidity — from which tho animal is in- 
 capable of awaking himself or of being awakened, 
 until the regular period of indulgence in it may 
 have passed. This, however, is not the case ; for 
 bears are often surprised in their sleep, and when 
 aroused by the hunters act just as is usual with 
 them at other times. 
 
 It must be observed, however, that the retire^ 
 ment of tho bear into winter quarters is not to bo 
 regarded as of tho same nature as the hybernation. 
 of marmots, squirrels, and other species of rodent 
 animals. These creatures merely shut themselves 
 up from the cold ; and to meet tho exigencies of 
 their voluntary imprisonment, they have already 
 collected in their cells a largo store of their usual 
 food. Bees and many other insects do precisely 
 same thing. Not so with the bear. Whether it 
 be that ho is not gifted with an instinct of provi- 
 dence it is diflBcult to say ; but certain it is, that \J 
 he lays up no store for these long dark days, but 
 goes to sleep w ithout thought of tho morrow. 
 
 How he is maintained for several months without 
 eating is one of nature's mysteries. Every one 
 has heard tho absurd theory : that ho does so by 
 It 2 
 
J 
 
 63 BEUIN'. 
 
 " sucking his paws," and the ingenious Buffon has 
 not only given credence to this story, but endea- 
 vours to support it, by stating that the paws when 
 cut open yield a substance of a milky nature ! 
 
 It is a curious fact that this story is to be found 
 scattered all over the world — wherever bears hyber- 
 nate. The people of Karaschatka have it ; so also 
 the Indians, and Esquimaux of the Hudson's Bay 
 territory, and the Norwegian and Lap hunters of 
 Europe. Whence did these widely-distributed 
 races of men derive this common idea of a habit 
 which, if the story be a true one, must be common 
 to bears of very different species ? 
 
 This question can be answered. In northern 
 Europe the idea first originated — among the hunters 
 of Scandinavia. But the odd story once told was 
 too good to be lost ; and every traveller, since the 
 first teller of it, has taken care to embellish his 
 narrative about bears with this selfsame conceit ; so 
 that, like the tale of the Amazon women in South 
 America, the natives have learnt it from the 
 travellers, and not the travellers from the natives ! 
 
 How absurd to suppose that a huge quadruped, 
 whose daily food would be several pounds weight 
 of animal or vegetable matter — a bear who can 
 
nTBEBNATION OF BEAB8. GO 
 
 devour the carcass of a calf at a single meal — 
 could possibly subsist for two months on the paw- 
 miik which !M. Buffbn has described ! 
 
 liow then can we account for his keeping alive ? 
 There need be no difljculty in doing so. It is 
 quite possible that during this long sleep the 
 digestive power or process is suspended, or only 
 carried on at a rate infinitesimally small ; that, 
 moreover, life is sustained and the blood kept in 
 action by means of the large amount of fat 
 which the bear has collected previous to his 
 going to bed. It is certain that, just at their annual 
 bed time, bears are fatter than at any other season 
 of the year. The ripening of the forest fruits, and 
 the falling of various seeds of mast-worts, upon 
 which, during the autumn, bears principally subsist, 
 then supply them with abundance, and nothing 
 hinders them to get fat and go to sleep upon it. 
 They would have no object in keeping awake : 
 were they to do so, in those countries where they 
 practise hybernation, they would certainly starve, 
 for, the ground being then frozen hard, they could 
 not dig for roots, and under the deep covering of 
 snow they might search in vain for their masts and 
 berries. As to foraging on birds or other quadru- 
 
70 BEUiir. 
 
 peds, bears are not fitted for tbat. They are not 
 agile enougli for sucb a purpose. 
 
 They -will eat both when they cau catch them ; 
 but they cannot always catch them ; and if they 
 had no other resource in the snowy season the 
 bears would certainly starve. To provide them 
 against this time of scarcity, nature has furnished 
 them with the singular power of somnolence. In- 
 deed, that this is the purpose is easily proved. It 
 ia proved by the simple fact that those bears be* 
 longing to warm latitudes, as the Bornean, Malayan, 
 and even the black American of the Southern 
 States, do not hybernate at all. There is no need 
 for them to do so. Their unfrozen forests fui-nish 
 them with food all the year round ; and all the year 
 round are they seen roaming about in search of it. 
 Even in the Arctic lands the polar bear keeps afoot 
 all the year; his diet not being vegetable, and 
 therefore not snowed up in winter. The female 
 of this epecies hides herself away ; but that is done 
 for another purpose, and not merely to save herself 
 from starvation. 
 
 That the stock of fat, which the bear lays in 
 before going to sleep, has something to do with 
 subsisting him, is very evident from the fiict that it 
 
HYBEB>'A.TIOX Ol" BEARS. 71 
 
 IB all gone by the time he awakes. Then or shortly 
 afternrards, master Bruin finds himself as thin as 
 a rail ; and were he to look in a glass just then, 
 he would scarce recognise himself, so very different 
 is his long emaciated carcass from that huge plump 
 round body, that two months before he could 
 scarce squeeze through the entrance to his cave ! 
 
 Another great change comes over him during 
 his prolonged sleep. On going to bed, he is not 
 only very fat, but also very lazy ; so much so that 
 the merest tyro of a hunter can tlicn circumvent 
 and slay him. Xaturally a well-disposed animal 
 — we are speaking only of the brown bear (^ursus 
 arctos) though the remark will hold good of 
 several other species — he is at this period more 
 than usually civil and soft-tempered. He has found 
 a sufficiency of vegetable food which is more con- 
 genial to his taste than animal substances ; and he 
 will not molest living creature just then, if living 
 creature will only let him alone. Aroused from his 
 sleep, however, he shows a different disposition. 
 He appears as if he had got up " wrong side fore- 
 most." llis head aches, his belly hungers, and ho 
 is disposed to believe that some one lias stolen 
 upon him while asleep, and robbed him of Lis suet. 
 
72 BETJIN. 
 
 Under this impression he issues from his dark 
 chamber in very ill humour indeed. This dis- 
 position clings to him for a length of time; and 
 if at this period, during fcis morning rambles, he 
 should encounter any one who does not get speedily 
 out of his way, the party thus meeting him will find 
 him a very awkward customer. It is then that he 
 makes havoc among the flocks and herds of the 
 Scandinavian shepherd — for he actually does com- 
 mit such ravages — and even the hunter who meets 
 him at this season will do well to " ware bear." 
 
 And so does the hunter ; and so did Alexis, and 
 Ivan, and Pouchskiu. All three of them were 
 well enough acquainted with the habits of the 
 bear — their own Hussian bear — to know that they 
 should act with caution in approaching him. 
 
 And in this wise they acted ; for instead of rush- 
 ing up to the mouth of the hole, and making a 
 great riot, they stole forward in perfect silence, each 
 holding his gun cocked, and ready to give Bruin 
 a salute, the moment he should show his snout 
 \eyond the portals of his den. 
 
 Had they not tracked him to his cave, they 
 woi;ld have acted quite diflerently. Had they 
 found a bear's deu — within which they knew that 
 
nTBEBKATION OF BEARS. 73 
 
 the animal was indulging in bis winter sleep — thev 
 would not have cared so much how thej' approached 
 it. Then he would have required a good deal 
 of stirriog up to induce him to show himself, so 
 that thev could get a shot at him ; but the track 
 told them that this one had been up aud abroad — 
 perhaps for several days — and as the new snow, in 
 all likelihood, had hindered him from pickiug up 
 much to eat, he would be as " savage as a meat 
 axe. 
 
 Expecting him to spring out almost on the in- 
 stant, the three took stand at some distance from 
 the mouth of the cave ; and, with arms in readiness, 
 awaited his coming forth. 
 
74 BBVnr. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 BEUiN AT noir. E? 
 
 The entrance to the cave, if cave it was, was an 
 aperture of no great dimensions — about large 
 enough to admit the body of a full-grown bear, 
 and no bigger. It appeared to be a hole or 
 burrow, rather than a cave, and ran under a great 
 pine tree, among whose roots, no doubt, was the 
 den of the bear. The tree itself grew up out of 
 the sloping bank ; and its great rhizomes stretched 
 over a large space, many of them appearing above 
 the surface soil. In front of the aperture was 
 a little ledge, where the snow was hacked by 
 the bear's paws, but below this ledge the bank 
 trended steeply down — its slope terminating in 
 the bed of deeper snow already described. 
 
 As stated, the three hunters had taken their 
 stand, but not all together. Directly in front of 
 the cave was Pouchskiu, aud below it, of course, 
 
BBUI5 AT noilE ? 75 
 
 on account of the eloping bank, lie was some six 
 paces from the aperture. On the right side Ivaa 
 had been placed, while Alexis had passed on, and 
 now stood upon the left. The three formed a sort 
 of isosceles triangle, of which Pouchskin was the 
 apex, and the line of the bank the base. A per- 
 pendicular dropped from the muzzle of Pouchskin's 
 gun would have entered the aperture of the cave. 
 Of course Pouchskin's was the post of danger ; but 
 that was to be expected. 
 
 They stood a good while in silence. JS'o signs 
 of Bruin — neither by sight nor hearing. 
 
 It was then resolved that some stir should be 
 made — a noise of any kind, that might bring the 
 beast forth. ' They coughed and talked loudly, but 
 all to no purpose. They shouted at length with 
 like fruitless result — Bruin would not stir ! 
 
 That he was inside none of them doubted. 
 How could they ? The tracks going to the cave, 
 and none coming from it, set that question at 
 rest. Certainly he was in his den ? but whether 
 asleep or not, it was evident he took no heed of 
 their shouting. 
 
 Some other means must bo adopted to get him 
 out. lie must be stirred up with a pole ! Thia 
 
16 BBrilT. 
 
 Kas the plan that suggested itself, and the one 
 determined upon. 
 
 Pouchskin started off to procure a pole. The 
 others kept guard — still holding their guns in rea- 
 diness, lest the bear might make a rush in Pouch- 
 skin's absence. But Bruin had no such intention ; 
 nor was his presence betrayed by sight or sound, 
 until Pouchskin came back. He had cut a pole 
 with his axe, and had taken the precaution to 
 select a long one. A young sapling it was, that 
 when cleared of its branches appeared as long as 
 a hop-pole. Pouchskin knew the advantage of 
 its length. He had no particular wish to come to 
 close quarters with the bear. 
 
 Creeping back pretty nearly into his old place, he 
 inserted the end of the sapling into the aperture — 
 then rattled it against tlie sides, and waited a bit. 
 
 No response from Bruin ! 
 
 Once more the pole was pushed in, this time a 
 little further, and again accompanied with similar 
 noisy demonstrations. Bruin neither moves nor 
 makes sound ! 
 
 " He must be asleep ! Try a littlo further, 
 Pouchskin!" 
 
 This suggestion came from the itapatient IvaOr 
 
BBUIX AT nOME? 77 
 
 Encouraged by the words of bis young master, 
 Pouchskin approached nearer to the aperture, an^ 
 buried half of the pole inside, lie then turned 
 the stick and poked it all about, but could touch 
 nothing that felt like a bear. Growing more 
 confident, he crept yet nearer, and pushed tlie 
 pole up till he could touch the bottom of 
 the cave — once more feeling with its point in 
 all directions, against the further end, along the 
 sides, upwards and downwards, and everywhere. 
 Still he touched nothing soft — nothing that felt as 
 the shaggy bide of a bear should do — nothing, in 
 fact, but hard rocks, against which the stick could 
 be heard rattling wherever he puahed it ! 
 
 This was very mysterious. Pouchskin was an 
 old bear hunter. He had poked his polo into 
 many a burrow of Bruin, and he knew well 
 enough when he had touched bottom. IIo 
 could tell moreover that tho cave he was now 
 exploring was all in one piece — a single-roomed 
 house. Had there been any second or inner chamber 
 he would have found tho aperture that led to it ; 
 but there appeared to bo none. 
 
 To make sure of this, ho now approached quito 
 near to the entrance, and continued to guage tho 
 
78 BEUIN. 
 
 cavity with his stick. Alexis and Ivan also drew 
 near — one on each side of him — and the explora- 
 tion continued. 
 
 In a short while, however, Pouchskin became 
 nearly satisfied that there loas no hear in the den ! 
 He had groped with his stick all round and round 
 it, and had come in contact with nothing softer than 
 a rock or a root of the tree. As a last resource he 
 lay down on the ground to listen — placing his ear 
 close to the mouth of the cave ; and, cautioning 
 his young masters to keep silent, in this position 
 he remained for some seconds of time. 
 
 Perhaps it was fortunate for them, if not for 
 him, that they attended to his caution. Their 
 silence enabled them to hear what Pouchskin 
 could not — placed as he now was — and that was a 
 sound that caused the young bear-hunters to start 
 back and look upwards, instead of into the cave. 
 
 As they did so, a sight met their eyes that drew 
 from both a simultaneous cry, while both at the 
 same instant retreated several paces from the spot, 
 elevating their guns as they went backward. 
 
 Slowly moving down the trunk of the great 
 pine-tree appeared an animal of enormous size. 
 Had they not been expecting something of the 
 
nnUiy AT HOME? 79 
 
 kind neither could liavo told that this moving 
 object was an animal : since at first sight neither 
 a head nor limbs could be distinguished — only an 
 immense shapeless mass of brown shaggy hair. 
 
 The instant after a huge hairy limb was pro- 
 truded below, and then another both terminating 
 in broad ungulatcd paws, that in succession griped 
 the rough bark of the tree, causing it to rattle and 
 scale off. 
 
 Singular as its shape was there was no mis- 
 taking the animal that was making this retrograde 
 movement. It was Bruin himself, descending the 
 tree buttocks downward 1 
 
80 BHuiir. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HAND TO HAND. 
 
 Alexis and Ivan, as they started back, simultane- 
 ously screamed out a sbout of warning to Pouch- 
 skin. Both, almost at the same instant, raised 
 their guns, and fired into the buttocks of the bear. 
 
 Pouchskin had heard their cries, but not the 
 preliminary " sniff" which the animal had uttered : 
 he had been too eager in listening inside of the 
 cave, to hear aught that was passing without, 
 lie heard tlieir warning cry however, and the 
 reports of their guns ; but not in time to get out of 
 the way. Just as the shots were fired, he had lialf 
 risen from his recumbent attitude ; but the bear at 
 that moment dropped down from the tree, and 
 coming " co-thump " on the back of the old guards- 
 man, once more flattened liim out upon his face ! 
 
 Perhaps it would have been as well for Pouch- 
 skin, if he had quietly remained in that attitude: 
 for the bear had already turned from him, and 
 
HAND TO HAND. 81 
 
 eliowod signs of an intention to retreat ; but 
 Pouchskin, deeming that he was in the worst 
 position he could well be in, scrambled suddenly tf 
 his feet, and made a " grab " at his gun. 
 
 This show of fight on the part of his antagonist 
 — and the belief, perhaps, that it was Pouchskin 
 that had so rudely tickled his posteriors — roused 
 the fury of the bear; and instead of exposing his 
 hind quarters to a second assault, he charged mouth 
 open upon the ex-guardsman. By this time, the 
 latter had recovered his gun, and promptly brought 
 the piece to his shoulder; but, alas! the gun snapped! 
 The lock had been wetted in the snow-trap. It was 
 a flint lock, and the priming had got damped. 
 
 The failure only increased the fury of the 
 animal ; and a charge of swan-shot, which Ivan at 
 the same instant fired from his second barrel, still 
 further irritated him. 
 
 Pouchskin drew his long-bladed knife. It was 
 the only weapon he could lay his hand upon, for 
 the axe, which might have served him better, had 
 been left above on the bank, where he had lopped 
 the sapling. 
 
 He drew his knife, therefore, and prepared to 
 defend himself in a hand to paw struggle, 
 
 
82 BEUIN. 
 
 He might still have retreated, though not with 
 a certainty of safety — for in the hurry of the 
 moment the bear had got on the bank above him ; 
 and had he turned his back, the fierce quadruped 
 might have overtaken, and knocked him down at 
 his will. Pouchskin thought it better to face the 
 bear, and receive his onslaught at arm's length. 
 
 There was but one way in which he could have 
 retreated, and that was backward down the 
 slope. He might make ground in that direction ; 
 and it occurred to him to do so, in order to get 
 footing on a more level surface. 
 
 The bear having paused a moment to bite the 
 place where the rifle bullet had stung him, gave 
 Pouchskin time to gain some ground back- 
 wards; but only a few paces — since the whole 
 affair did not occupy a tenth of the time taken in 
 describing it. 
 
 Just as Pouchskin had reached the bottom of 
 the slope, his angry assailant, with a terrific 
 growl, rushed forth from the smoke, and galloped 
 directly towards him. When about three feet 
 distant from the hunter, Bruin reared upon his 
 hind legs, in the attitude of a prize-fighter ! 
 
 Pouchskin was seen to lunge forward with hia 
 
nA>'D TO HAND. 83 
 
 right arm — the one which carried his knife ; and, 
 the moment after, both man and beast appeared 
 closed together, " in grips." 
 
 In this fashion they went waltzing over the 
 Bnow, the spray of which rose in a cloud around 
 them ; and for a while they were seen only as 
 one dark upright form, in confused and violent 
 motion ! 
 
 Ivan was uttering cries of fear — fear for the 
 safety of his dearly-loved Pouchskiu ; while Alexis, 
 more cool, was rapidly reloading his rifle, — knowing 
 that the surest means of saving the life of their 
 faithful attendant, was to encompass the death of 
 the bear. 
 
 It was a moment of real peril for Pouchskin. 
 The bear was one of the largest and fiercest he 
 had ever encountered ; and, perhaps, had be 
 examined the brute more minutely before the 
 conflict commenced, he would have thought twice 
 before facing him. But the smoke from the guns 
 was still over and around the spot, hanging upon 
 the damp air. Up to the time when Pouchskin 
 resolved to make stand, he had not yet had a clear 
 view of his shaggy antagonist. "NViien at length 
 he perceived the formidable proportions of the 
 o 2 
 
84 BRTJIN. 
 
 animal, it was too late to retreat ; and the struggle 
 began as described. 
 
 In brief time Alexis — who at loading was quick 
 as a tirailleur — had recharged his piece, and was 
 now hastening up to the rescue. 
 
 Without going quite close he dared not fire : for 
 in the way that man and bear were dancing 
 about, there would be as much danger of killing 
 the one as the other. 
 
 All at once,- however, they appeared to separate. 
 Pouchskin had torn himself out of the bear's 
 clutches, and, evidently disinclined to a renewal 
 of the embrace, was retreating backward, over the 
 snow, still hotly pursued by the animal. 
 
 At this moment Alexis would have fired ; but, 
 unfortunately, the direction in which Pouchskin 
 M-as going, kept his body nearly in a line with that 
 of the animal ; and Alexis could not fire without 
 danger of hitting him. 
 
 The chase led across the ravine, and of course 
 over the bed of snow. The pursued was doing his 
 best to escape. But the pursuer had the advantage 
 — for while the man was breaking through at every 
 step, the broad-pawed quadruped glided over the 
 frozen crust without siuking an inch. 
 
Tne Hunter rlunted. 
 
 P. 85. 
 
HAND TO nA^D. 85 
 
 Foucbskin had got a little the start, but bia 
 pursuer was fast gaming upon him. Once or 
 twice, indeed, the bear was close enough to touch 
 Pouchskin's skirts with his extended snout ; but 
 the necessity of rearing up, before making a stroke 
 with his paw, required him to get still nearer, and 
 Bruin knew that. 
 
 He had, however, got near enough even for 
 this ; and had risen on his hind feet, with the 
 intention of clawing down his victim. Ivan and 
 Alexis simultaneously uttered a cry of dismay; 
 but before the dangerous stroke could descend, he 
 for whom it was intended had sunk out of sight ! 
 
 At first, Ae young hunters believed the blow had 
 been struck, and that Pouchskin had fallen pros- 
 trate under it. They saw the bear spring forward 
 as if to cover the fallen man ; but the next mo- 
 ment their terror was mingled with astonishment 
 on seeing, or rather not seeing, either man or bear : 
 both bad suddenly disappeared I 
 
86 beuht. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A MTSTEEIOUS DISAPPEAEANCE. 
 
 The sudden disappearance of both man and bear 
 would no doubt have sadly perplexed our young 
 hunters, had ifc not been for Pouchskin's previous 
 adventure. "With that still fresh in their memory, 
 they were at no loss to comprehend what had 
 occurred. While eagerly endeavouring to escape 
 from his antagonist, Pouchskin had, no doubt, 
 forgotten the dangerous snow-bridge ; and, just as 
 before, he had broken through it. 
 
 This time, however, it was no laughing matter. 
 Pouchskin was no longer playing a solitary Jack- 
 in-the-box, but, in all likelihood, he was under the 
 huge body of the sa\age monster, in the act ot' 
 being torn to pieces by his teeth, or perhaps 
 drowned in tlie suhnivean stream. Whether the 
 bear had sprung voluntarily after him, or, in the 
 impetus of charging, had been himself precipitated 
 into the suow chasm without the power of prevent- 
 
A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEAHANCE. 87 
 
 ing it, could not for the moment be known. The 
 young liuntcrs suspected tliat the boar had faUon 
 in rather against his will ; for certainly he had 
 been seen to go down in rather an awkward and 
 blundering manner, his hind-legs pitching upwards 
 as he broke through. 
 
 Whether the plunge had been voluntary or 
 against his will could matter but little. lie must bo 
 now upon top of the ex-guardsman ; and, knowing 
 the implacable fury of these animals when roused 
 to resentment, his young masters had no other 
 idea but that their attendant would be either 
 drowned or torn to pieces. 
 
 As a last hope, however, Alexis rushed on over 
 the snow, holding his rifle before liiiii, and pre- 
 pared to Gre its contents into the bear the moment 
 he should get sight of the auHnal. 
 
 As he advanced, he could hear a plunging and 
 splashing of water, with other noises, — as the snort- 
 ing and growling of the bear, and tlie crashing 
 of frozen snow, all mixed up in confusion of 
 sounds. Concluding tliat these noises were caused 
 by the struggle still going on between the man 
 and the bear, he hurried forward. Strange ! thero 
 came no voice from Fouchskin 1 
 
88 BnuKT. 
 
 When within about three paces of the broken 
 edge, an object came under his eyes, that caused 
 him to halt in his track. That object was the 
 snout of the bear, that was projected upward 
 above the surface of the snow. Tlie eyes of the 
 animal were not visible, nor any other part of it, 
 except the aforesaid snout, and about sis inches 
 of the muzzle. 
 
 The thought instantly occurred to Alexis, that 
 the bear had reared upon his hind feet, and was 
 endeavouring to clamber out ; and this was true 
 enough, for the instant after, he was seen to 
 «pring perpendicularly upward, until his whole 
 head and part of his neck became visible. Only 
 for an instant, however ; for Bruin, who now ap- 
 peared to be playing Jack-in-the-box, sank once 
 more out of sight, snout and all. 
 
 The young hunter was just regretting that he 
 had not taken a snap shot at the animal's head ; 
 but before ten seconds of time had elapsed, the 
 snout was again popped up by the edge of the hole. 
 In all probability the bear would make a second 
 attempt to spring out. 
 
 Alexis was therefore waiting till the whole 
 head should show itself; but quick as a flash of 
 
A MTSTEIIIOUS DISAPPEAllAXCE. 89 
 
 liglituing, it occurred to him that tlio brute might 
 at the second effort succeed in reaching tho 
 surface of the snow, and then he would himself be 
 in danger. To avoid this contingency, he resolved 
 to fire at once ; no^ at the snout, for, although be 
 could not have failed to send his bullet through 
 it, he knew that that would not kill the bear, but 
 only render him more desperately furious, if such 
 a thing had been possible. 
 
 It was the bear's skull he meant to take aim at. 
 From the position of the animal's snout, of course 
 be could tell exactly where the head must Le, 
 though he could not see it. 
 
 llad Alexis been an unskilled marksman, he 
 would have stood his ground ; and, guessing tho 
 position of the bear's head, would have fired at it 
 through the snow. But ho did not act in this 
 manner, lie had scientific knowledge sufficient to 
 tell him that his bullet, sent in a slanting direction, 
 might glance off the frozen crust, and miss tlie mark 
 altogether. To ensure its direction, therefore, he 
 instantly glided two steps forward, poked the 
 barrel of his piece through the snow, until the 
 muzzle almost touched the head of tho bear — and 
 then fired I 
 
 > 
 
90 BRUIK. 
 
 Eor some seconds he saw nothing. The smoke 
 of the gunpowder, as well as the snow-dust blown 
 up before the muzzle of the gun, formed a dense 
 cloud over the spot. But though Alexis could not 
 see the effect of his shot, he could tell bj what he 
 heard that his bullet had done good work. A loud 
 " swattering " at the bottom of the hole proclaimed 
 that the bear was struggling in the water ; while 
 his piteous whines and faint grunting told that his 
 fierce strength was fast passing away. 
 
 As soon as the smoke had cleared off, Alexis 
 upon his knees crept forward to the edge, and 
 looked over it. There was blood upon the snow ; 
 the side against which the bear had stood was 
 crimsoned with streams of it ; and below, in the 
 water, among the clumps of broken snow-crust, 
 appeared a dark brown mass, which Alexis knew to 
 be the body of the animal. 
 
 It was still in motion ; but as it was in a prostrate 
 attitude, and making only fe^le efforts, the young 
 hunter knew that the life was nearly out of it. 
 
 It was not this that was now causing him to 
 look down with such an anxious and troubled 
 countenance. It was his apprehensions for Pouch- 
 skin. AVhero was be ? At the bottom of the 
 
A JirSTERIOUS Dl&APPEABANCE. 01 
 
 crater-like pit Alexis could see the body of the 
 animal, but nothing of a man — neither arms, legs, 
 nor body. Could he be under the bear, concealed 
 by the shaggy hair ? "Was ho hidden under the 
 black water that filled the bottom of the ravine ? — 
 or, horrible thought ! was he dead, and had his 
 body been carried off by tlie current that rushed 
 rapidly under the snow ? 
 
 This was not improbable, for Alexis could see 
 that there was a sort of arched tunnel between the 
 snow and the water, quite large enough to have 
 admitted the body of a man ! 
 
 In agony he cried out, calling Pouchskiu by 
 name, lie was repeating his despairing invocation, 
 when all at once a loud laugh echoed in his ears, 
 uttered close behind him. In the laughter he 
 recognised the voice of Ivan. 
 
 Alexis suddenly leaped to his feet, wondering 
 what on earth could be the cause of this ill-timed 
 merriment. He turned towards Ivan witli the in- 
 tention of chiding him ; but at that moment an 
 object fell under his eye, that hindered him from 
 carrying his intention into effect. On the con- 
 trary, the sight he saw caused him such joy, that 
 he could not restrain himself from joiuiug Ivan in 
 
92 BEUIN". 
 
 his laughter. No wonder. The sight was odd 
 enough to have drawn a smile from a dying man. 
 A spectacle more ludicrous could scarce have been 
 conceived. 
 
 A little further down the ravine, and about ten 
 paces from where the boys were standing, an ob- 
 ject was seen protruding above the snow. It was 
 about ten inches in vertical diameter, something 
 less horizontally, and of a roundish or oval shape. 
 In colour it was almost white as the snow itself: 
 for, indeed, it was sprinkled over with this mate- 
 rial out of the bosom of which it had just emerged. 
 A stranger coming upon the ground might have 
 been sorely puzzled to make out what it was ; but 
 not so Ivan, who, on first beholding it, as it 
 popped upward through the frozen crust, recog- 
 nized it as the head of Pouchskin. Alexis also 
 made it out at the first glance ; and it was the 
 comic twinkle of Pouchskin's eyes — denoting tliat 
 no great damage had happened to him — that led 
 Alexis to join his brother in the laughter. 
 
 Their merriment, however, was of sliort con- 
 tinuance — only an involuntary burst, for a moment's 
 reflection told them that Pouchskin, although they 
 saw him alive, might nevertheless have sustained 
 
A MT8TERI0US DISAPPEABAKCTE. 98 
 
 tome serious injury ; and both at the thought 
 hastened up towards the head. 
 
 On getting close to it, however, Ivan was unable 
 to control himself, and once more gave way to a fit 
 of involuntary laughter. The head of the old guards- 
 man, standing up like a sphinx above the frozen 
 surface, — his grizzled hair powdered all over with 
 snow like the poll of some grand flunkey, — his long 
 moustache loaded with it, — his eyes sparkling and 
 twinkling, and his features set in a serio-comic 
 expression, — all combined to form a picture that it 
 was difficult to contemplate with seriousness. 
 
 Alexis, however, anxious to ascertain as to 
 iR-hether Pouchskin had received any dangerous 
 wound, did not this time join in his brother's 
 mirth ; and, as soon as they came near enough, his 
 inquiries were directed to that end. 
 
 " Only scratched a bit, masters !" answered the 
 old guardsman, — " only scratched a bit — nothing 
 much ; but the bear — the bear ! where has tlw 
 brute gone ?" 
 
 " To his long home," answered Alexis ; " you need 
 be under no further apprehension about him. I 
 think your knife must have well-nigh settled his 
 account, for he was unable to get out of the hole 
 
94 ^3EUI^'. 
 
 agaiQ ; but, fortunately, I have finished Hm with a 
 bullet, and it only remains for us to haul his carcass 
 up and take the skin off it. First, however, let us 
 endeavour to extricate you, my good Pouchskin ; 
 and then you can tell us by what means you have 
 managed to make an escape that certainly appears 
 miraculous!" 
 
 So saying, Alexis, assisted by Ivan, commenced 
 digging away the hard crust that surrounded the 
 neck of Pouchskiu ; and kept on at it, until they 
 had uncovered his shoulders. Then seizing him by 
 the arms — one on each side — they drew him up, tiU 
 his feet once more rested on the surface of the 
 snow. 
 
▲ SUi}>'IT£A.N ESCAPE. 85 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A 8UBNIVEAN ESCAPE, 
 
 PoucnsKiN proceeded to describe the manner of 
 his escape — his young masters listening to him 
 with great interest — although they already guessed 
 pretty nearly how it had been accomplished. Still 
 there were some points not so clear to them, which 
 the old guardsman detailed. 
 
 In the first place, he had retreated from the bear, 
 not because he believed himself vanquished, but 
 because he had lost his knife. Its handle, wet 
 with blood, had slipped from his grasp ; and ho 
 could not tell what had become of it! Finding 
 himself unarmed, of course his next thought was 
 to get out of Bruin's way, for what could an 
 unarmed man do in the embrace of a bear — and 
 such a bear ? 
 
 H(^then turned and ran ; but ho had quite for- 
 gotten the dangerous character of the snow-bed — 
 the bridge that had refused to carry him before; 
 
96 BEriN". 
 
 though, indeed, over it was the only direction he 
 could have taken. Had he attempted to run to the 
 right or left, his course must have been up-hill ; and 
 the bear would have been certain to overhaul him in 
 a couple of leaps. After all, he had taken the proper 
 direction ; and, as it proved in the end, his break- 
 ing through was the most fortunate accident that 
 could possibly have happened to him. Had it 
 not chanced so, he would, in all probability, have 
 fallen into the clutches of the bear, and been torn 
 to shreds by the infuriated animal. 
 
 "Well, on touching bottom, he felt the water 
 among his feet, and just then remembered how it 
 had been before. He remembered the hollow arch- 
 way under the snow, and, seeing the bear above, and 
 in the act of being precipitated on top of him, he 
 suddenly ducked his head, and pushed himself 
 into the tunnel. He could feel the bear falling 
 upon him behind, and the weight of the animal's 
 body, as it was precipitated downwards, forced him 
 still further under the snow-bridge. 
 
 Once in, he continued on down the stream, work- 
 ing both with head and arms, and clearing a^pace 
 that would allow his body to pass. The soft snow 
 was easily pressed out of the way ; and, after going 
 
▲ SUBMTEAJf ESCAPE. 07 
 
 k3 lar as he deemed necessary, he turned to the 
 right, and worked his way upward to the surface. 
 
 It was while he was thus engaged that Alexia 
 had been squaring accounts with the bear. The 
 fierce creature had not followed Pouchskin under 
 the snow. In all probability, his sudden "souse" 
 into the water had astonished Bruin himself; — from 
 that moment all his thoughts were to provide for 
 his own safety, and, with this intention, he was en- 
 deavouring to get back to the surface of the snow- 
 drift, when Alexis first caught sight of his snout. 
 
 At the moment that Alexis fired the final shot, 
 or just a little after it, Pouchskin had popped 
 up his head through the congealed crust of the 
 snow, and elicited from Ivan those peals of 
 laughter that had so much astonished his brother. 
 
 Pouchskin, however, had not come unscathed 
 out of the " scrimmage." On examining the old 
 guardsman, it was found that the bear had clawed 
 him severely; and a piece of skin, of several inches 
 square was peeled from his left shouUler. Tlie fli'sli, 
 too, was rather badly lacerated. 
 
 Alexis was not without some surgical skill ; and, 
 without suffering a moment to bo lost, he dressed 
 the wound in the best manner possible under the 
 u 
 
98 BEUI5-. 
 
 circumstancea. A clean handkerchief, which Ivan 
 chanced to have, served as a covering for the scar; 
 and this being tied on securely, with a strip torn 
 from the sleeve of Pouchskin's own shirt, left the 
 wounded guardsman in a condition to recover, as 
 soon as it might please nature to permit. IS'othing 
 more could have been done by the most " skilful 
 practitioner." 
 
 Their next business was to look after the bear. 
 On going back to the hole, and, gazing into it, the 
 animal, as Alexis had anticipated, was quite dead; 
 and the water, partially dammed up by the huge 
 carcass, was flowing over it. 
 
 Ivan, who had hitherto done least of all to 
 secure the prize, now became the most active of 
 the three ; and, leaping down upon the body of the 
 great brute, he looped the rope around one of its 
 hind legs, and then stood on one side to help tlie 
 rest in raising it upward. 
 
 Alexis and Pouchskin commenced liauling on 
 the other end of the rope, and the vast mass 
 slowly ascended upward, Ivan pushing from below, 
 and guiding it past the inequalities of the snow. 
 It -would have been a dilferent sort of a task, 
 to have hauled Bruin out of such a hole three 
 
▲ SCBXITEAy ESC\rE. 99 
 
 montbs earlier in the season ; that is, about tlie 
 time he had lain down for his winter siesta. Then 
 he would have turned six or seven hundred pounds 
 upon the scales, whereas at this time he was not 
 more than half the weight. His skin, however, 
 was in just as good condition as if he had been 
 fat ; and it was this, "and not his carcass, that our 
 hunters cared for. 
 
 After some tough pulling, accompanied by a 
 good deal of shouting from Ivan at the bottom 
 of the hole, the huge carcass was dragged forth, 
 and lay at full length along the frozen snow. 
 It was still necessary to raise it to the branch 
 of a tree, in order tliat it might be skinned 
 in a proper manner. This however, could be 
 easily accomplished by means of the rope. 
 
 Up to this time Pouchskin had been puzzled 
 about the loss of his knife. Everywhere be looked 
 for it ; but it was nowhere to be found. All the 
 surface over which ho had danced with tho bear 
 was carefully examined, and tho snow scraped 
 up to tho depth of several inches. There was 
 the blood of tho bear, and some of Pouchskin's 
 own too, but no knife ! CV)u1d it have got into 
 the water ? No. Pouchskin declared that he 
 n 2 
 
 f 
 
100 BEUiy. 
 
 had dropped it near the edge of the snow-bed : 
 for this accident, as already stated, had been the 
 cause of his retreat from the conflict. 
 
 It was only when the great carcass was being 
 hauled up to the branch, that the lost knife made 
 its appearance. Then, to the astonishment of the 
 young hunters, as well as to Pouchskia himself, 
 the knife was seen sticking in the shoulder of the 
 bear ! There it had been when tl;e haft slipped 
 from his hands, and there had it remained. ]N'o 
 doubt that stab would have given the bear his 
 death-blow ; but still more fatal had been the 
 bullet from the rifle of Alexis, which had passed 
 through Bruin's brain, crushing his skull like a 
 shell ! 
 
 The skinning of the animal was accomplished 
 with great care ; for the coat was one of the 
 fuicst, and the boys knew with what interest it 
 would be regarded on its arrival at the palace 
 Grodonofl'. They spared no pains, therefore, in 
 removing it from the carcass ; and after the work 
 was finished, it was neatly folded up, tied with the 
 rope, and placed like a knapsack on Pouchskin's 
 Bhoulders. 
 
 Of the carcass they took no lu>ed ; but leaving 
 
BINGiyO TrlE B£iJt. 101 
 
 it to the wolves, th? gluttons; or -any other c:ir- 
 nivorous creatures that might chance to stray that 
 way, they turned back up the ravine ; and, striking 
 off on a path that led towards the tent of the 
 Laplander, reached their smoky quarters in good 
 time for dinner. 
 
 C II A P T E II XI V. 
 
 nixoiyo THE bear. 
 
 The bear thus killed was the true ursus arctos, 
 or brown bear — the latter name being given 
 to him from the colour of his fur, which, in 
 ninety-nine cases out of every hundred, is :i 
 uniform brown. The name, however, is not ap- 
 propriate, since there are other brown bears 
 belonging to very difl'erent species. 
 
 Having secured his robe, as we have seen, the 
 next carvv of our hunters was to obtain a skin from 
 the body of his black brother. They were well aware 
 that this would not be so easy of accomplishment, 
 from the simple fact, that the uraus niger, or " Euro- 
 
102 211UIN. 
 
 pean black bear," is one of clie rarest of animals — 
 indeed, so few of them are obtained, that out of 
 a thousand skins of the European bear that pass 
 through the hands of the furrier:?, not more tliau 
 two or three will be found to be of the black variety. 
 
 It is true that they were just in the country 
 where they would be most likely to fall in with 
 one ; for it is only in the northern zone of Europe 
 (and Asia also) where the black ones are found. 
 This variety is not encountered in the southern 
 ranges of mountains in the Alps, Pyrenees, and 
 Carpathians. "Whether this black bear is a 
 distinct species was not a question with them. 
 They knew that by most naturalists he is recog- 
 nised as a variety — by some a permanent one. It 
 was therefore certainly included in the conditions 
 ^f their father's letter ; and a akin must be procured 
 coiife qui coute. This done, they would have no 
 further business in Lapland, but might proceed at 
 once to the Pyrenees. 
 
 It was not necessary to procure skins of the 
 grey or silver bear, nor that with the white ring 
 round its neck — known as the ringed or collared 
 bear. As Alexia had said, it is acknowledged by all 
 who know the ursus arc'os in his native haunts, that 
 
BIXQINO TUE BEAU. 108 
 
 these are mere accidental varieties. The true 
 " collared bear" (^urstts coUaris) is not found in 
 Lapland, — only in nortliern Asia and Kams- 
 chatka, and it is he that is known as tlie " Siberian 
 bear." The boys therefore were not " bound" by 
 their covenant to procure these varieties ; but for 
 all that, they were gratified at going beyond the 
 strict letter of their agreement, which good luck 
 enabled them to do ; for while scouring the country 
 in search of the ursus niger, they chanced upon 
 another brown bear, a female, with three cubs, 
 one of which was brown, like the mother; the 
 second had the wliite ring round its neck, and the 
 third was as grey as a little badger ! All four were 
 taken ; and the young hunters not only had the 
 gratification of being able to send the different 
 varieties of skins to their father's museum, but an 
 additional satisfaction was afforded to Alexis, the 
 naturalist, by this grand family capture. Il proved 
 incontestably, what he already suspected, and what, 
 moreover, the native peasants and hunters had told 
 him, that the "silver" and "ringed" boars wcro 
 identical with the ursus arctos. 
 
 Notwithstanding their joy at the capture of the 
 old she and her particoloured pets, tiiey were yet 
 
104! BRUIN. 
 
 very anxious about the black bear. They had 
 hunted all the forests and mountains for miles 
 around, and had even succeeded in killing several 
 other specimens of " Brownie," but no " Blackie " 
 was to be met with. 
 
 It had now got known among the native hunters 
 what they were in search of; and, as they had 
 offered a liberal reward to any one who could 
 guide them to the haunt or den of a real black 
 bear, it was not unlikely they should soon bear 
 of one. 
 
 In this expectation they were not deceived. 
 About a week after the oiTer had been proclaimed, 
 a Finnish peasant (one of the Quans, as they are 
 called) made his appearance at their head quarters, 
 and announced that he had " ringed " a black bear. 
 It was welcome tidings ; and the young Russians 
 at once proceeded to the indicated place. 
 
 It may be necessary to explain what the man 
 meant when he told them he had " ringed " tlie 
 bear; since that is a phrase of specific meaning 
 throughout the countries of Scandinavia. In these 
 countries, when the track of a bear is observed 
 in the snow, it is followed up by the person who 
 has discovered it, with the intention of " ringing " 
 
BISOINO THE HEAR. 105 
 
 the animal — that is, ascertainiog as near as may 
 be, the locality in which it may have halted 
 from its rambles, and lain down to rest. Of 
 course, if the person thus trailing the bear be a 
 hunter — or if it be a party of hunters actually 
 engaged in the chase, they will keep on urUil 
 they have found the-bear in his dtMi. But in nine 
 cases out of ten, bears are not pursued in tiiis 
 fashion. Generally, their haunt — whether tempo- 
 rary or otherwise — has been ascertained before- 
 hand, by some shepherd or woodcutter, and a 
 party of hunters then proceeds to tlie spot, and 
 makes a surround of the animal before rousing him 
 from his lair. 
 
 This "surround," however, has nothing whatever 
 to do with the "ringing" of the bear, which is an 
 operation of a different character, and is per- 
 formed by the party who has first chanced upon 
 tlie tracks. The mode of proceeding is simply to 
 follow the trail, or spar, of the bear as silently as 
 )K)B8ible — until the tracker has reason to believe 
 that the animal is not far off. This he discovers by 
 observing that tiie spar no longer trends in a direct 
 line, but doubles about in zigzags, and backward 
 turnings upon itself; for when a bear intends 
 
lOG BRUIN. 
 
 to lie down, it is Lis Labit to quarter the 
 ground in every direction, precisely as does 
 the bare before squatting in her form. Many 
 other animals observe a similar caution before 
 going to rest. 
 
 The bear-tracker having reached this point, then 
 leaves the track altogether, and makes a circuit 
 round that part of the forest within which lie 
 suspects Bruin to have couched himself. This 
 circuit is of greater or less diameter, according 
 to circumstances — depending on the season of the 
 year, nature of the ground, and a variety of other 
 considerations. "While going round this circle, if 
 it should be seen that the track of the bear leads 
 beyond it, then that "ring" is given up, and 
 another commenced further forward. If, on the 
 other hand, the tracker gets round to the place 
 whence he first started, without again coming upon 
 the spar, he concludes that the bear must be lying 
 somewhere within the circumference whicli he has 
 traced, and will there be fouud. Tlii;;, then, is 
 termed " ringing " tlie bear. 
 
 You may wonder why tho man does not follow 
 up tho spar until ho actually reaches the den or 
 lair of the animal. That is easily cij-luSned. Tiie 
 
BI>'0INO TUL LLAU. 107 
 
 tracker is not always a bear-hunter, and even if 
 be were, it would not be prudent for bioi to ap- 
 proach a bear without assistants, who, by surround- 
 ing the animal, sliould cut ofT its retreat. "Were he 
 to go forward direct to tlie bear's hidiug-place, 
 Bruin would, in all probability, discover him be- 
 fore he could approach within shot ; and, making a 
 bolt, might carry him a chase of ten or twelve miles 
 before stopping. The brown bear often docs so. 
 
 The tracker, having ascertained the circle within 
 which the animal has made its temporary resting- 
 place, next proceeds to warn the hunters of his 
 village or settlement ; and then a large party go 
 out for the destruction of the common enemy. 
 They deploy around the ring, and closing inward, 
 are pretty sure to find the bear either asleep in his 
 den, or just starting out of it, and trying to get off. 
 
 The "ring" will usually keep for several days — 
 sometimes for weeks — for the bear, especially in 
 winter time, will remain in the vicinity of his lair 
 for long spells at a time. Frequently several days 
 will elapse before any hunters arrive on the ground ; 
 but, if the bear should have strayed ofl' in the mean 
 time, his tracks in the snow will still enable theia 
 to follow and Cud him. If, however, Iresh snow 
 
108 BKUIX. 
 
 should have fallen, after the bear has made his exit 
 from the marked circle, then, of course, the search 
 will prove a blank, and Bruin make his escape — at 
 least out of that " ring." 
 
 One of the most singular features of this custom 
 is, tliat he who has succeeded in " ringing" a bear, 
 is regarded as the lawful pro|)rietor of the animal 
 — or rather of the " ring" — and can dispose of his 
 right to any hunting party he pleases. Of course 
 he cannot guarantee the killing of the bear: that 
 is left to the skill of the hunters, who must take 
 their cliauce. The tracker only answers for a bear 
 being found within a prescribed circle, of which he 
 gives proof by pointing out the spcir. ^Vith such 
 conditions, established by long and well-observed 
 custom, it will easily be believed that the wood- 
 cutters and other peasants make a market by 
 ringing bears, frequently disposing of the " ring " 
 to the more ardent hunters for a very considerable 
 price ! It was just with this view that the Finnish 
 peasant had put himself in communication witli 
 our young llussians ; and as the bounty they had 
 already offered far exceeded the usual purchase- 
 money in such cases, the Quiin at once closed with 
 their ofiVr, and conducted them to the " ring." 
 
OLD NAI.LE. 100 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 OLD y.VLLE. 
 
 "WniLB proceedicg towards the grouud wliere tht-r 
 
 expected to find the bear, their guide informed them 
 
 that he had not only ringed the animal, but actually 
 
 knew the den in which it was lying. This was still 
 
 better : it would not only save them a search, but 
 
 enable them to encompass the beast on all sides 
 
 and cut off his retreat — should he attempt to bolt j 
 
 before they could get near. 
 
 On approaching the place, therefore, Punchskin 
 proposed that the three should separate, and, after 
 having deployed into a circle, proceed inward from 
 different directions. 
 
 But the guide opposed this suggestion — saying, 
 with a significant smile, that there was no need of ' \ 
 
 Buch precautions, as he would answer for the bear 
 not leaving his den, until they had all got up as 
 near as they might wish to be. 
 
 The hunters wondered at this confidence on the 
 
110 BRL'IN. 
 
 part of tlieir guide, but in a few minutes' time they 
 had an explanation of it. Going up to a sort of 
 cliff that formed the side of a Jittle stony knoll, the 
 Quan pointed to a hole in the rocks, saying, as ho 
 did so : — 
 
 " Old nalle is in there." 
 
 Now " nalle" is the nickname of the bear 
 throughout the Scandinavian countries, and our 
 Eussian hunters knew this well enough ; but that' 
 a bear could be inside the little hole, to which their 
 guide had pointed, appeared utterly incredible, and 
 Ivan and Alexis burst into a loud laugh, while 
 Pouchskin was rather inclined to show a little 
 anger about the matter. 
 
 The hole which the Quan had pointed out was 
 a crevice between two great boulders of rock. It 
 was about a yard above tlic ground, upon which 
 they stood ; and was certainly not more than six 
 or eight inches in diaiueter. All round the orifice 
 the rocks were thickly coated with ice; and from 
 the top of the clill" on both sides huge icicles pro- 
 jected downwards, until their tips touched tlie earth, 
 looking like enormous trunks of elephants, or such 
 as even mammotha might have carried. One of 
 these immense icicles was directly iu front of the 
 
OLD >ALLE. Ill 
 
 aperture ; while on the ground just below its point 
 stood up a huge mass of an irregular conical shape, 
 the convex surface of which was coated with snow 
 that had lately fallen. 
 
 The first impression of the hunters was, that they 
 had been deceived by the cunning Quiin. Pouch- 
 skin declared that tliey would not stand being 
 tricked ; and at once demanded back the ten rii- 
 doUars which his young masters had paid for the 
 " ring " of the bear. 
 
 " It was all nonsense," he said ; " even if fcliere 
 was a cave, no bear could be inside, for the simple 
 reason that none, even the smallest, could possibly 
 have squeezed his carcass through a hole like that ; j 
 
 — a cat could hardly have crept into such an aper- 
 ture ? Besides, where were the tracks of the bear ? 
 There were none to be seen — neither by the mouth 
 of the hole, nor in the snow outside. 
 
 There were old tracks of ilic peasant himself 
 and of a dog, but not of a bear. 
 
 " It's a decided take-in," grumbled Poucli- ' 
 
 skin. ! 
 
 " Patience, master ! " said the Quiin. " There is 
 a bear inside for all that; and I'll prove it, or 
 else return you your money Sec my little dog ! 1 
 
112 BRUiy. 
 
 lie'U tell you old naJle is there. It was he that 
 told me." 
 
 As the Quan said this he let slip a diminutive 
 cur, which he had hitherto held in the leash. The 
 animal, on being set free, rushed up to the hole, 
 and commenced scratching at the ice, and barking 
 in the most furious and excited manner. It cer- 
 tainly proved there was some living creature in- 
 side ; but how could the Quan tell it was a bear ? 
 and, above all, a black bear ! 
 
 He was interrogated on this point. 
 
 " By it," replied the peasant, taking from hia 
 pouch a tuft of long black fur, which was evidently 
 that of a bear ; " that is how I know that old 
 nalle's in the cave, and the colour of the hair tells 
 me tliat it's llaclc nolle who's inside." 
 
 " But how came you by tliat ? " inquu-ed all 
 three in a breath, as the man held the tuft before 
 their eyes. 
 
 " AVcll, masters! " answered the Quiin, "you seo 
 some jaggy points on the rock, at the top of the 
 hole, there. I found it sticking there, where the 
 bear must have left it, as he was squeezing himself 
 into his cave — that's how it was." 
 
 " But surely," said Alexis, " you don't meau to 
 
OLD XALLE. 
 
 113 
 
 assert that a bear could pass through such a hole 
 as that ? AVhy, a badger couldn't get in there, 
 my man ! " 
 
 " Not fioir," said the Quan, " I admit ; it's 
 three months since he went iu. The hole was 
 bigger then." 
 
 "Bigger then?" 
 
 " Certainly, masters ! the heap you see below is 
 only ice. It's the drip of that great icicle that has 
 frozen up as it fell, and if it were not there you'd 
 see a place big enough for a bear to get in. Ah ! 
 sirs ! he's there, I can assure you." 
 
 " "Why, he couldn't get out of himself? " 
 
 " That is very true," replied the peasant ; " he'd 
 be safe enough there till a good bit on in the 
 spring. If we hadn't found him, he would have 
 been obliged to stay in his cave till the sun had 
 thawed that great heap out of his way. It often 
 happens so with the bears in these parts," added 
 tf.e Quan, without seeming to think there was 
 anything unusual about the circumstance. 
 
 What the man uaid waa literally true. The 
 bear had gone into this cleft or cave to take his 
 winter nap, and during the long weeks, while he 
 was thus hybernating, the water, of rain and 
 
114 BEUiy. 
 
 melting snow, dripping from the top of tbe clilT, 
 liad formed enormous stalactites of ice, with 
 stalagmites as well : since it was one of the latter 
 tliat had closed up the entrance to the den, and 
 fairly shut him up in his own house! 
 
 Not only does this curious accident often occur 
 to Scandinavian bears, but these animals, notwith- 
 standing their proverbial sagacity, frequently be- 
 come their own jailers. They have a habit of 
 collecting large quantities of moss and grass in 
 front of their caves, which they place riglit in tlie 
 aperture; and not inside as a bed to lie upon. 
 "Why they do so is not clcai-ly understood. The 
 Scandinavian hunters allege that it is for the 
 purpose of sheltering them from the cold Mind, 
 that would otherwise blow up into their chamber ; 
 and in the absence of tiuy better explanation this 
 has been generally adopted. The heap soon gets 
 saturated by rain and melting snow, and congeals 
 into a solid mass, so hard that it requires to bo cut 
 with an axe before it can be got out of the way; and 
 tlie bear himself is totally incapable of removing it. 
 The consequence is that it often shuts up the 
 entrance to his wintrr chamber; and Bruin, ou 
 Iwakeniug from his sleep, ilnds himself caught ia 
 
OLD >'ALLE. 115 
 
 a trap of his own construction, lie has then no 
 other resource but to remain inside till the spring 
 heats have thawed the mass, so that he can tear 
 it to pieces with his claws, and thus effect an exit. 
 On such occasions, he issues forth in a state 
 of cvtrcme weakness and emaciation. Not un- 
 frequeutly he is altogether unable to clear away 
 the obstacle, and perishes in his den. 
 
 On hearing these explanations from the Quiin, 
 who appeared to be well acquainted with Bruin's 
 habits, the young hunters were satisfied that a 
 bear was really in the cave. Indeed, they were 
 not long upon the spot, till they had still more 
 satisfactory evidence of this fact ; for they could 
 hear tlie " sniffing " of the animal, with an occa- 
 sional querulous growl, as if uttered in answer to 
 tl>e barking of the dog. Beyond doubt, there was 
 a bear inside. 
 
 How was he to be got out? That now became 
 the important question. 
 
 Si 
 
116 BBUIK. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE STAKED EXCLOSUEE. 
 
 TuET waited, for a time, in hopes tliat he might 
 show his snout at the little aperture, and all three 
 stood watching it, with guns cocked aud ready. 
 A good while passed, however, and, as no snout 
 made its appearance, they came to the conclusion 
 that the bear was not to be caught in that simple 
 way. B}^ the snorting growl they could tell that he 
 was at no great distance from the cutrauce, aud 
 they thought a pole might reach him. They tried 
 this, but found that it could be iuserted only in a 
 diagonal direction ; aud although Pouchskin poked 
 in the pcle, and bent it round like a rattan, he 
 could not touch wool anywhere ; while the bear, 
 though he gave tongue now and then, still kept hid 
 place at the further end of the cave. 
 
 No other plan offered, except to cut away tho 
 icy mass, and set open the mouth of the cavity. If 
 this were done, would Bruin be then likely to come 
 
TUC STAKED EXCLOSUHE. 117 
 
 forth ? The Quiin was confident he would ; alleg- 
 ing as his reason, that, iu consequence of the spell 
 of warm weather there had been, the bear must 
 liave fully sliakcn off his winter drowsiness, and 
 would no doubt have been abroad long ago, but 
 for the ice preventing his egress from the den. As 
 soon as that should bo removed, he would be 
 pretty sure to sally out — for hunger, said the 
 peasant, will bring him forth, if not just at the 
 moment, certainly within an hour or so. At the 
 worst they could wait a while. INIoreovcr, were 
 the ice removed, they might be able to reach him 
 with a pole ; and that would be certain to put him 
 in such a rage as would at once tempt him to 
 make a sortie. 
 
 With this idea, Pouchskin seized his axe, 
 knocked the great icicle into "smithereens," and 
 was about going to work upon tha huge stalagmite 
 that blocked up the entrance, when ho was inter- 
 rupted by the Quiiii. 
 
 " With your leave, master! " said the latter, as 
 he laid bis hand upon Pouchskin's arm to restrain 
 him. " Xot so fast, if you please ?" 
 
 "Why?" asked the ex-guardsman, "don't you 
 intend to unearth the brute ? " 
 
118 BRIJIN. 
 
 " Yes, master," replied tlie Quau ; " but some- 
 thing must be done first. This is a black bear, 
 you must know." 
 
 " "Well, and what of a black one more than any 
 other ? " demanded Pouchskin, somewhat sur- 
 prised, for in the forests of Eussia, where he had 
 hunted bears, there were no black ones. 
 
 " Don't you know," said the Finn, " that Black 
 Nalle is always bigger and fiercer than his brown 
 brother ? Besides, just at this time he will be so 
 savage with hunger, that he would eat one of us 
 up the moment he got out. If that ice was away, 
 I shouldn't like to stand here. Take your time, 
 master ! I think I can show you a better plan, at 
 all events it is a safer one. It's a way we practise 
 here — when we are sure that a bear is asleep, and 
 won't interrupt us while we're making ready for 
 him." 
 
 " Oil, well," replied Pouchskin, " I'm agree- 
 able to anything you propose. I'm not particu- 
 larly desirous of risking another wrestle — not I — 
 I had enough of that the other day." And as the 
 old guardsman made the remark, he gave a signifi- 
 cant shrug of his shoulders, the wounds upon 
 which not being yet auite cicatrized, feelingly 
 
 > 
 
Tin: STAKED ENCLOSUnE. 119 
 
 reminded iiim of the rough liandling lie had 
 received. 
 
 " Well then," said the Quan, " if you will help 
 me to cut some strong stakes, I shall show jou a 
 plan by which you may knock old nalle upou the 
 hkull without danger to any of us, or send your 
 bullets through his -brain, if you like better to kill 
 l»im in that way." 
 
 All, of course, agreed to the Quiin's proposal ; 
 for if the black bear was as he represented him, 
 fiercer than his brown brethren, it would be no 
 pleasant prospect to have him loose among them ; 
 and in case of their not being able to shoot him 
 dead on the spot as he rushed out, they might not 
 only be in danger of getting mauled, but in 
 danger of what they dreaded almost as nuich — 
 losing him altogether. lie might get ofT into 
 the forest ; and as there were tracts along tiie 
 hill-sides, now quite clear of snow, he might steal 
 nway from them beyond recovery. Tliis would bo 
 a di."«appointment of no ordinary kind. In f;u-t, it 
 might be the means of keeping them for weeks, or 
 perhaps months, from proceeding on their journey: 
 since it might be weeks or months before they should 
 full ia with another cliauco of obtaining a black 
 
120 BEUIIT. 
 
 bear-ski u ; aud until that was procured tliey could 
 not turn their faces towards Spain. 
 
 "With such a prospect then, they were only too 
 ready to agree to any conditions by which tlie bear 
 might be safely secured. 
 
 The Quiin was not long in disclosing his plan ; 
 aud as soon as he had communicated it, all three 
 set to work to aid him in its execution. 
 
 A number of stout stakes were cut — each about 
 six feet in length, and pointed at one end. These 
 were driven into the earth around the outer edge 
 of the icy mass, in a sort of semicircular row ; and 
 so as to enclose a small space in front of the 
 aperture. To hold the stakes all the more firmly, 
 large stones were piled up against them, and the 
 uprights themselves were closely wattled together 
 by the broad flat branches of tlie spruce pines that 
 grew near. In this way was constructed a fence 
 that a cat could not have crawled through, much 
 less a bear. One aperture only was left in it, and 
 that was directly in front — a hole at about the 
 height of a man's knee from the ground, and just 
 big enough to admit the head of a bear — for that 
 was the purpose for which it was intended. 
 
 The next thins: done was to roof the whole of 
 
THE STAKED EXCLOSCnE. 121 
 
 this stockade enclosure; and that was accom- 
 pliahed bj resting long poles horizontally over it, 
 tying them at the ends to the tops of the uprights, 
 and then covering them thickly with granris (the 
 spray lopped from tho brai.clies of the evergreen 
 pines). 
 
 It now only remained to get the ice out of the 
 ^vay, and allow the bear to come forth. That 
 would not have been so easy of accomplishment, 
 had it not been alread}' partially removed. Before 
 closing up the top, Pouchskin, directed by the 
 Finnish peasant, had cut away most of the mas:^, 
 leaving only a shell ; which, although filling up 
 the entrance as before, could be easily beaten 
 down, or driven in from the outside of the en- 
 closure. 
 
 During the time that the ex-guardsman had 
 been capping away the ice, he had been keeping 
 a sharp look-out. He was admonished to do this 
 by certain noises that, now and then, came rum- 
 bling out of the cave ; and not very certain that 
 he was in perfect safety, he had been under some 
 apprehension. The bear, by throwing all his 
 weight against the reduced mass of ice, viljht break 
 his way out ; and as by the constant chiselling 
 
122 ERUIN. 
 
 the wall grew wealicr aud tbiuner, Poucbskin's 
 fears increased in proportion. lie was only too 
 happy, when, having picked the congealed mass 
 to what was thought a sufficient thinness, ho 
 desisted from his work, and crept out of the 
 enclosure, through the space that had been kept 
 open for him. 
 
 This was now fenced up as securely as the rest; 
 and it only remained to knock away the icy barri- 
 cade, and tempt Bruin to come forth. 
 
 The icy wall could be broken in by means of a 
 long boar-spear with which the Finnis^h peasant 
 had provided himself. It was headed with a 
 heavy piece of iron, edged and tipped with the 
 best Swedish steel, and this being jobbed against 
 the ice, and kept constantly at work, soon splin- 
 tered the shell into pieces. 
 
 As soon as the Quan saw that he had opened a 
 hole large enough to pass the body of the bear, he 
 drew back his spear, telling the hunter to look out. 
 
 During the operation, all three had kept watch 
 through crevices in the stockade-wall, holding 
 their guns pointed towards the aperture, and 
 ready to give the bear a volley the moment he 
 should show his suout. 
 
IHB 8PITTIK0 DETIL. 123 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE SriTTIKG DEVIL. 
 
 To their disappointment, however, the hear refused 
 to exhibit even as much as the tip of his nose, not 
 only while liis door was being opened, but after- 
 wards ; and they began to think that he might not 
 come forth after all. 
 
 The Quiin assured them that he would be 
 certain to do so in time ; but perhaps not for | 
 
 a few hours, till after they should have remained 
 quiet a while, and old nalle should fancy they had 
 gone away. 
 
 " Ue has been a long time without his break- 
 fast," added the Qtian, " and his stomach will . , 
 now be talking loudly to him ; that will tell him i 
 to steal out for something to eat. No fear of it, i' I 
 masters ! " 
 
 " But for what purpose have you designed this 
 hole?" inquired Ivan, pointing to the little aper- 
 ture that had been left in the wattled enclosure. 
 
 i 
 
124 BEUI>'. 
 
 " Ob," replied the peasant, " that is liow wo 
 kill bears sometimes ; especially if we are not rich 
 enough to have a gun. As soon as old nolle rushes 
 out from his den, the first thing he does is to run 
 all round, looking for a chance to break tlirough 
 the fence. Of course he finds the hole, and pokes 
 his head through it. One of us stands outside, as 
 you see me now, with a hatchet ready ; and 
 we would be clumsy, indeed, if we could not 
 cleave in his skull, or give liim such a crack 
 upon it, as would turn him back downwards. 
 You shall see how the bear will rusli to tliis hole 
 the moment he comes out, and then, masters ! you 
 shall see!" 
 
 Here the Quiln gave a significant shake to his 
 hatchet, twirling it with the dexterity peculiar to 
 his craft, for it so chanced tliat he was a wood- 
 cutter by trade. 
 
 Our hunters, however, saw that this would never 
 do. According to the conditions under which 
 they travelled, the bear must be killed by one of 
 themselves ; and, therefore, after a little expla- 
 nation, the Quiin resigned his intention and 
 stepped aside. His post, however, was supplied 
 by the ex-guardsman, who, poising his ponderous 
 
THE SriTTISO DEVIL. 125 
 
 axe, stood ready to deal a far heavier, and dead- 
 lier, blow than could be given by any woodcutter 
 in Scandinavia. Alexia took charge of Pouch- 
 skin's gun, determined to fire it as soon as he had 
 discharged his own ride ; and as Ivan had one 
 barrel loaded with ball and the other with slugs, it 
 was not likely, against such a formidable battery 
 as was thus prepared for him, that Bruin could 
 manage to live much longer. 
 
 It now became a question whether tliey sliould 
 wait patiently till the bear came out, or whether 
 they might not adopt some mode of tempting him 
 forth, that would act upon him more rapidly than 
 the cravings of his stomacli. j 
 
 There could be no harm in trying to reach and 
 stir him up with a pole ; and for this purpose the 
 woodcutter stepped aside to find one. 
 
 He very soon succeeded in procuring a long birch 
 sapling — as long as an ordinary fishing-rod ; and 
 having cleared thid of its spray, he inserted it into 
 the cave. To the gratification of the party it was 
 found long cnougli for the purpose ; for by tlie ** 
 
 muffled feel it could only bo Bruin's fur that its 
 point was buried in. It was just as far, however, jj 
 
 as the pole would reacii ; and as it was a slender i 
 
126 BEUIN. 
 
 sapling without any stiffness in it, they were unablo 
 to do anything in the way of giving hiai a poke. 
 iXo doubt, had the entrance to his den been wider, 
 even the tickling of the pole would have caused him 
 to " turn out ; " for a bear, unless badly wounded, 
 will not stand much badgering. It was possible, 
 in this case, that Bruin suspected there was some 
 trap set for him outside — indeed, the noises he 
 had been listening to for more than an hour, must 
 have admonished him that all was not as it ought 
 to be; and this perhaps rendered him more warv 
 than was his wont, lie might not yet be aware 
 that his door was open ; for the roofed enclosure 
 still kept out the light as much as the stalagmite 
 had done ; and although he might have heard the 
 icy mass giving way before the axe and spear, lie 
 might not understand all that. It was necessary, 
 therefore, to coax him as far as the threshold — so 
 that he might discover that the door of his chamber 
 had been opened for him. 
 
 The tickling of the pole, liowever, proved of no 
 service ; for, although it drew from the huge brute 
 a suilf or two, he still kept to his bed. 
 
 AVhat was to be done ? IMust they retire, and 
 wait paliently till the calls of liuuger should urge 
 
THE SriTTlNO Dl.VIL. 127 
 
 him forth ? The day was piercingly cold, aud to 
 remain there long would have been unpleasant 
 enough. Thcj might, indeed, have to stay by the 
 cave all day and all night too : for the enclosure 
 had been only slightly put up — merely to cliecic 
 the bear for a few minutes — and if they were to 
 leave him all night to himself, he could easily tear 
 down the stakes and get off. 
 
 They could not think of deserting the spot for 
 an instant ; but to avoid a long vigil they set about 
 considering some plan by which Bruin might be in- 
 duced to come forth from his inaccessible retreat. 
 
 A thought occurred to Ivan, who was a quick 
 conceiver — a plan which promised well — and that 
 was to make a " spitting-devil," and send it up 
 into the cave. It appeared a good idea — at all 
 events, it would not be diCTicult to give it a trial. 
 Gunpowder was not scarce with them — since lius- 
 sian roubles were plenty ; and Pouchskin, pouring 
 out nearly a quarter of a pound into the palm of 
 his broad hand, commenced spitting upon it and 
 working the powder into a paste. Ivan, who 
 directed this operation, was deternu'ned his \ih\n 
 should not fail by any stinginess in regard to the 
 Diaterials required for carrying it out. 
 
123 BEUIN. 
 
 After a short space of time the plastic fingers of 
 Poucliskin bad elaborated the powder paste into a 
 roll as large as a regalia cigar ; and this being dried 
 slightly near a fire — which tbey had long before 
 kindled — was ready for the touch. To the old 
 grenadier was intrusted the management of the 
 miniature rocket ; and, while the young hunters 
 once more stood to their guns, he proceeded to 
 carry out the design. 
 
 Having thrust his head through the hole intended 
 for the bear, and his arm through another which he 
 had made for himself, he held the " devil " at arm's 
 length between his finger and thumb. The Qujin 
 now took a blazing faggot from the fire, and pass- 
 ing it between the wattles, ignited i\\efuse which 
 the old grenadier bad ingeniously placed in the 
 ♦' devil's " tail. 
 
 As soon as Pouchskin perceived that it was fairly 
 on fire, with an adroit jerk he sent the little rocket 
 up into the cave, as far as he could throw it ; and 
 then jerking himself backward, he seized hold of 
 bis axe. 
 
 There was a moment of suspense ; not long : fol 
 almost on the instant a brilliant liglit shone within 
 the cave, accompanied with a sputtering and whiz- 
 
THE SriTTIXG DEVIL. 129 
 
 ftniT and cracking, ns if half a dozen alarm-cloc!« 
 had been set going at the same time ! In the 
 raidet of this confusion of noises, and louder far 
 than any, could be heard a number of sharp wild 
 shrieks, and before the rocket had half burnt out, 
 Bruin was seen bolting forth over the broken frag- 
 ments of ice. Two shots were fired, almost simul- 
 taneously ; but both failed to check his onward 
 rush; and witli a mighty force he came "bump" 
 against the palisades, causing them to crash and 
 swag as if they would give way. It was fortunate 
 for the hunters that the stakes stood the shock : 
 for such a set of teeth as that bear exhibited they 
 had never before seen. A single stroke from those 
 paws would have been enough to crack the thickest 
 skull in creation. 
 
 Ivan gave him his second barrel — the one loaded 
 with slugs, — but it only served to increase his fury ; 
 and now rearing up, and then going on all-fours, 
 he kept rushing backward and forward through the 
 enclosure, all the while uttering fierce growls. 
 
 Aloxis, meanwhile, had dropped his rifle and 
 taken up the fusil of Pouchskin. His place was at 
 one side of the enclosure. IIo had already got the 
 barro* ^hrough the wattles, and waa endeavouring 
 
130 BETJIJT, 
 
 to level it upon the bear — seeking for a mortal 
 part at which he might aim. The darkness, how- 
 ever, — for the roofed stockade rendered it dark,— 
 combined with the quick movements of the animal, 
 hindered him from getting a sight to his satis- 
 faction. He knew the importance of making this a 
 killing shot. Should the bear, wounded as he now 
 was, retreat back into his den, there would be no 
 chance whatever of getting him out again. Alexis 
 thought of this ; and therefore resolved not to fire 
 at random, as he had done before. He knew that 
 a full-grown bear, unless shot in the brain or heart, 
 can accommodate a score of bullets without being 
 much inconvenienced by them. 
 
 Knowing this, Alexis was biding his time, when 
 all at once he perceived the bear make halt on the 
 front side of the enclosure. He now aimed at the 
 heart of the huge animal, but before he could pull 
 trigger, a loud crash sounded in his ear, and Bruin 
 was seen dropping to the ground, where he con- 
 tinued to lie, almost without giving a kick ! 
 
 It was the axe of Pouchskin that had caused the 
 crash, as its edge of steel descended upon the bear's 
 cranium, smashing it in as if it had been an egg- 
 shell. As the Quan predicted, the animal had 
 
THE SnXTISO DEVIL. 18t 
 
 imprudently poked his head through the aperture 
 where Pouchskin was standing ready for him. 
 
 This, of course, finished the affair. It was only 
 necessary to remove the palisades, sling the bear 
 to a tree, and then strip him of his much-coveted 
 skin. All this in due time was accomplished ; and 
 with the robe once more packed on the shoulders 
 of Pouchskin, the hunters returned to their head- 
 quarters. 
 
 It proved — as the Quiin had promised them — to 
 be a black bear ; uot that his fur was altogether 
 black, as is the case with the ursus americanus and 
 the black bears of India. On the contrary, the 
 hair was brown near the roots, and only black at 
 the tips, which, however, gave it the appearance of 
 being black all over the surface; and Alexis knew 
 that this was the variety of bear they were iu 
 search of. 
 
 Satisfied that they had obtained the skin of the 
 ursus nir/er, it only remained for our hunters to 
 pack up their travelling traps, bid adieu to the cold 
 climate of Scandinavia, and start for tlio sunny 
 south — for the far-famed Pyrenees of Spain. 
 
 k2 
 
192 BBITlff. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 THE PALOMBIEBE. 
 
 It is not intended to detail the many incidents 
 jhat befell them on the way, the chit-chat of 
 steamboats, railroads, and hotels. Their father 
 cared not to hear of these trifles ; be could read 
 enough of such delightful stuff in the books of 
 whole legions of travellers ; and, as they did not 
 note anything of this kind in their journal, we are 
 left to suppose that they encountered the usual 
 pleasures and desagremens which all travellers 
 must experience on similar journeys. As money 
 was no object, they travelled with expedition- 
 making only a short stay in the great capitals 
 through which they passed, in order to have iheir 
 passports vised, and sometimes for the purpose of 
 using the great emperor's letter for the replenish- 
 ment of their exchequer. This magic document 
 proved all-powerful everywhere they went ; and as 
 they knew it would be so in all corners of the 
 
THE rArOMBlERE. 188 
 
 habitable globe, they could rely upon it with 
 perfect confidence. Pouchskin's leathern bag was 
 always well weighted with the yellow metal, — and 
 gpeeie, whatever stamp it may bear, is current all 
 over the world. 
 
 Tiieir journal merely mentions the route followed. 
 From their hunting-ground they returned down 
 tho Tomea river, which, running due north and 
 south, of course did not compromise the terms of 
 their covenant ; neither were the conditions in- 
 fringed by their taking at any time the back-track 
 when engaged in the chase, for, as already known, 
 there was a specification in the baron's letter, that 
 allowed of this deviation. All that was required of 
 them was thnt they should not rccross a meridian 
 when on their actual route of travel. 
 
 A ship carried them from Tornea to Dantzic. 
 Hence they passed to Berlin, and on through 
 Frankfort, Stutgard, and Strasbourg, to Paris. 
 Paris, it is true, was a little out of their way ; but 
 what Kussian could travel across Europe without 
 paying a visit to Paris ? Pouchskin cared little 
 about it. The old grenadier had been there before — 
 in 1815 — when he was far from being welcome to 
 the Parisians ; and Alexia would rather have gone 
 
134f BEUIN. 
 
 by another and more direct route, that is, througli 
 Switzerland ; but the gay Ivan would not hear of 
 such a thing. To see Paris he was determined ; 
 and see it he did ; though what he or they did there 
 is not mentioned in the book of the chronicles of 
 our young bear-hunters. 
 
 From Paris they travelled by rail, almost 
 directly south — though still slightly westward — to 
 the celebrated baths of Bagneres. Here they 
 found themselves not only within sight, but 
 actually among the foot-hills of those mountains, 
 for the tourist scarce second in interest to the 
 Alps themselves, but perhaps for the naturalist 
 even more interesting than these. 
 
 At Bagneres they made but a short stay, only 
 long enough to recruit their strength by bathing 
 in its thermal springs, and to witness a spectacle 
 which is regarded as the grand lion of the place — 
 the Falombiere. 
 
 As you, young reader, may not have heard of 
 the Palomhiere, and may be curious to know what 
 it is, I give the account of it, which I find recorded 
 in the journal of Alexis. 
 
 About two miles from Bagneres rises a ridge ot 
 considerable elevation — running parallel with the 
 
TUE PALOMBIEBE. 186 
 
 general direction of the Pyrenees, of which it may 
 be considered an outlying step, or " foot hill " 
 (pied tnont). Along the crest of this hill stands a 
 row of very tall trees, from wliich the branches 
 have been carefully lopped, leaving only a little 
 bunch at the top of each. On coining closo to 
 these trees — provided it be in the months of 
 September or October — you will observe a some- 
 thing between them that resembles a thin gauzy 
 veil of a greyish colour. On getting still nearer, 
 you will perceive that this veil is a net — or rather 
 a series of nets — extended from tree to tree, and 
 filling up all the spaces between them — from the 
 highest point to which the branches have been 
 lopped down to within three feet of the ground. 
 
 Another singular object, or series of objects, will 
 long ere this have attracted your attention. You 
 will see standing, at certain intervals apart, and 
 about thirty yards in front of the trees, a row of 
 tall tapering sticks — so tall that their tops are fifty 
 yards from the ground! They might remind you 
 of the masts of a ship ; but that there arc in each 
 case two of them together, — the one standing 
 vertically, and the other bending over to it, with a 
 slight curve. On this account you may be more 
 
136 BEUIN. 
 
 struck with their resemblance to the " shears" seen 
 in shipyards, by which the masts are " stepped" 
 into their places. These masts, as we may call 
 them, are not all of one stick of wood, but of several 
 pieces spliced together; and notwithstanding tlieir 
 prodigious length — fifty yards, you will remember — 
 they are of no great thickness. lu fact, although 
 the two are joined together at the top — as we shall 
 presently have occasion to show — when a strong 
 wind blows, both bend, and vibrate back and fur- 
 ward like an elastic trout rod. At their bases they 
 are only five feet apart ; and the curving one is 
 intended to act as a stay to the other. Both, as 
 already stated, meet at the top, and looking up you 
 will see — while the sight makes you dizzy — a little 
 roundish object at the point of the junction. It is 
 a basket set there firmly, and just big enough to 
 hold the body of a man. If you look carefully you 
 will see a man actually within it ; but, to quote 
 Shakespeare's quaint simile, he will appear to your 
 eyes not half as gross as a beetle! In all like- 
 lihood he is not a man, but only a boy ; for it is 
 boys who are selected to perform this elevated and 
 npparently dangerous service. 
 
 llow did the boy get there ? will probably bo 
 
THE TALOMDIECE. 137 
 
 your next question. By runniug your eye along 
 the curved pole, you will perceive a row of pro- 
 jecting pegs extending from bottom to top. They 
 are quite two feet apart ; but had you been present 
 while that youth was making the ascent — whicii ho 
 did by the help of these pegs — you would have seen 
 him scramble up as rapidly, and witli as little con- 
 cern, as a sailor would ascend the ratlines of a 
 ehip ! It is hid trade to do so, and practice has 
 made him as nimble as he is intrepid ; but you, who 
 are unaccustomed to witness such tall gymnastics, 
 cannot help again recalling Shakespeare, and ex- 
 claiming, with the great dramatic poet, " Fearful 
 trade ! " Quite as fearful, indeed, as the gathering 
 of " samphire." 
 
 But what is this trade- ? What is all this con- 
 trivance for — these nets and tall masts, with 
 " crows* nests " at their tops ? What are the boys 
 doing up there ? And what are they about below — 
 those men, women, and children — a crowd composed 
 of all ages and all sexes ? What are they doing ? 
 
 Pigeon-catching. That is what they are doing, 
 or rather what they are aiming to do, as soon as 
 the opportunity offers. Tlkeae people are simply 
 pigeon-catchers. 
 
138 BETJIN. 
 
 What sort of pigeons ? and where do they come 
 from ? These questions must be answered. 
 
 To the first, then, the answer is the common 
 European wild pigeon {columba palumbis). It is 
 well known in England by the name of " wood- 
 pigeon," and in France it is called ramier. In 
 England the wood-pigeon is not migratory. In 
 that country there is a much milder winter than is 
 experienced in the same or even a more southerly 
 latitude on the Continent. This enables the pigeon 
 to find food throughout all the year, and it there- 
 fore remains in England. In continental countries 
 — Erance among the number — the severity of the 
 winter forces it southward ; and it annually migrates 
 into Africa — the supposed limit of its flight being 
 the chain of the Atlas mountains. Of course the 
 wood-pigeon is only one of many birds that make 
 this annual tour, taking, as the rest do, a " return 
 ticket." 
 
 Now the ramiers of Eranco, in passing south* 
 ward, must ply their wings a little more strenu- 
 ously to mount over the snowy summits of tho 
 Pyrenees ; but they only commence ascending to 
 this higher elevation when near the mountains. 
 The ridge at Bagncres chances to lie in the lino 
 
TUE FALOMBI£E£. 189 
 
 of their flight — of course, not of all of them, but 
 such as may be sweeping along in that particular 
 meridian ; and, passing between the tall trees 
 already mentioned, they get caught in the meshes 
 of the nets. The moment they strike these — several 
 of them coming " butt" against one at the same 
 instant, — a trigger is pulled by the men — who are 
 below concealed under screens — and this trigger, 
 acting on a string, causes the net to drop, with the 
 fluttering victims safely secured in its meshes. 
 
 When the flight has passed, the women, girls, 
 boys, and even the children, rush forth from their 
 hiding-places ; and, seizing the struggling birds, 
 put a quick termination to their fruitless efibrts, 
 by biting each of them in the neck. Old, half- 
 toothless crones — for this is especially their part of 
 the performance — will be seen thus giving the final 
 coup to the beautiful but unfortunate wanderers ! 
 
 And still we have not explained what the boys 
 are doing up yonder. Well, wo shall now an- 
 nounce their metier. Each has taken up witi him 
 a number of little billets of wood, fashioned some- 
 thing like the letter Y, and about six inches in 
 length. When tbis billet is flung into the air, 
 and twirls about in its descent, it exhibits some 
 
140 BRUIN. 
 
 resemblance — thougli not a very close one — to a 
 flying pigeon-liawk. The resemblance, however, is 
 near enough to " do " the pigeons ; for when they 
 are within about one hundred yards of the crows' 
 nest, the boy launches his billet into the air, and 
 the birds, believing it to be a hawk, immediately 
 dip several yards in their flight — as they may bo 
 seen to do when a real hawk makes his appear- 
 ance. This descent usually brings them low enough 
 to pass between the trees ; and of course the old 
 women soon get their teeth upon them. 
 
 The pigeon-catching is not free to every one 
 who may take a " fancy " to it. There are pigeon- 
 catchers by trade ; who, with their families, follow 
 it as a regular calling during the season, while it 
 lasts ; and this, as already stated, is in the months 
 of September and October. The Falombiere, or 
 pigeon-ridge, belongs to the communal authorities, 
 who let it out in sections to the people that 
 follow the calling of pigeon-netting ; and these, in 
 their turn, dispose of the produce of their nets in 
 the markets of Baguores and other neighbouring 
 towns. 
 
 Every one knows how excellent for the table 
 is the flesh of this beautiful bird: so much is 
 
THE I^.'IENEKS. Ill 
 
 it esteemed, tbaJ" eron at Baj;:-^^, in the season 
 of their greatest plenty, "^ :^air will i'cxcu - r^arket 
 price of from twelve to twenty sous. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE PTHENEE3. 
 
 Speaking geologically, the Pyrenees extend along 
 the whole north of Spain, from the Mediter- 
 ranean to the province of Galicia on the Atlantic; 
 and in this sense the chain may be regarded as 
 between six and seven hundred miles in length. 
 More properly, however, the terra " Pyrenees" is 
 limited to that portion of tlio rango which lies 
 directly between France and Spain ; in other 
 words, along the neck or iatlimus of the Spanish 
 peninsula. Thus limited, the range is less than 
 half the above length, or about three hundred 
 miles; while its average breadth is fifty. 
 
 Though less elevated than the Alps, the 
 
142 BRUIN. 
 
 Pyrenees mountains are no molehrils. Their high- 
 est peak, Maladetta, towers above 11,000 feet ; and 
 several others are of nearly equal height — while more 
 than forty summits reach the elevation of 9,000 ! 
 
 The most elevated peaks are near the centre of 
 the Pyrenees, the range gradually dipping down- 
 ward as the extremities are approached. For this 
 reason the most practicable passes are found near 
 the eastern and western ends ; though many also 
 exist in the central part of the chain. In all, there 
 are fifty passes or "ports," as they are called, 
 leading from the Prench to the Spanish side ; but 
 only five of these are practicable for wheeled 
 vehicles ; and a large number are only known (or 
 at all events only travelled) by the smugglers — 
 contrahandistas — a class of gentry who swarm on 
 both sides of the Pyrenean frontier. 
 
 The superficial extent of these mountains is 
 
 ft 
 about 11,000 or 12,000 square miles. Part of 
 
 this is French, and the remainder Spanish terri- 
 tory. As a general rule, the " divide," or main 
 axis of tlio ridge forms the boundary line ; but 
 in tlie eastern soction, tlie Frencli territory has 
 been extended beyond the natural frontier. 
 
 The geological formation of the Pyrenees con* 
 
TUE FYREXEES. 143 
 
 gists both of primitive and secondary rocks — tiie 
 latter being greater in mass, and composed of 
 argillaceous schist, grauwacke (schistose and com- 
 mon), and limestone. Mines of lead, iron, and 
 copper are found in this formation — the lead con- 
 taining a proportion of silver. The primitive 
 rocks are granite ; and run in zones or belts, 
 extended lengthwise in the direction of the chain ; 
 and it is in the rupture between these and the 
 transition strata, that the chemical springs, for 
 which the Pyrenees are so famous, gush forth. 
 Of these remarkable fountains — many of them 
 almost at boiling heat — no less than 253 have 
 been discovered in different parts of the range. 
 A great number of them are celebrated for their 
 medicinal virtues, and are the favourite summer 
 resorts of invalids, as well as the votaries of 
 pleasure, from all parts of the world — but more 
 especially from France and Spain. 
 
 The botany of the Pyrenees is full of interest. 
 It may be regarded as an epitome of the wholo 
 European^oro ; since scarcely a plant exists, from 
 the Mediterranean to the Arctic sea, that has not 
 a representative species in some part of this 
 mountain chain. In the vallevs and lower 
 
144 BEUIN". 
 
 slopes of the mountains the forest is chiefly com- 
 posed of Lombardy poplars and sycamores ; a 
 little higher, the Spanish chesnut, oaks, hazels, 
 and alders, the mountain ash and birch trees 
 abound ; and still farther up you enter the region 
 of the pines — the pinus si/lvestris gvowing in dense 
 continuous forests, while the more graceful " stono 
 pine" is seen only in isolated groups or scattered 
 trees. Everywhere a rich Jlora meets the eye ; 
 flowers of the most lovely hues reflected in crystal 
 rivulets — for the waters of the Pyrenees are pure 
 beyond comparison, such a thing as a turbid stream 
 being unknown throughout the whole range. 
 
 Above the pine forests the mountains exhibit a 
 zone of naked declivities, stretching upward to the 
 lino of congelation — which in the Pyrenees ia 
 higher than upon the Alps. The former has been 
 variously estimated : some fixing it at 8,300 feet, 
 while others raise it as high as 9,000 ; but, indeed, 
 it would be more just to say that tlie snow lino 
 depends greatly upon the locality of the particular 
 mountain, and its southern or northern exposure. 
 
 In any case, it is more than 1,000 feet higher 
 than on the Alps; the superior elevation being 
 accounted for, by the more southern latitude of 
 
THE nnEXEEs. 115 
 
 the Franco-Spanish chain. Perhaps the proximity 
 of the sea has more to do with this phenomenon 
 than the trifling diflerence of latitude ? 
 
 Upon the higher declivities and summits, snow- 
 fields and glaciers abound, ns in the Alps ; and 
 even in some of the passes these phenomena 
 are encountered. Most of the passes are highei 
 than those of the Alps ; but in consequence of the 
 greater elevation of the snow-line, they remain 
 open throughout the winter. At all seasons, 
 however, they are by no means easy to traverse ; 
 and the cold winds that whistle through them are 
 scarce to be endured. The Spaniards, who have a 
 proverbial expression for almost every idea, have 
 not neglected this one. In the ports (piiertos) of 
 the Pyrenees, say they, " the father waits not for 
 his son, nor the son for his father." 
 
 If the passes across these mountains are higher 
 than those of the Alps, the transverse valleys are 
 the reverse ; those of the Pyrenees being in general 
 much lower. The consequence is, that from the 
 bottom of these valleys the mountains themselves 
 appear far loftier than any of the Alpine peaks, — 
 the eye taking in at one view a greater angle of 
 elevation. 
 
 L 
 
146 BEUIX. 
 
 The fauna of the Pyrenean cliaia, thougli less 
 full and varied than its flora, is nevertheless of 
 great interest. In the more densely wooded soli- 
 tudes, and higher declivities of the mountains, 
 a large bear is found, whose light fulvous-coloured 
 body and black paws pronounce him a different 
 animal from the ursus arctos. If he be the same 
 species, as naturalists assert, he claims at least 
 to be a permanent variety, and deserves his dis- 
 tinctive appellation of ursus pyrenaicus. 
 
 "Wolves abound ; Spanish wolves, long famed for 
 their fierceness ; the common whitish-brown wolf 
 (canis lupus), and a darker and still larger variety — 
 in short, a black wolf, designated the " wolf of the 
 Pyrenees," though it is equally a denizen of the 
 other mountain sierras of Portugal and Spain. 
 
 The European lynx {fcUs lynx), and the wild 
 cat, both skulk through the Pyrenean forests ; 
 the former now only rarely seen. Along the naked 
 cliffs leaps the " izzard," which is identical witli 
 the chamois of the Alps (antelope rupicapra) ; and 
 in the sanie localities, but more rarely seen, the 
 " bouquetin," or " tur " {aigocerus pyrenaicus) — a. 
 Bpecies of ibex, not identical with the capra ibex 
 nf Linnaaus and tlie Alpine mountains. 
 
TUE PVUEXEZS. 147 
 
 Birds of many European species Iroqucut the 
 lower forests of the Pyrenees, or fill the sheltered 
 valleys with their vocal music; while, soaring above 
 the mountain summits, ujay bo seen the great 
 Tulture-eagic, or " lammergeycr," watching with 
 greedy eye the feeble lambkin, or the new-born 
 kid of tiic ibex and izzard. 
 
 With such knowledge of their natural history, 
 it was with feelings of no ordinary interest thai 
 our young hunters turned their faces towards that 
 vast serried rampart that separates the land of tho 
 Gaul from the country of the Iberian. 
 
 It was by the yal d'Ossau, literally the " valley 
 of the bear," that they made their approach to the 
 mountains, — that valley celebrated as the residence 
 and hunting-ground of Henri of Navarre; but 
 now, in modern days, noted for its valuable thermal 
 springs of Eaux Bonnen and Eaux Chaudes. 
 
 Up this mountain gorge went our heroes, their 
 faces turned southward, and their eyes carried 
 high up to the Pic du Midi d'Ossau — the moun- 
 tain of tho bears — an appropriate name for that 
 beacon which was now directing their course. 
 
 
14iS BEUIK. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 AN ODD AVALANCHE. 
 
 It is needless to say that the young Russians were 
 delighted with the scenes that met their eyes in 
 this fair southern land ; and many of them aro 
 found faithfully described in their journal. They 
 noted the picturesque dresses of the Pyrenean 
 peasantry — so different from the eternal blue 
 blouse which they had met in northern and central 
 ^France. Here was worn the " barret," of scarlet 
 or white, the rich brown jacket and red sasli of the 
 peculiar costumes of the Basque and Bearuais 
 peasants — a fine race of men, and one, too, his- 
 torically noble. They saw carts drawn by large- 
 limbed cream-coloured oxen ; and passed flocks of 
 sheep and milch goats, tended by shepherds in 
 picturesque dresses, and guarded by numbers of 
 large Pyrenean dogs, whose chief duty was to pro- 
 tect their cliarge from the wolves. They saw men 
 
AX ODD AT>LA>'C1IE 110 
 
 etanding knee-deep in the water, surrounded by 
 droves of pigs — the latter voluntarily submitting 
 themselves to a process of washing, which resulted 
 in producing over their skins a roseate, pinky 
 appearance. It could be seen, too, that these 
 pachyderm* not only submitted voluntarily to the 
 operation, but with a keen sense of enjoyment, as 
 evinced by their contented grunts, and by their 
 long tails, hanging " kinkless" while the large 
 calabashes of water were poured over their backs. 
 Perhaps to this careful management of the Pyre- 
 nean pigs are the beautiful " Bayonue hams " 
 indebted for their celebrity. 
 
 Further on, our travellers passed a plumire, or 
 " hen-bath." Here was a tank — another thermal 
 spring — in which the water was something more 
 than " tepid." In fact, it was almost on the boil ; 
 and yet in this tank a number of women were 
 ducking their hens — not, as might be supposed, 
 dead ones, in order to scald off their feathers, but 
 live fowls, to rid I hem, aa they said, of parasitical 
 insects, and make them feel more comfortable ! 
 As the water was almost hot enough to parboil 
 the poor birds, and as the women held them in it 
 immersed to the necks, the comfort of the thing— 
 
loO EETJIX. 
 
 SO thouglit our travellers — was ratber a doubtful 
 question. 
 
 A little furtber on, anotber "custom" of tbe 
 Prencb Pyrenees came under tbe eyes of tbe 
 party. Tbeir ears were assailed by a singular 
 medley of sounds, tbat rose from a little valley 
 near tbe side of tbe road. On looking into tbe 
 valley, tbey saw a crowd of forty or fifty women, 
 all engaged in tbe same operation, wbicb was 
 that of flax-backling. Tbey learnt from tbis tbat 
 in tbe Pyrenean countries tbe women are tbe 
 backlers of flax ; and tbat, instead of each staying 
 at ber own borne to perform tbe operation, a large 
 number of tbem meet togetber in some sbaded 
 spot, bringing tbeir uubackled flax along with 
 tbem ; and tbeje, amidst jesting and laughing and 
 singing, the rough staple is reduced to its shining 
 and silky fineness. 
 
 Still anotber curious custom was observed ; but 
 tbis was furtber on, and higher up the sides of the 
 mountains. Their observation of it was attended 
 with some degree of danger, and therefore came 
 very close on being an " adventure." For tbis 
 reason it found a place among the events recorded 
 in their journal. 
 
&^ ODD AVALA.<fCnE. I64 
 
 It should be remarked, tliat all throe were 
 mounted — Alexis and Ivan upon stout, activo 
 ponies, of that race for which the Pyrenees, — espe- 
 cially the western section of them, — are celebrated. 
 Pouchskin's mount was not of the genus equus, nor 
 yet an asinus, but a hybrid of both genera, — in 
 short, a mule. 
 
 It was a French mule, and a very large one : 
 for it required a good-sized quadruped of the 
 kind to make an appropriate roadster for the 
 ex-grenadier of the Imperial guard. It was not a 
 very fat mule, however, but raw-boned and gaunt 
 as a Pyrenean wolf. 
 
 Of course these animals wore all hired ones — 
 obtained at Eaux Bonnes, and engaged for tho 
 trip across the Pyrenees to the Spanish Eide — 
 as also to be used in any deviations that the 
 hunters should think proper to make, while en- 
 gaged in the pursuit of the bear. 
 
 From the nearest village on the Spanish side, 
 the animals were to be sent back to tiieir ow«cr ; 
 for it was not the intention ot our traveiiere to 
 return to the French territory. 
 
 Having crossed the mountains, and accom- 
 plishing the object for which they had visited 
 
162 BRUIN. 
 
 them, their course would then be continued south- 
 ward, through Spain. 
 
 Along with them — also mounted on mule- 
 back — was a fourth individual, whose services they 
 had secured. His metier was manifold — on this 
 occasion combining in his single person at least 
 three purposes. First, he was to serve them as 
 guide ; secondly, ho was to bring back the 
 hired horses; and, thirdly, he was to aid them 
 in the " cbasse " of the bear: for it so happened 
 that this man-of-all-work was one of the most 
 noted " izzard-hunters " of the Pyrenees. It is 
 scarcely correct to say it Jiajypened so. Bather was 
 it a thing of design than chance ; for it was on 
 account of his fame as a hunter, that he had been 
 engaged for tlie triple duty he was now called 
 upon to fulfil. 
 
 The four travellers, then, all mounted as we 
 have described, were ascending a very steep de- 
 /livity. They had left the last hamlet — and even 
 the last house — behind them ; and were now climb- 
 ing one of the outlying spurs that project many 
 miles from the main axis of the mountains. The 
 road they were following scarcely deserved the 
 name ; beiug a pack-road, or more bridle-path ; 
 
AK ODD ATALAT^CIIE. 153 
 
 and BO steep was the ascent, that it was necessary 
 to zigzag nearly a dozen times, before the summit 
 of the ridge could be attained. 
 
 "While entering upon this path, and near the 
 base of the ridge, they had noticed the forms of 
 men far above them, moving about the summit, as 
 if engaged in some work. Their guide told them 
 that these men were faggot-cutters, whoso busi- 
 ness was to procure firewood for the towns in 
 the valley. 
 
 There was nothing in this bit of information to 
 produce astonishment. "What did astonish our 
 travellers, however, was the mode in which these 
 men transported their firewood down the moun- 
 tain, of which, shortly after, they were treated 
 io an exhibition. As they were zigzagging up the 
 mountain-path, their ears were all at once saluted 
 by a noise that resembled a crashing of stones, 
 mingled with a crackling of sticks. The noise 
 appeared to proceed from above ; and, on looking 
 up, they beheld a number of dark objects coming 
 in full rush down the declivity. These objects 
 were of rounded form — in fact, they were bundles 
 of faggots — and so rapidly did they roll over, ond 
 make way down the mountain, that hnd our 
 
164 EETJiir. 
 
 travellers ohanced to be in their track, they might 
 have found some difficulty in getting out of the way. 
 Such was their reflection at the moment ; and 
 they were even thanking their stars that they had 
 escaped the danger, when all at once a fresh 
 avalanche of faggots was launched from above; 
 and these were evidently bounding straight to- 
 wards the party ! It was impossible to tell which 
 ■way to go — whether to rush forward or draw 
 back : for what with the inequality of the moun- 
 tain-side, and the irregular rolling of the bundles, 
 they could not tell the exact direction they would 
 take. All therefore drew up, and waited the result 
 in silent apprehension. Of course they had not long 
 to wait — scarce a second — for the huge bundles 
 bounding on, each moment with increased impetus, 
 came down with the suddenness of a tliuuder- 
 clap ; and before the words "Jack Eobinson " could 
 have been pronounced, they went whizzing past 
 with the velocity of aerolites, and with such a 
 force, that had one of them struck either mule or 
 pony it would have hurled both the quadruped and 
 its rider to the bottom of the mountain. It was 
 only their good fortune that saved them : for iu 
 such a place it would have been impossible for the 
 
AX UUD ATALANCEE. 166 
 
 most adroit equestrian to have got out of the way. 
 The path was not the two breadths of a horse ; and 
 to have wheeled round, or even drawn back upon it, 
 would have been a risk of itself. 
 
 Tiiey rode on, again congratulating themselves 
 on their escape ; but fancy their consternation 
 when they found themselves once more, and for tlio 
 third time, exposed to the very same danger! 
 Again came a set of bundles rolling and tearing 
 down the slope, the billets rattling and crackling 
 as they rolled ; again they went swishing by ; 
 again, by the merest accident, did they miss the 
 travellers, as they stood upon the path. 
 
 Now, it might bo supposed that the faggots 
 were being launched all along the ridge of the 
 hill ; and that, go which way they might, our 
 party would still be exposed to the danger. Not 
 80. The bundles were all rojled down at one 
 particular place — where the slope was most favour- 
 able for this purpose — but it was the zigzag path, 
 which every now and then obliqued across the line 
 of the wood-avalanche, that had thus repeatedly 
 placed them in peril. 
 
 As they had yet to "quarter" the declivity several 
 ^imes before they could reach the summit, they were 
 
166 BEUIN. 
 
 more careful about approacliing the line of descent , 
 and whenever they drew near it, they put their 
 ponies and, mules to as good a speed as they could 
 take out of them. 
 
 Though all four succeeded in reaching the sumuiit 
 in safety, it did not hinder Pouchskin from pouring 
 out his vial of wrath on the heads of the offending 
 woodcutters ; and if they could have only under- 
 stood his Russian, they would have heard them- 
 selves called by a good many hard names, and 
 threatened with a second pursuit of Moscow. 
 " Frog-eating Frenchmen ! " was the very mildest 
 title which the ex-guardsman bestowed upon 
 them ; but as his Eussian was not translated, of 
 course the phrase fell harmless — else it would have 
 undoubtedly been retaliated by a taunt about 
 " tallow." 
 
 The " izzard-hunter " swore at them to more 
 purpose; for he, too, having undergone equal 
 risk with the rest of the party, had equally good 
 reasons for being angry ; and giving utterance to 
 a long string of execrations with all the volubility 
 of a Bearnais, he further threatened them with 
 the terrors of the law. 
 
 As the woodcutters, slightly stupefied by thia 
 
▲ MZETI>-a WITH MULETEEnS. 157 
 
 unexpected attack, submitted with tolerable grace, 
 aod said nothing in reply, tlie izzard-hunter at 
 length cooled down, and the party proceeded on 
 their way ; Pouehskin, as he rode off, shaking his 
 clenched fist at the staring logchoppers, and 
 hissing out in angry aspirate another fiussian 
 shibboleth, which neither could nor should be 
 translated. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A MEETiyO AVITII MULETEEBB. 
 
 A LITTLE beyond the scene of their encounter 
 with the woodcutters, the path entered among 
 the gorges of the mountains, and the level plains 
 of France were for a time lost to their yiew. The 
 route they were following was a mere bridle-track, 
 quite impracticable for carriages, but leading to 
 one of the " ports " already mentioned, by which 
 they could pass through to the Spanish side. 
 Through this port a considerable trafllc is carried 
 
168 BEUIN". 
 
 on between the two countries — most of the carry- 
 ing being done by Spanish muleteers, who cross 
 the mountains conducting large trains of mules — 
 all, except those upon which they themselves ride, 
 laden with packs and bales of merchandise. 
 
 That such a traffic was carried over this route, 
 our Russian travellers needed no other evidence 
 than what came under their own eyes ; for shortly 
 after, on rounding a point of rock, they saw before 
 them a large drove of mules, gaily caparisoned with 
 red cloth and stamped leather, and each carrying 
 its pack. The gang had halted on a platform of 
 no great breadth ; and the drivers — about a dozen 
 men in all — were seen seated upon the rocks, a 
 little way in advance of the animals. Each wore a 
 capacious cloak of brown cloth — a favourite colour 
 among the Pyrenean Spaniards; and what with 
 their swarthy complexions, bearded lips, and wild 
 attire, it would have been pardonable enough to 
 iiave mistaken them for a baud of brigands, or, at 
 all events, a party of contrahandistas. 
 
 They were neither one nor the other, however ; 
 but honest Spanish muleteers, on their way to a 
 Prcnch market, with commodities produced on the 
 southern side of the mountains. 
 
▲ MEETING WirU MULETEEBS. 1C9 
 
 A» our travellers came up, they were in the act 
 of discussiug a luuchcou, which consisted simply 
 of black bread, tough goat's-milk cheese, and thin 
 Malaga wine — the last carried in a skin bag, out 
 of which each individual drank in his turn, simply 
 holding up the bag and pouring the wine by a 
 email jet down his throat. 
 
 They were good-humoured fellowti, and invited 
 our travellers to taste their wine ; which invitation 
 it woufd have been ill-mannered to refuse. Ivan 
 aad Alexis emptied some out into their silver cups 
 — which they carried slung conveniently to their 
 beits ; but Pouchskin not having his can so 
 ready, essayed to drink the wine after the fashion 
 of the muleteers. But the goat-skin bag, clumsily 
 manipulated in the hands of the old guardsman, 
 instead of sending the stream into his mouth, 
 jetted it all over Lis face and into his eyes, blind- 
 ing and half-choking him ! As he stood in his 
 Btultified attitude, wine-skin in hand, the precious 
 fluid running down his nose, and dripping from the 
 tips of his grand mustachios, he presented a pic- 
 ture that caused the muleteers to laugh till the 
 tvars ran down their chceka ; shouting out their 
 bravoa and other exclamations, as if they wero 
 
IGO BEUIX. 
 
 applauding some exquisite piece of performance in 
 a theatre. 
 
 Pouchskin took it all in good part, and the mule- 
 teers pressed hiin to try again ; but, not caring 
 to expose himself to a fresh burst of ridicule, the 
 old grenadier borrowed the cup of one of his young 
 masters ; and by the help of this managed mat- 
 ters a little more to his mind. As the wine 
 tasted good to the old soldier's palate, and as the 
 hospitable muleteers invited him to drink as much 
 as he pleased, it was not until the goat-skin bag 
 exhibited symptoms of collapse, that he returned 
 it to its owners. 
 
 Perhaps had Pouchskin not indulged so freely 
 in the seducing Malaga tipple, he might have 
 avoided a very perilous adventure which befell him 
 almost on the instant, and which we shall no\< 
 relate. 
 
 Our travellers, after exchangiig some furthercivi- 
 lities with the muleteers, had once more mounted, 
 and were about proceeding on their way. Pouch- 
 skin, riding his great French jennet, had started 
 in the advance. Just in front of him, however, 
 the pack mules were standing in a cluster — not 
 only blocking up the path, but barring the way ou 
 
A MEETING ^YITU MILETEER3. IGl 
 
 botlj aides — so that to get bcyoiul tlicm it would 
 be necessary to passtlirough their midst. The ani- 
 mals all seemed tranquil enough — some picking at 
 the bushes that were within their reacli, but most of 
 them standing perfectly still, occasionally shaking 
 their long ears, or changing one leg to throw the 
 weight upon another. Poudiskin saw that it was 
 necessary to pass among them ; and, probably, had 
 he squeezed quietly through, they might have re- 
 mained still, and taken no notice of him. But, 
 elated with the wine he had drunk, the ex-grena- 
 dier, instead of following this moderate course, 
 drove bis spurs into his great French hybrid, and 
 with a loud charging yell — such as might have 
 issued from the throat of a Cossack — he dashed 
 richt into the midst of the drove. 
 
 Whether it was because the animal he bestrode 
 was French, or whether something in Pouchskin's 
 voice had sounded ill in their car.s, it is not possi- 
 ble to say, but all, at once the whole Spanish mulada 
 was perceived to bo in motion — each individual 
 mule rushing towards Pouchskin with pricked 
 car.% open mouth, and tail elevated in the air! 
 It was too late for him to hear th(» cry of tlio 
 izzard hunter, " prcnez-garde !'^ or the .synonym, 
 
162 BRUIN. 
 
 "guarda te!" of the muleteers. He may have heard 
 both these cautionary exclamations, but they 
 reached him too late to be of any service to him : 
 for before he could have counted six, at least twice 
 that r umber of mules had closed round him, and 
 j -with a simultaneous scream commenced snapping 
 and biting at both him and his French roadster with 
 all the fury of famished wolves ! In vain did the 
 stalwart jennet defend itself with its shod lioofs, iu 
 vain did its rider lay round him witli his whip : for 
 not only did the Spanish mules assail him with 
 their teeth, but, turning tail as well, they sent their 
 heels whistling around his head, and now and theu 
 thumping against his legs, until his leather boots 
 and breeches cracked under their kicks ! 
 
 Of course the muleteers, on perceiving Pouch- 
 skin's dilemma, had rushed instantaneously to the 
 rescue ; and with loud cries and cracking of their 
 wliips — as muleteers alone can crack them — were 
 endeavouring to beat oft' the assailants. But, v.ith 
 all their exertions, backed by their authority over 
 the animals, Pouchskin might have fared badly 
 enough, had not an opportunity offered for extri- 
 cating himself. His animal, fleeing from tlio per- 
 secution of its Spanish enoinies, had rushed in 
 
A MFFTIKO TVITII illl.I.TEERS. 1G3 
 
 among some boulders of rock. Thither it was 
 hotlv pursued ; and Pouchskin would again have 
 been overtaken, had he not made a very skilful and 
 citensive leap out of the saddle, and landed him- 
 self on a ledge of rock. From this he was able to 
 clamber still higher, until he had reached a point 
 that entirely cleared him of the danger. 
 
 The French jennet, however, had still to sustain the 
 attack of the infuriated mules ; but, now that it was 
 relieved from the encumbrance of its heavy rider, it 
 gained fresh confidence in its long legs ; and making 
 a dash through the midst of the mitlaJa, it struck 
 off up the mountain-path, and galloped clear out of 
 eight. The mules, encumbered with their packs, 
 did not show any inclination to follow, and the 
 drama wa.s thus brought to a termination. 
 
 The woe-begone look of the old guardsman, as 
 he stood perched upon the high pinnacle of rock, 
 was again too much for the muleteers ; and one and 
 all of them gave utterance to fresh peals of laughter. 
 His young masters were too much concerned 
 about their faithful Pouchskin to give way to 
 mirth ; but on ascertaining that ho had only re- 
 ceived a few insignificant bruises, — thanks to tho 
 Spanish mules not being shod, — they, too, were sqtj 
 M 2 
 
161 BRUiy. 
 
 much disposed to have a laugh at his expense. 
 Alexis was of opinion that their follower had made 
 rather free with the wine-skin ; and therefore re- 
 garded the chastisement rather in the light of a 
 just retribution. 
 
 It cost the izzard hunter a chase before Pouch- 
 skin's runaway could be recovered ; but the cap- 
 ture of the jennet was at length effected; and, all 
 things being set to-rights, a parting salute was 
 once more exchanged with the muleteers, and th« 
 travellers proceeded on their waj. 
 
THE PrBENEAS BEAB3. 166 
 
 CUAPTEU XXII. 
 
 THE PTREKEAN BEARS. 
 
 It was well they had the izzard hunter for a guide, 
 for without him they might have searched a long 
 time without finding a bear. These animals, 
 although plenteous enough in the Pyrenees some 
 half-century ago, are now only to be met with in 
 the most remote and solitary places. Such forest- 
 tracts, as lie well into the interior gorges of the 
 mountains, and where the lumberer's axe never 
 sounds in his cars, are the winter haunts of the 
 Pyrenean bear ; while in summer he roams to a 
 higher elevation — along the lower edge of the snow- 
 fields and glaciers, where he finds the roots and 
 bulbs of many Alpine plants, and even lichens, 
 congenial to his taste. He sometimes steals into 
 the lower valleys, where these arc but sparsely 
 cultivated ; and gathers a meal of young maize, or 
 potatoes, where such are grown. Of truffles he is 
 as fond as a Parisian sybarite, — scenting them with 
 
166 BEUipr. 
 
 a keenness far excelling tliat of the regular truffle 
 dog, and " rooting " them out from under the shade 
 of the great oak trees, where these rare delicacies 
 are inexplicably produced. 
 
 Like his near congener, the brown bear, he is 
 frugivorous ; and, like most other members of their 
 common family, he possesses a sweet tooth, and 
 will rob bees of their honey whenever he can find 
 a hive. He is carnivorous at times, and not un- 
 frequently makes havoc among the flocks that in 
 summer are fed far up on the declivities of the 
 mountains ; but it has been observed by the shep- 
 herds, that only odd individuals are given to this 
 sanguinary practice, and, as a general rule, the bear 
 will not molest their sheep. On tliis account, a 
 belief exists among the mountaineers that tliere are 
 two kinds of bears in the Pyrenees ; one, an eater 
 of fruits, roots, and larvce, — the other, of more 
 carnivorous habits, that eats flesli, and preys upon 
 such animals as he can catch. Tlie latter they 
 allege to be larger, of more fierce disposition, and 
 when assailed, caring not to avoid an encounter with 
 man. The facts may be true, but the deduction erro- 
 neous. The izzard hunter's opiuion was that the 
 Pyrenean bears were uU of one species ; and that, 
 
THE PVEEXEAX BEAIIS. 167 
 
 if there were two kinds, one \va3 a younger and 
 more UDSopbisticatcd sort, the other a bear whom 
 greater age has rendered more savage in disposition. 
 The same remark will apply tc the Pyrenean bear 
 that is true of the ursus arctos, — viz., having once 
 eaten flesh, he acquires a taste for it ; and to 
 gratify this, of course the fiercest passions of his 
 nature are called into play. Hunger may have 
 driven him to his first meal of flesh meat ; and after- 
 wards he seeks it from choice. 
 
 The izzard hunter's father remembered when 
 bears were common enough in the lower valleys ; 
 and then not only did the flocks of sheep and goats 
 sufler severely, but the larger kinds of cattle were 
 often dragged down by the ravenous brutes — even 
 men lost their lives iu encounters with them ! In 
 modem times, such occurrences were rare, as the 
 bears kept high up the mountains, where cattle were 
 never taken, and where men went very seldom. The 
 hunter stated, that the bears were much sought after 
 by hunters like himself, as their skins were greatly 
 prized, and fetched a good price ; that the young 
 bears were also very valuable, and to capture a den 
 of cubs was catcemed a bit of rare good luck : since 
 these were brought up to be used iu the sports of 
 
168 BEUIN. 
 
 bear-baitiug and bear- dancing, spectacles greatly 
 relished iu the frontier towns of France. 
 
 lie knew of uo particular mode for taking bears. 
 Their chase was too precarious to make it worth 
 while ; and they were only encountered acci- 
 dentally by the izzard hunters, when iu pursuit of 
 their own regular game. Then tlicy were killed 
 by being shot, if old ones; and if young, tiiey 
 captured them by the aid of their dogs. 
 
 " So scarce are they," added tlie hunter, " that 
 I have killed only three this whole season ; but I 
 know where there's a fourth — a fine fellow too ; 
 and if you feel inclined " 
 
 The young Hussians understood the hint. 
 Money is all-powerful everywhere ; and a gold 
 coin will conduct to the den of a ryreneau bear, 
 where the keenest-scented hound or the sharpest- 
 sighted hunter would fail to find it. In an instant 
 almost, the bargain was made. Ten dollars for 
 the haunt of the bear ! 
 
 The P/c du Midi d'Ossatt was now in sight; 
 and, leaving the beaten path that passed near its 
 base, our hunters turned ofi' up a lateral ravine. 
 The sides and bottom of this ravine were covered 
 with a stunted growth of pine-trees ; but as they 
 
THE PTKEKEAy BEAII8. 1G9 
 
 advanced furtlier into it, the trees assumed greater 
 dimensions — until at length tliey were riding 
 through a tall and stately forest. It was, to all 
 appearance, as wild and primitive as if it had been 
 on the banks of the Amazon or amid the Cordillpras 
 of the Andes. Neither track nor trail was seen — 
 only the paths made- by wild beasts, or such small 
 rodent animals as had their home there. 
 
 The izzard hunter said that he had killed lynxes 
 in this forest ; and at niglit he would not care to 
 be alone in it, as it was a favourite haunt of the 
 black wolves. AVith such company, however, he 
 had no fear: as they could kindle fires and keep 
 the wolves at bay. 
 
 The neighbourhood, in which he expected to find 
 the bear, was more than two miles from the place 
 wiiere they had entered the forest. He knew the 
 exact spot where the animal was at that moment 
 lying — that is, he knew its cave. He had seen it 
 only a few dnys before going into this cave ; but 
 as he had no dogs with him, and no means of 
 getting the bear out, he had only marked the 
 place, intending to return, with a comrade to help 
 him. Some business had kept him at P^aux Bonnes, 
 till the arrival of the strangers ; and learning their 
 
170 HE LIN. 
 
 intentions, lie had reserved the prize for them. He 
 had now brought his dogs — two great creatures 
 thej were, evidently of lupine descent — and with 
 these Bruin might be baited till he should come 
 forth from his cave. But that plan was only to bo 
 tried as a last resource. The better way would be 
 to wait till the bear started out on his midnight 
 ramble, — a thing he would be sure to do, — then 
 close up the mouth of the cave, and lie in ambush 
 for his return. He would " not come home till 
 morning," said the izzard hunter ; and they would 
 have light to take aim, and fire at him from their 
 different stations. 
 
 It seemed a feasible plan, and as our adventurers 
 now placed themselves in the hands of the native 
 hunter, it was decided they should halt where they 
 •were, kindle a fire, and make themselves as com- 
 fortable as they could, until the hour when Bruin 
 might be expected to go out upon his midnight 
 prowl. 
 
 A roaring fire was kindled ; and Pouchskin'a 
 capacious haversack being turned inside out, all 
 four were soon enjoying their dinner-supper with 
 that zest well known to those who have ridden 
 twenty miles up a steep mountaiu>road. 
 
TQS IZZiuBD nUKTEU. 171 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE IZZAED HUXTEE. 
 
 They passed the time pleasautly enough, listening 
 to the stories of the izzard hunter, who related to 
 them much of the lore current among the peasantry 
 of the mountains — tales of the chase, and of the 
 contraband trade carried on between Spain and 
 France, besides many anecdotes about the Penin- 
 sular war, when the French and English armies 
 were campaigning in the Pyrenees. In this con- 
 versation Pouchskiu took part : for nothing was of 
 greater interest to the old soldier than souvenirs of 
 those grand times, when Pouchskin entered Paris. 
 The conversation of the izzard hunter related 
 chiefly to his own calling, and upon this theme he 
 was enthusiastic. He told them of all the curious 
 habits of the izzard ; and among others that of its 
 using its hooked horns to let itself down from the 
 cliffs — a fancy which is equally in vogue among the 
 chamois hunters of the Alps, but which Alexis did 
 
172 BBUIN. 
 
 not believe, although he did not say so — not wish- 
 ing to throw a doubt on the veracity of their guide. 
 The latter, however, when closely questioned upon 
 the point, admitted that he had never himself been 
 an eye-witness of this little bit of goat gymnastics; 
 he had only heard of it from other hunters, who 
 said they had seen it ; and similar, no doubt, would 
 be the answer of every one who spoke the truth 
 about this alleged habit of the chamois. The fact 
 is, that this active creature needs no help from its 
 horns. Its hoofs are sufficient to carry it along 
 the very narrowest ledges ; and the immense leaps 
 it can take either upward or downward, can be 
 compared to nothing but the flight of some crea- 
 ture furnished with wings. Its hoof, too, is sure, 
 as its eye is unerring. The chamois never slips 
 upon the smoothest rocks — any more than would a 
 squirrel upon the branch of a tree. 
 
 Our travellers questioned the izzard hunter 
 about the proGta of his calling. They were sur- 
 prised to find that the emolument was so trifling. 
 Por the carcass of an izzard he received only ten 
 francs ; and for the skins two or three more ! The 
 flesh or venison was chiefly purchased by the land- 
 lords of the hotels — of which there are hundreds at 
 
THE IZZABD HUKTER. 173 
 
 the different watering-places on tlie French side of 
 the Pyrenees. The visitors were fond of izznrd, 
 and called for it at the table. Perhaps they did 
 not relish it so much as they pretended to do ; but 
 coming from great cities, and places where they 
 never saw a chamois, they wished to be able to say 
 they had eaten of its flesh. In this conjecture the 
 izzard hunter was, perhaps, not far out. A con- 
 siderable quantity of game of otiicr kinds is 
 masticated from a like motive. 
 
 It was suggested by Ivan, that, with such a de- 
 mand for the flesh, the izzard siiould fetcli a belter 
 price. Ten francs was nothing? 
 
 " Ah!" replied the hunter with a sigh, " that 
 is easily explained, monsieur ! The hotel-keepers 
 are too cunning, both for us and their guests. If 
 we were to charge more, they would not take it off 
 our hinds." 
 
 " But they would bo under the necessity of 
 having it, since their guests call for it." 
 
 " So they do ; and if there were no goats, our 
 izxard-venison would sell at a higher price." 
 
 " How?" demanded Ivan, puzzled to make out 
 the connection between goats and izzard-venison. 
 
 " Ooats and i7,zards arc too much alike, moD- 
 
174 BRriJT. 
 
 sicur — that is, after being skinned and cut up. 
 The hotel-keeper knows this, and often makes 
 '"IVanny' do duty for izzard. IMany a hotel traveller 
 at Eaux Bonnes may be heard praising our izzard's 
 flesh, when it is only a quarter of young kid he's 
 been dining upon. Ha! ha! ha!" 
 
 A-nd the hunter laughed at the cheat — though 
 he well knew that its practice seriously aflfected 
 the income of his own calling. 
 
 But, indeed, if the truth had been told, the man 
 followed the chase far less from a belief in its being 
 a remunerative profession, than from an innate love 
 for the hunter's life. So enthusiastic was he upon 
 the theme, that it was easy to see he would not 
 have exchanged his calling for any other — even 
 had the change promised him a fortune ! It 
 is so with professional hunters in all parts of the 
 world, who submit to hardships, aud often the 
 greatest privations, for that still sweeter privilege 
 of roaming the woods and wilds at will, and 
 being free from the cares and trammels that too 
 often attach themselves to social life. 
 
 Conversing on such topics, the party sat around 
 the bivouac fire until after sunset, when their guide 
 admonished them that they would do well to take 
 
 t 
 
TUE IZZARD IIUXTEB. 175 
 
 a few hours of sleep. There was no necessity for' 
 going after the bear until a very late hour — that 
 is, until near morning — for then the beast would 
 bo most likely to be abroad. If they went too 
 soon, and found him still in his cave, it was not so 
 certain that even the dogs could prevail on him to 
 turn out. It might be a large cavern. Ho 
 might give battle to the dogs inside ; and big as 
 they were, they would be worsted in an encounter 
 of that sort : since a single blow from the paw of a 
 bear is sufficient to silence the noisiest individual of 
 the canine kind. The dogs — as the hunter again 
 repeated — should only be used as a last resource. 
 The other plan promised better ; as the bear, once 
 shut out of his cave, would bo corftpclled to take to 
 the woods. The dogs could then follow him up by 
 the fresh scent ; and unless he should succeed in 
 finding some otlicr cavern in which to ensconce 
 himself, they might count upon coming up with 
 liini. It was not uncommon for the Pyrenean 
 bear, when pursued by dogs and men, to take to a 
 tree ; and this would bo all that their hearts could 
 desire : since in a tree the bear would be easily 
 reached by the bullets of their guns. Besides, they 
 might have a chance, when ho returned to bis 
 
176 BEUIN. 
 
 closed cave, to shoot bim down at once; and tbat 
 would end the matter without further trouble. 
 
 It was not necessary to go to the cave until 
 near morning — just early enough to give them 
 time to close up the entrance, and set themselves 
 in ambush before day broke. On this account the 
 guide recommended them to take some sleep. lie 
 would answer for it that they should be waked up 
 in time. 
 
 This advice was cheerfully accepted and followed. 
 Even Pouchskin, required repose, after the rough 
 handling he liad received ct the mouths of the 
 mules ; and he was now quite as ready as his 
 young masters to wrap himself up in his ample 
 grenadier great-coat, and surrender himself into 
 the arras of the Pyrenean Morpheus, 
 
THE AMBUSCADE. 177 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 TnuE to his promise, tlie izzard-liunter awoko 
 them about an liour before dawn ; and having 
 paddled and bridled their animals, they mounted 
 and rode off. Among the great tree trunks it 
 was very dark ; but the hunter knew the ground ; 
 and, after groping along for half a mile farther, 
 and somewhat slowly, they arrived at the base of 
 a cliff. Keeping along this for some distance 
 farther, they came at length to the place of tbfcir 
 destination — the mouth of the cave. Even through 
 the gloom, they could sec a darker spot upon tlio 
 face of the rock, which indicated the entrance. 
 It was of no great size— about large enough to 
 admit the body of a man in a stooping attitude — 
 but the hunter was under the impression that it 
 widened inward, and led to a grand cavern. lie 
 drew his inference, not from having ever explored 
 this particular cave, but from knowing that there 
 ir 
 
178 BBriN. 
 
 were mauj others of a similar kind in tbat part of 
 the mountains, where the limestone formation 
 was favourable to such cavities. Had it been only 
 a hole just big enough for the den of a bear, he 
 would have acted very differently — then there 
 would have been a hope of drawing Bruin out 
 with the dogs ; but if the place was an actual 
 cavern, where the beast might range freely about, 
 ^he hunter knew there would be no chance of 
 getting him out. Their presence outside once 
 suspected, the bear might remain for days within 
 his secure fortress ; and a siege would have to be 
 laid, which would be a tedious affair, and might 
 prove fruitless in the end. 
 
 Tor this reason, great caution had been ob- 
 served as they drew near the cave. They feared 
 that they might come upon the bear, by chance 
 wandering about in the woods, — that he miglit 
 hear them, and, taking the alarm, scamper back to 
 his cavern. 
 
 Acting under this apprehension, they had left 
 their animals a good way off — having tied theui to 
 the trees — and had approached the cave on foot, 
 without making the slightest noise, and talking to 
 each other only in whispers. 
 
TUE AMBUSCADE. 179 
 
 The izzard-hunter now proceeded to put his 
 designs into execution. While tlie others had 
 been sleeping, he had prepared a large torch, out 
 of dry splinters of the stone pine ; and now quietly 
 igniting this, set it in the ground near the base of 
 the cliff. Tlie moment the bright flame illuminated 
 the entrance to the cave, all stood with their guns 
 iu hand ready to fire. They were not sure that 
 Bruin had gone out at all. He might still be a-bed. 
 If so, the light of the torch might wake him up 
 and tempt him forth ; therefore it was best to be 
 prepared for such a contingency. 
 
 The izzard-huutcr now slipped his dogs, which 
 up to this time be had held securely in the leash. 
 As soon as they were free, the well-trained animals, 
 iinowing what was expected of them, rushed right 
 into the cave. 
 
 For some seconds the dogs kept up a quick 
 continuous yelping, and their excited manner told 
 that they at least scented a bear : but the ques- 
 tion to be determined was, whether the brute was 
 still in his den. 
 
 The hunter had surniidcd correctly. Tiie aper- 
 ture conducted to a real cavern, and a very large 
 one — as could bo told by the distance at which the 
 Jf 2 
 
180 BRUiy. 
 
 yelping of the dogs was heard. Out of such a 
 place it would have been hopeless to have thouglit 
 of starting a bear — unless it should please Bruin 
 to make a voluntary exit. It was, therefore, with 
 no little anxiety that the hunters listened to the 
 'tongue" of the dogs, as it echoed within the 
 cavernous hollow. 
 
 They all knew that if the bear should prove to 
 be inside, the dogs would soon announce the fact 
 by their barking, and other fierce sounds charac- 
 teristic of canine strife. 
 
 They were not kept long in suspense ; for, after 
 an interval of less than a minute, both dogs came 
 running out, with that air of disappointment that 
 told of their having made an idle exploration. 
 
 Their excited movements, however, proved that 
 the scent of the bear was fresh — that he had only 
 recently forsaken his den — for the dogs had been 
 heard scratclnng among the sticks and grass that 
 composed it ; but this only showed clearly that his 
 habitation was untenanted, and J5ruiu was "not at 
 home." 
 
 This was just what the izzard-hunter desired ; 
 and all of them laying aside their guns, proceeded 
 to close up the entrance. This was an easy task. 
 
TUE AMBUSCADE. 181 
 
 Loose boulders lay around, and with these a battery 
 was soon built across the mouth of the cavern, 
 through which no animal could possibly have made 
 an entrance. 
 
 The hunters now breathed freely. They felt 
 certain they bad cut off the retreat of the bear ; 
 and unless he should suspect something wrong, 
 and fail to return to his cave, they would be pretty 
 sure of having a shot at him. 
 
 Nothing remained but to place themselves in 
 ambush, and wait for his coming. How to con- 
 ceal themselves became the next consideration. 
 It was a question, too, of some importance. 
 They knew not which way the bear might come. 
 Ho might see them while ai)proathing, and trot 
 off again before a shot could be Grcd? To prevent 
 this some extraordinary measure must be adopted. 
 
 A plan soon presented itself to the practised 
 hunter of the Pyrenees. Directly in front of the 
 cliff grew several largo trees. Tlicy were of the 
 pinus sylvestris, and thickly covered with bunches 
 of long needle-shaped leaves. H they should climb 
 into these trees, the leaves and branches would suffi- 
 ciently conceal them, and the bear would hardly 
 suspect their presence in such a situation. 
 
182 BEUIX. 
 
 The suggestion of their guide was at once acted 
 upon. Ivan and Pouchskin got into one tree, while 
 the izzard-hunter and Alexis chose another; and 
 all having secured places where they could com- 
 mand a view of the walled-up entrance without 
 being themselves seen, they waited for dnyliglit 
 and the coming back of the bear. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 A BEAR IN A BIKD'S NEST. 
 
 Foe the light they had not long to wait. The day 
 broke almost as soon as they had got well settled 
 in their places ; but the bear was likely to del:.y 
 them a little longer — though how long it was im- 
 possible to guess, since his return to his sleeping 
 quarters might depend on many contingencies. 
 Formerly the Pyrenoan bears — so tlio izzard- 
 hunter said — were often met with ranging about 
 in the day-time ; but that was when they were 
 more numerous, and less hunted. Now that they 
 
A BEAB IN* A Binu'3 XEST. 183 
 
 were scarce, and their skins so highly prized — 
 which, of course, led to their becoming scarcer 
 every day, and more shy too — they rarely ever left 
 their hiding-place except during the night, and 
 in this way they contrived to escape the vigilance 
 of the hunters. As to the one they were waiting 
 for, the hunter said he miglit return earlier or 
 later, according to whether he had been much 
 chased of late. 
 
 The exact time of his return, however, was soon 
 after ascertained, by the bear himself making hi* 
 appearance right under their noses. 
 
 All at once, and in the most unexpected 
 manner, the great quadruped came shuffling up to 
 the mouth of the cave. He was evidently moving 
 under some excitement, as if pursued, or alarmed 
 by something he had seen in the woods. It was 
 perhaps the sight of the horses, or else the scent 
 of the hunters themselves — on whose track he 
 appeared to have come. Whatever it was, the 
 party in the trees did not take time to consider, or 
 rather the bear did not give them time ; for, the 
 moment bo reached the entrance to his cave, and 
 aaiT that it was blocked up, he gave utterance to 
 a terrific scrcatc expressing disappointment, and 
 
184 BRuiy. 
 
 turning in bis tracks, bounded off, as rapidly as be 
 bad come up ! 
 
 The volley of four shots, fired from tbe trees, 
 caused some of bis fur to fly off ; and be was 
 seen to stagger, as if about to fall. The hunters 
 raised a shout of triumph, thinking they bad been 
 successful ; but their satisfaction was short-lived : 
 for, before the echoes of their voices died along 
 the cliff, the bear seemed once more to recover 
 bis equilibrium, and ran steadily on. 
 
 Once or twice he was seen to stop, and face 
 round to the trees — as if threatening to cbarge 
 towards them ; but again resigning tbe intention, 
 he increased bis speed, went off at a lumbering 
 gallop, and was soon lost to their sight. 
 
 The disappointed hunters rapidly descended 
 from their perch ; and letting loose tbe dogs, 
 started off on the trail. Somewhat to their sur- 
 prise, as well as gratification, it led near the 
 place where they bad left their animals ; and as 
 they came up to these, they bad proofs of the bear 
 having passed that way, by seeing all four, both 
 ponies and mules, dancing about, as if suddenly 
 smitten with madness. The ponies were " whigber- 
 ing," and the mules squealing, so that their owners 
 
A BEAR IX A bird's NEST. 185 
 
 had heard them lon^ before comius: in si^bt of 
 them. Fortunately the animals had been securely 
 fastened — else there was no knowing whither they 
 would have galloped, so panic-stricken did they 
 appear. 
 
 Our hunters believed it a fortunate circum- 
 stance that the bear bad gone that way ; for the 
 guide assured them that there was no telling 
 where he would now stop; and as the chaso 
 might carry them for miles through the moun- 
 tains, they would have been compelled to take to 
 their saddles before starting upon it. The direction 
 the bear had taken, therefore, was just the ono 
 most convenient for his pursuers. 
 
 Staying no longer than to untie their animals, 
 they once more mounted, and kept after the dogs, 
 whose yelping they could hear already some distance 
 in the advance. 
 
 As the izzard-hunter said, the Pyrenean bear, 
 like his Norwegian cousin, when started from his 
 lair, often scours the country to a great distance 
 before making halt— not unfrequently deserting 
 the ravine or mountain side, where he Iiabitually 
 dwells, and making for some other place, where ho 
 anticipates finding greater security. 
 
186 BBUIK. 
 
 In this -way he often puts his pursuers at fault 
 — by passing over rocky shingle, along ledges of 
 cliffs, or up precipitous slopes, ■where neither men 
 nor dogs can safely follow him. This was just 
 what they now had to fear; for the guide well 
 knew that the forest they were in was surrounded 
 on almost every side by rocky cliffs ; and if the 
 bear should get up these, and make to the bald 
 mountains above, they would stand a good chance 
 of losing him altofrether. 
 
 But one hope the hunter had. He had per- 
 ceived — as indeed they all had — that several of 
 their shots had hit the bear— and that he must be 
 severely wounded to have staggered as he had done. 
 Por this reason he miglit seek a hiding-place in 
 the forest, or perchance take to a tree. Cheered 
 by this hope, the pursuers pushed onward. 
 
 The conjecture proved to be a just one ; for 
 before they had gone half a railo farther, a con- 
 tinuous barking sounded on their cars, which they 
 knew to be that of the dogs. They knew, more- 
 over, by this sign, that the bear had done one of 
 three things — either taken to a tree, retreated into 
 a cave, or come to a stand in the open ground, and 
 was keeping the doga at bay. Of tlie three con. 
 
▲ BtAB IK A BIBD's KEST. 187 
 
 jecturcs, they desired that the first should prove 
 the correct one; and from the manner in which 
 the dogs were giving tongue, they had reason to 
 hope that it would. 
 
 In effect, BO it did; for, on getting a little 
 closer, the two dogs were seen bounding about 
 the roots of an enormous tree, at intervals spring- 
 ing up against its trunk, and barking at some 
 object that had taken refuge in the branches above. 
 
 Of course, this object could only be the bear ; and 
 under this belief, the pursuers approached tlie tree 
 — each holding his gun cocked and ready to fire. 
 
 When they had got quite up to the tree, and 
 stood under it, no bear was to be seen ! A largo 
 black mass was visible among the topmost 
 branches ; but this was not the body of a bear : 
 it was something altogether different. The tree 
 was one of gigantic size — the very largest they 
 had seen in the whole forest ; it was a pine, 
 of the species syhestris, with huge spreading 
 limbs, and branches thickly covered with fascicles 
 of long leaves. In many places the foliage was 
 dark and dense enough to have afforded conceal* 
 incnt to an animal of considerable size ; but not 
 one lo bulky as a bear ; and had there been 
 
188 BEUIN. 
 
 nothing else but the leaves and branches to con- 
 ceal him, a bear could not have found shelter in 
 that tree without being visible from below. And 
 yet a bear was actually in it — the very same bear 
 they were in pursuit of — though not a bit of his 
 body — not even the tip of his snout, was visible to 
 the eyes of the hunters ! 
 
 He was certainly there : for the dogs, who were 
 not trusting to their eyes, but to that in which 
 they placed far more confidence — their scent, — by 
 their movements and behaviour, showed their 
 positive belief that Bruin was in the tree. 
 
 Perhaps you will fancy that the pine was a 
 hollow one, and that the bear had crept inside. 
 Nothing of the kind : the tree was perfectly 
 sound — not even a knot-hole was visible cither 
 in its trunk or limbs. It was not in a cavity 
 that Bruin had been able to conceal himself 
 
 There was no mystery whatever about their not 
 seeing him : for as soon as the hunters got fixirly 
 under the tree, and looked up, they perceived, 
 amidst its topmost branches, the dark object 
 already mentioned ; and as the bear could bo 
 eeen nowhere else in the tree, this object ac- 
 counted for his being invisible. 
 
A BEAK 15 A LIRD's NEST. 189 
 
 Tou will be wonderiug what it was; and so 
 wondered our young hunters when they first raised 
 their eyes te it. It looked more like a stack of 
 faggots than aught else ; and, indeed, very good 
 fnggots would it have made : since it consisted of 
 a large mass of dry sticks and branches, resting in 
 an elevated fork of the tree, and matted together 
 into a solid mass. There were enough to have 
 made a load for an ordinary cart, and so densely 
 packed together, that only around the edges could 
 the sky be seen through them ; towards the centre, 
 and for a diameter as large as a millstone, the 
 mass appeared quite solid and black, not a ray of 
 light passing through the interwoven sticks. 
 
 "The nest of a lammer-gcyer ! " exclaimed the 
 izzard-hunter, the moment his eye glanced up to 
 it. " Just 80 ! — my dogs are right : the bear has 
 taken shelter in the nest of the birds ! " 
 
190 BBuiir. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 THE LAMMER-GEYEES. 
 
 This was evident to all. Brulu had climbed the 
 tree, and was now snugly ensconced in the great 
 nest of the vulture-eagles, though not a hair of his 
 shaggy hide could be visible from below. 
 
 The hunters had no doubt about his being there. 
 The chasseur was too confident in the instinct of 
 his well-traiued dogs to doubt them for a moment, 
 and his companions had no reason to question a 
 fact so very probable. Had there been any doubt, 
 it would soon have been set aside, by an incident 
 tliat occurred the nioinent after their arrival under 
 the tree. As they stood looking upward, two great 
 birds were seen upon the wing, rapidly swooping 
 downward from on high. They were lammcr- 
 gei/crs, and evidently the owners of the invaded nest. 
 That the intruder was not welcome there, became 
 apparent in the next moment ; for both the birds 
 were seen shooting in quick curves around the top 
 
The Intruder. 
 
 P. 191. 
 
THE L.VMMLU-ULYEUS. 191 
 
 braucbes of tlio tree, flapping their wings over 
 the nest, and screaming with all the concentrated 
 rage of creatures in the act of being plundered. 
 "Whether Bruin, in addition to his unwelcome pre- 
 sence, had also committed burglary, and robbed the 
 eagles of their eggs or young, could not be told. 
 If he had done so, Tie could not have received 
 greater objurgation from the infuriated birds, that 
 continued their noisy demonstrations, until a shot 
 fired from below admonished them of the presence 
 of that biped enemy far more dreaded than the 
 bear. Then did they only widen the circle of 
 thfir flight, still continuing to swoop down over 
 the nest at intervals, and uttering their mingled 
 cries of rage and lamentation. 
 
 The shot was from the gun of the izzard-huntcr ; 
 but it was not till after ho had been some time 
 upon the ground that he had fired it. All four 
 had previously dismounted and fastened their 
 animals to the surrounding trees. They knew 
 that the bear was in the nest ; but although his 
 retreat was now cut off, it was sti!! not so certain 
 that they should succeed in making a capture. Had 
 the bear taken refuge in a fork, or even amon^ 
 thick branches, where their bullets mi;;ht havo 
 
192 BuciN. 
 
 readied him, it would have been a very dilTerent 
 thing. They might then have brought him down 
 at their pleasure, for if killed, or severely wounded, 
 he must have fallen to the ground ; but now — ah, 
 now ! what was to be done ? The broad platform 
 of the nest not only gave him a surface on which 
 he could recline at his ease, but its thick mass 
 formed a rampart through which not even a bullet 
 would be likely to penetrate to his body ! 
 
 How were they to reach him with their bullets ? 
 That was the next question that came under con- 
 sideration. The odd shot had been fired as an 
 experiment. It was fired in the hope that it 
 might startle the bear, and cause him to shift his 
 quarters — if only a little — so that some part of 
 his body might be exposed ; and while the izzard- 
 huntcr was discharging his piece, the others had 
 stood watching for a chance. None was given to 
 them, however. The bullet was heard striking the 
 sticks, and caused the dust to puff out, but it pro- 
 duced no further effect — not a move was made by 
 the occupant of that elevated eyrie. 
 
 Two or three more shots were fired with like 
 effect ; and the fusil of Pouchakin was next called 
 into requisition, and brought to bear upon tlie 
 
THE LAMMEU-OEVEKS. 193 
 
 nest. Tho large bullet crashed up among tho 
 dry sticks, scattering the fragments on all sides, 
 and raising a cloud of dust that enveloped the 
 whole top of the tree. But not a sign came from 
 Bruin, to tell that it had disturbed him ; not even 
 a growl, to reward Pouchskin for the expenditure 
 of his powder and lead. It was evident that thii 
 mode of proceeding could be of no service ; and 
 the firing was at once discontinued — in order that 
 thev mi^ht take into consideration some otlicr 
 plan of attack. 
 
 At first there appeared to be no way by wliich 
 the bear might be ousted from his secure quarters. 
 They might firo away until they should empty 
 both their powder-horns and pouches, and all to 
 no purpose. They might just as well fire their 
 shots into the air. So far as their bullets were 
 concerned, the bear might bid them defiance — a 
 cannon shot alone could have gone through his 
 strong rampart of sticks. 
 
 AVliat could they do to get at him? To climb 
 up and assail him where he lay was aoi to be 
 thought of — even could they have climbed into 
 the nest. On the firm ground, none of them 
 would have liked to risk an encouute? with tho 
 o 
 
^nemy, much less upon such insecure footing as a 
 xiest of rotten sticks. But they could not have 
 ^ot into the nest, however bent upon such a thing. 
 Its wide rim extended far beyond the supporting 
 branches ; and only a monkey, or the bear himself, 
 could have clambered over its edge. To a human 
 being, ascent to the nest would have been not only 
 difficult, but impossible ; and no doubt the instinct 
 of the eagles guided them to this while they were 
 constructing it. Not for a moment, then, did our 
 hunters think of climbing up to their eyrie. 
 
 "What, then, were they to do ? The only thing 
 they could think of was to cut down the tree. It 
 would be a great undertaking : for the trunk was 
 several feet in diameter ; and as they had only one 
 axe, and that not a very sharp one, it would be a 
 work of time. They might be days in foiling that 
 gigantic pine ; and even when down, the bear might 
 still escape from them — for it did not follow that 
 the fall of the tree would result in the consumma- 
 tion of his capture. It might swing over gradually 
 and easily, or, striking against others, let tho bear 
 down without doing him the slightest damage; 
 and in tho confusion consequent on its fall, ho 
 would have a good chance of getting off. 
 
FiniXa TUE ETRIE. 195 
 
 These considerations caused them to hesitate 
 about cutting do\vn the tree, and reflect whether 
 there might not be some easier and more effective 
 method for securing the skin of the bear. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIl. 
 
 riniKG THE ETCIE. 
 
 After beating their brains, for some time to no 
 purpose, an exclamation from the izzard-hunter 
 at length announced that some happy idea had 
 occurred to him. All eyed were at once turned 
 towards him ; while the voice of Ivan was quickly- 
 heard, interrogating him as to the object of his 
 exclamation. 
 
 " I've got a plan, young monsieur ! " replied tho 
 hunter, " by which I'll either force the bear to como 
 down, or roast him up yonder where he lies. Var- 
 bleu I I've got an excellent idea 1 " 
 
 "What is it? what is it?" eagerly inquired 
 o 2 
 
19G BEUIX. 
 
 Ivan ; though from what tlie izzard-hunter hsd 
 said, he already half comprehended the design. 
 
 " Patience, young monsieur ! in a minute you 
 shall see !" 
 
 All three novr gathered around the chasseur, and 
 ■watched his movements. 
 
 They saw him pour a quantity of gunpowder 
 into the palm of his hand ; and then tear a strip 
 of cotton rag from a large piece which he had drawn 
 out of his pouch. This he saturated with saliva 
 and then coated it over with the powder. He next 
 proceeded to rub both rag and powder together — 
 until, after a considerable friction between the 
 fxilms of his hands, the cotton became once more 
 dry, and was now thorouglily saturated with the 
 powder, and quite blackened with it. 
 
 The next proceeding on the part of the chasseur 
 was to procure a small quantity of dead moss, which 
 was easily obtained from the trunks of the sur- 
 rounding trees ; and this, mixed with a handful or 
 two of dry grass, he rolled wp into a sort of irre- 
 gular clew. 
 
 The man now felt in his pouch ; and, afler a 
 liltle fumbling there, brought forth a small box 
 that was seeu to coutaiu lucifcr-matches. Seem- 
 
riUINQ THE ETUIE. 197 
 
 inglj patisficd with their inspection, he returned 
 the box to its place, and then made known the ob- 
 ject for which all these preliminary manoeuvres had 
 been practised. Our young hunters had already 
 more than half divined it, and it only confirmed 
 their anticipations when the hunter declared his 
 intention to climb the tree and setjire to the nest. 
 It is needless to say that one and all of them 
 approved of the scheme, while they admired its 
 originality and cunning. Its boldness, too, did 
 not escape their admiration, for it was clearly 
 a feat of daring and danger. The bottom of the 
 nest might be reached easily enough ; for though a 
 tall tree, it was by no means a difficult one to 
 climb. There were branches all along its trunk 
 from bottom to top ; and to a Pyrcnean hunter, 
 w ho, when a boy, as ho told them, had played pigeon 
 vidette in one of the " crows' nests " they had seen, 
 the climbing of such a tree was nothing. It was 
 not in this that the danger lay, but in something 
 very different. It was in the contingency, that, 
 while up in the branches, and before ho could effect 
 his purpose, the bear might take a fancy to come 
 down. Should he do so, then, indeed, would the 
 life of the venturesome hunter be in deadly peril. 
 
198 BEUIN. 
 
 He made light of the matter, however, and, 
 warning the others to get their guns ready and stand 
 upon their guard, he sprang forward to the trunk, 
 and commenced "swarming " upward. 
 
 Almost as rapidly as a bear itself could have 
 ascended, the izzard-huuter glided up the tree, 
 swinging himself from branch to branch, and rest- 
 ing his naked feet — for he had thrown off his shoes 
 — on knots and other inequalities, where no branch 
 offered. In this way he at length got so close to 
 the nest, that he could without difficulty thrust his 
 hand into the bottom of it. 
 
 He was now seen drawing forth a number of the 
 dry sticks, and forming a cavity near the lower 
 part of the huge mass. He operated with great 
 silence and circumspection — taking all the care he 
 could not to make bis presence known to the bear, 
 nor in any way disturb whatever dreams or re- 
 flections Bruin might then be indulging in. 
 
 In a short time he had hollowed out a little 
 chamber among the sticks — just large enough for 
 his purpose, — and, taking the ball of dry grass out 
 of his pouch, he loosened it a little, and then placed 
 it within the cavity. 
 
 It was but the work of another miuute to light 
 
riniXO THE EYRIE. 199 
 
 a lucifor-matcb, and set fire to the long strips of 
 tinder rag that hung downwards from the grass. 
 
 This done, the izzard-hunter swung himself to 
 the next branch below ; and, even faster than he had 
 gone up, he came scrambling down the trunk. 
 
 Just as he reached the ground, the grass was 
 seen catching ; and amidst the blue smoke that 
 was oozing thickly out of the little chamber, and 
 slowly curling up around the edges of the nest, 
 a red blaze could be distinguished — accompanied 
 with that crackling noise that announces the 
 kindling of a fire. 
 
 The four hunters stood ready, watching the pro- 
 gress of the little flame— at the same time direct- 
 ing their glances around the rim of the nest. 
 
 They had not long to wait for the denouement. 
 The smoke had already caught the attention of 
 the bear ; and the snapping of the dry faggots, 
 as they came in contact witli the blazing grass, 
 had awakened him to a sense of his dangerous 
 situation. 
 
 Long before the blaze had mounted near him, 
 be was seen craning his neck over the edge of the 
 nest ; first on one side, then on another, and 
 evidently not liking what he saw. Once or twice 
 
200 BEUIN". 
 
 he came very near liaving a bullet sent at his head j 
 but his restlessness hindered them from getting a 
 good aim, and for the time he was left alone. 
 
 "Not for long, however: for lie did not mucH 
 longer remain upon his elevated perch. "Whether 
 it was the smoke tliat he was unable longer to 
 endure, or whether he knew that the conflagration, 
 was at hand, does not clearly appear ; but from hia 
 movements it was evident the nest was getting too 
 hot to hold him. 
 
 And no doubt it was too hot at that crisis. 
 Had he remained in it but two minutes longer, 
 an event would have occurred that would have 
 ruined everything. The bear would either have 
 been roasted to a cinder ; or, at all events, his skin 
 would have been singed, and, of course, completely 
 spoilt for the purpose for whicli it was required ! 
 
 Up to this moment that thought liad never 
 occurred to the young hunters ; and now tliat it 
 did occur, they stood watching the movements of 
 the bear witli feelings of keen apprehension. A 
 rfliout of joy was heard both from Alexis and Ivau 
 as the great (juadriiped was seen springing out 
 from tlie smoke, anil (.-liiti-hing to a thick branch tliat 
 traversed upward near the nest. Embracing tbt 
 
TUIINO THE ETUIE. 20J 
 
 bran«h with his paw8, he commenced descending 
 stern foremost along the limb ; but a more rapid 
 descent was in store for liim. Out of the four 
 bullets fired into his body, one at least must have 
 reached a mortal part ; for his fore arms were sect) 
 to relax their liold, his limbs slipped from the bark. 
 and his huge body came "bump" to tlie ground, 
 where it lay motionless as a log and just as lifeless. 
 
 Meanwhile the flames enveloped the nest, and in 
 five minutes more the whole mass was on fire, blaz- 
 ing upward like a beacon. The dry sticks snapped 
 and crackled — the pitchy branches of the pine 
 hissed and spurted — the red cinders shot out like 
 stars, and came showering down to the earth — 
 while high overhead could be heard the vengeful 
 cries of the vultures, as they saw the destruction 
 of their aerial habitation. 
 
 But the hunters took no heed of all this. Their 
 task was accomplished, or nearly so. It onl 
 remained to divest Bruin of his much-covet 
 f<kin ; and, having done this in a bkilful and prop 
 manner, they mounted their roadsters, and on 
 more took their route across the mountains. 
 
 On reaching the first village on the Spanish side, 
 they parted witli the expert izzard-huntcr and his 
 
202 BEUIN. 
 
 hired charge — having well remunerated him for hia 
 threefold service, each branch of which he had per- 
 formed to their entire satisfaction. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 SOUTH AMEEICAK BEAES. 
 
 OuE travellers passed southward to Madrid, where 
 they only remained long enough to witness that 
 exciting but not very gentle spectacle, a bull-fight. 
 Thence proceeding to Lisbon, they took passage 
 direct for Para, or " Gran Para," as it is called— a 
 thriving Brazilian settlement at the mouth of the 
 Amazon river, and destined at nc very distant day 
 to become a great cit}-. 
 
 The design of our hunters was to ascend the Ama- 
 zon, and reach, by ono of its numerous head waters, 
 the eastern slope of the Andes mountains — which 
 they knew to be the habitat of the " spectacled bear." 
 
 On arriving at Para, they were not only sur- 
 
SOUTH AMERICAN BEARS. 203 
 
 prised, but delighted, to find that the Amazon river 
 was actually navigated by steamboats ; and that, 
 instead of having to spend six mouths in ascending 
 to the upper part of this mighty river — as in the 
 olden time — they could now accomplish the journey 
 in less than a score of days ! These steamers are 
 the property of the Brazilian Government, that 
 owns the greater part of the Amazon valley, and 
 that has shown considerable enterprise in de- 
 veloping its resources — much more than any of 
 the Spano-American States, which possess the 
 regions lying upon the upper tributaries of the 
 Amazon. It is but fair to state, however, that the 
 Peruvians have also made an attempt to intro- 
 duce steam upon the Amazon river ; aud that they 
 have been unsuccessful, from causes over which 
 they could scarce be expected to have control. 
 The chief of these causes appears to have been the 
 dishonesty of certain American contractors, who 
 provided them with the steamers — three of them — 
 which, on being taken to the head of Btcani naviga- 
 tion on the Amazon, were found to be utterly worth- 
 less, and had to be laid up ! This bit of jobbery it 
 to be regretted the more, since its bad effects do 
 not alone concern the people of Peru, but the 
 
204l BEUIN. 
 
 whole civilized world : for there is not a country 
 on the globe that would not receive benefit by a 
 development of the resources of this mighty river. 
 
 Our young Russians had been under the belief, 
 as most people are, that the banks of the Ama- 
 zon were entirely without civilized settlements — 
 that the great river had scarcely been explored — 
 that only a few travellers had descended this 
 mighty stream ; and that altogether it was stilL as 
 much of a terra incognita as in the days of Orel- 
 lana. They found that these notions were quite 
 incorrect ; that not only is there the large town 
 of Para near the mouth of the Amaze::, but there 
 are other considerable settlements upon its banks, 
 at different distances from each other, all the way 
 up to Peru. Even upon some of its tributaries — as 
 the llio Negro and Madeira — there are villages 
 and plantations of some importance. Barra, on 
 the former stream, is of itself a town of 2,00C 
 inhabitants. 
 
 In that part of the Amazonian territory which lies 
 within the boundaries of Brazil, the settlements are, 
 of course, Brazilian — the settlers being a mixture 
 of Portuguese negroes and Christianised Indians. 
 The portion of the great valley higher up towards the 
 
SOCTn AMEBICAX BEAKS. 205 
 
 Cordilleras of the Andes, belongs to the Spanish- 
 American governments — chiefly to Peru. There 
 are also settlements of a missionary character, the 
 population of which consists almost entirely of 
 Indians, who have submitted tliemselves to the 
 rule of the Spanish priests. Years ago many of 
 these missionary settlements were in a flourishing 
 condition ; but at present tlioy are in a complete 
 state of decay. 
 
 Our young Eussians found, then, that the great 
 South American river was by no means unknown 
 or unexplored — though as yet no great observer 
 has given an account of it. The different travellers 
 who have descended the Amazon, and written 
 books about it, have all been men of slight capacity, 
 and lacking powers of scientific observation ; and 
 <)ne cannot help feeling regret, that Humboldt did 
 not clioose the Amazon, instead of the Orinoco, as 
 the medium of his valuable researches into the cos- 
 mography of South America. Such a grand suhjoct 
 was worthy of such a man. 
 
 In ascending the Amazon — which our party did 
 by the Brazilian steamer — they were fortunato 
 in finding on board a very intelligent travelling 
 companion ; who gave them much information of 
 
206 BEUIN. 
 
 the great valley and its resources. This man -waa 
 an old Portuguese trader, who had spent nearly a 
 lifetime in navigating not only the Amazon itself, 
 but many of its larger tributaries. His business 
 was to collect from the different Indian tribes the 
 indigenous products of the forest — or moniana, as it 
 is called — which stretches almost without interrup- 
 tion from the Andes to the Atlantic. In this 
 vast tropical forest there are many productions 
 that have found their way into the channels of 
 commerce ; and many others yet unknown or 
 unregarded. The principal articles obtained by 
 the traders are sarsaparilla, Peruvian bark, annatto, 
 and other dyes, vanilla, Brazil nuts, Tonka beans, 
 hammocks, palm fibre, and several other kinds 
 of spontaneous vegetable productions. Monkeys, 
 toucans, macaws, parrots, and other beautiful 
 birds, also enter into the list of Amazonian ex- 
 ports ; while the imports consist of such manufac- 
 tured articles as may tempt the cupidity of the 
 savage, or the weapons necessary to him either in 
 war or for the chase. 
 
 In this trade their travelling companion bad 
 spent thirty years of his life ; and being a man of 
 intelligence he had not only acquired a consider* 
 
SOUTH AMERICAN BEARS. 207 
 
 able fortune, but laid in a stock of geograpliical 
 knowledge, of which the young Eussians were not 
 slow to take advantage. In the natural history of 
 the moniana he was well versed ; and knew the 
 different animals and their habits from actual 
 observation— for which thirty years of adventure 
 bad given hira a splendid opportunity. It was a 
 rich store, and our travellers, especially the natu- 
 ralist Alexis, did not fail to draw largely from it. 
 
 From the information given by this intelligent 
 trader, Alexis was enabled to determine several 
 facts about the bears of South America, that had 
 hitherto been doubtful. He learnt that there are 
 at least two very distinct varieties of them — one, 
 the " spectacled bear " {ursus ornatus) — so called, 
 on account of the whitish rings around his eyes, 
 suggesting the idea of spectacles ; and another 
 without these white eye markings, and which has 
 been lately named by a distinguished German 
 naturalist ursus frugiJcgus. 
 
 The former kind is known throughout the 
 Peruvian countries as the " Hucumari," and 
 although it inhabits the Cordilleras, it does not 
 ascend to the very cold elevations known as the 
 "paramos" and "puna." On the contrary, it 
 
208 BBUIK. 
 
 affects a warmer climate, and is not unfrequently 
 found straying into the cultivated valleys termed 
 generally the " Sierra." The ursus frugilegiis 
 chiefly frequents the tangled woods that cover the 
 eastern spurs of the Andes, ranging often as far 
 down as the montana, and never so high as the 
 declivities that border on the region of snow. 
 
 Both of these species are black bears, and 
 termed " oso negro " by the Spanish-Americans ; 
 but the Hucumari is distinguished by a white 
 list under the throat, a white breast, a muzzle of a 
 greyish buif colour, and the crescent-like eye 
 markings already mentioned. It is also of a 
 gentler disposition than its congener, smaller in 
 size, and never preys upon other animals. The 
 other does so — frequently making havoc among the 
 flocks of sheep, and even attacking the cattle and 
 horses of ihe Jiacicndas. The ursns frugilegus will 
 give battle even to man himself — when baited, or 
 rendered furious by being chased. 
 
 Both these species are supposed to bo confined 
 to the Chilian and Peruvian Andes. This is an 
 erroneous supposition. They arc equally common 
 in Bolivia, and in tho sierras of New Grenada 
 and Venezuela. They aro found on both sides of 
 
SOUTH AMr.nicw hears, 200 
 
 Lake Maracaibo — in the sierras Perij;! an<i 
 Merida. One of them, at least, has also been 
 observed iu the mountains of Guiana — though 
 naturalists have not met with it there. Hum- 
 boldt, it is true, saw the tracks of what tlie natives 
 told him was a bear ow the Upper Orinoco ; and, 
 reasoning from their size, he drew the inference 
 that it must have been a much smaller species 
 than the ursus americanus ; but in this matter 
 the great philosopher was led into an error bv a 
 misapplied name. He was informed tliat tho 
 animal was the "oso carnero," or flesh -eating 
 bear — a title given by the Mission Indians to dis- 
 tinguish it from two other animals, which they 
 also erroneously term bears — llic " oso palmero," 
 or great ant-eater {famanoir), and tho " oso 
 hormiguero " {tamandua). Tlic animal by whose 
 tracks Humboldt was misled, was, no doubt, one 
 of the smaller plantigrade animals (coa/is or 
 grisona), of which there are several species in tho 
 forests of South America. 
 
 Our hunters learnt enough from their travelling 
 acquaintance to convince them that, in whatever 
 latitude they might approach the Andes from tho 
 east, they would be certain to find both varieties of 
 
210 BEUIN. 
 
 the South American black bear ; but that the best 
 route they could take would be up the great Napo 
 river, which rises not very far from the old Peruvian 
 capital of Quito. In the wild provinces of Quixos 
 and Macas, lying to the east of Quito — and to 
 which the Napo river would conduct them — they 
 would be certain to meet with the animals they 
 were in search of. 
 
 They would have been equally sure of meeting 
 bears in the territory of Jean de Bracamoros ; and 
 this would have been more easily reached; but 
 Alexis knew that by taking that route across the 
 Cordilleras, they would be thrown too far to the 
 west for the isthmus of Panama — which it was 
 necessary they should cross on their way to the 
 northern division of the American continent. 
 
 By keeping up the Napo to its source, and then 
 crossing the Cordilleras of New Granada, they 
 would still be enabled to make westerly as far as 
 Panama — to which port they could get passage in 
 one of the Grenadian coasting-vessels. 
 
 On arriving at the mouth of the Napo, there- 
 fore, they engaged aperiagua, with its Indian crew, 
 and continued their journey up this stream towai'da 
 the etill-distaut Cordilleras of Quito. 
 
TUF AMAZONIAN FOBEST. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE AMAZONIAN FOIIEST. 
 
 The river Xapo is one of the largest of the head- 
 waters of the Amazon, and one of the most 
 interesting — since, by it, most of the early expe- 
 ditionists descended in search of the country of the 
 gilded kings, and the gold-roofed temples of 
 Manoa. Though these proved to be fabulous, yet 
 tho existence of gold dust among the Indians of 
 the Napo was true enough, and is true to the 
 present hour. On this river, and its numerous 
 branches, gold washings, or placers, are quite com- 
 mon ; and occasionally the savages, who roam over 
 this region, collect the dust, and exchange it with 
 the traders who venture among them. The 
 Indians, however, arc of too idle a habit to follow 
 this industry with any degree of energy ; and 
 whenever they have obtained a quill full of the 
 metallic sand — just enough to purchase them some 
 coveted nick-nack of civilized mauufacturc — the/ 
 r 2 
 
212 BEUjy. 
 
 leave off work, and the precious ingots are pe^ 
 mitted to sleep undiscovered in their beds. 
 
 Notwithstanding the length of their journey up 
 the Napo, our travellers did not deem it tedious. 
 The lovely tropical scenery, ever under their eyes, 
 together with the numerous little incidents which 
 were constantly occurring, relieved the monotony 
 of their daily life, and kept them in a constant 
 state of interested excitement. At every bend of 
 the river appeared some object, new and worthy 
 of admiration — some grand tropical plant or tree, 
 some strange quadruped, or some bird of glorious 
 plumage. 
 
 The craft in which they travelled was that iu 
 general use on the upper tributaries of the 
 Amazon : a large canoe — hollowed out irom the 
 gigantic homhax ceiha, or silk-cotton tree — and 
 usually known asaperiaffua. Over the stern part, 
 or quarter-deck, a little " round house" is erected, 
 resembling the tilt of a wagon ; but, instead of 
 ash hoops and canvas, it is constructed of bam- 
 boos and leaves of trees. Tho leaves form a 
 thatch to shade tho sun from tho little cabin in- 
 side, and they are generally the large leaves of tho 
 viJiai, 0, species of hcliconia, which grows abuu- 
 
THE AMAZONIAX FOHEST. 213 
 
 dantly in tho tropical I'oresta of South America. 
 Leares of the musacacc {plantains atul bananas) 
 Berve for a similar purpose; and both kinds are 
 equally employed in thatciiing the huts in wliich 
 the natives dwell. 
 
 The little cabin thus constructed is called a 
 toJdo. Inside it is high enough for a man to sit 
 upright, though not to stand ; and generally it is 
 only used for slcoping in, or as a shelter during 
 rain. At other times the traveller prefers the 
 open air; and sits or reclines upon the roof of the 
 toldo, which is constructed of sufficient strength 
 to bear his weight. The forward part of the peri- 
 agua is left quite open ; and here the rowers take 
 their stations, so that their movements do not 
 interfere with the comfort of tho travellers. 
 
 Through the influence of the Portuguese trader, 
 our party had the good fortune to obtain a proper 
 periagua and crew. They were Christianized 
 Indians, belonging to one of the Spanish missions 
 situated far up the Napo. They had descended 
 this river with a cargo of tlie products of the 
 mission; and were just about starting to go back, 
 as our travellers arrived at tho river's mouth. An 
 agreement was easily entered into with the capntaz, 
 
214 BEUIK. 
 
 or chief of the periagua; and as our travellers 
 always paid liberally for such service, and kept the 
 crew well fed, they received as good attendance 
 and accommodation as circumstances would admit 
 of. Here and there on the banks of the river — 
 though at very long intervals apart — were settle- 
 ments of the wild Indians of the forest ; and as 
 nearly all the tribes of Amazonia do less or more 
 in the way of cultivation and commerce, our travel- 
 lers were enabled from time to time to replenish 
 their larder. Their guns, too, helped materially 
 to keep up the supply : since almost every day game 
 of one kind or another was procured along the 
 banks. Por bread they had farinlia, a good stock 
 of which they had brought with them on the 
 steamer from Para. This is the grated root of the 
 manioc plant {jatropha mmiikot), and forms the 
 staple food of all classes throughout the countries of 
 Amazonia. 
 
 Alexis was particularly interested in what they 
 saw. Never had naturalist a finer field for ob- 
 servation. Here was nature presented to the eye 
 in its most normal condition. Here could be ob- 
 served the tropical forest in all its primeval virginity, 
 unbrokou by the axe of the lumberer, and in many 
 
THE AMAZONIAN FOUEST. 215 
 
 places untrodden even by the foot of the hunter. 
 Here its denizens — quadrupeds, quadrumana, birds, 
 reptiles, and insects — might be seen following out 
 their various habits of life, obedient only to the 
 passions or instincts that had been implanted in 
 them by Nature herself, but little modified by the 
 presence of man. Now would appear a flock ot 
 capivaras — or cliiguircs, as they are also called — tho 
 largest of rodent animals, basking upon some 
 sunny bank, raising their great rabbit-like heads, 
 and gazing curiously at the passing periagua. 
 Perhaps before the travellers had lost sight of them, 
 the whole gang would be seen suddenly starting 
 from their attitudes of repose, and in desperate 
 rush making for tho water. Behind them would 
 appear the yellow-spotted body of the jaguar — tho 
 true tyrant of the Amazonian forest, who, witli a 
 single blow of his powerful paw would stretch a 
 chiguire upon the grass, and then, couching over 
 his fallen victim, would tear its body to pieces, 
 drink its warm blood, and devour its flesh at his 
 leisure. 
 
 If by good fortune tho flock might all escape, 
 and reach tho water, tho jaguar, conscious of their 
 Bupcrior adroitness in that element, would at once 
 
216 BBUIX. 
 
 abandon the pursuit ; and returning to his ambush, 
 lie waiting for a fresh opportunity. But for all that, 
 the poor chiguires would not be certain of safety ; 
 for even in the water they might encounter an- 
 other enemy, equally formidable and cruel, in the 
 gigantic jacare — the crocodile of the Amazonian 
 waters. Thus assailed in either element, the poor 
 innocent rodents are driven from laud to water, and 
 from the water back again to the laud ; and so kept 
 in a state of continual fear and trembling. The 
 puma, too, assails them, and the jaguarundi, and 
 the fierce coatimundi ; and not uufrequently the 
 enormous anaconda enfolds them in its deadly 
 embrace ; for the innocuous creatures can make 
 no defence against their numerous enemies ; and 
 but for that fecundity which characterizes the 
 family to which they belong — the so-called "Guinea 
 pigs " — their race would be in danger of total 
 extirpation. 
 
 The chiguires were not the only gregarious 
 animals observed by our travellers in their ascent 
 of the Napo. Others of a very different order 
 appeared in the ^)<'ccrtW<?s, or wild pigs of tlie 
 montana. These are true pachyderms, and in 
 reality pigs ; though naturalists have seen fit to 
 
TlIK AMAZONIAN FOIIEST. 217 
 
 ■eparate them from tlic genus Siis, and constitute 
 for them a genus of their own. It is liardly 
 necessary to say that this is a very useless pro- 
 ceeding — since the peccaries are neither more nor 
 less than true wild hogs, the indigenous repre- 
 sentatives of the sitidcp, on the American con- 
 tinent. Their classification into a separate genus 
 has been productive of no good purpose, but the 
 very contrary : since it has added to the number 
 of zoological names, thereby rendering still more 
 difficult the study of tliat interesting science. 
 Per such an endless vocabulary, we are chiefly 
 indebted to the speculations of anatomic natu- 
 ralists, who, lacking opportunities of actual obser- 
 vation, endeavour to make up for it by guesses and 
 conjectures, founded upon some little tubercle upon 
 a tooth ! Notwithstanding their learned treatises, 
 it often proves — and very often too — that these 
 tubercles tell most abominable stories ; in plainer 
 terms, that the animals " lie in their teeth." 
 
 The peccary — which the old writers were con- 
 tent to regard as a wild pig, and very properly 
 placed under the genus sus — is now termed dico' 
 tylta. Two species only are yet known to netu- 
 ralists— the " white-lipped" and "collared" (D. 
 
218 BEUIN. 
 
 labritus and collaris) ; and although they are rarely 
 found frequenting the same district of country, 
 either one or the other kind can be encountered in 
 all the wilder parts of America — from California on 
 the north, to the latitude of the La Plata on the 
 south. Both are nearly of one form and colour — 
 a sort of speckled greyish-brown ; the collared 
 species being so named from a whitish list running 
 up in front of its shoulders, and forming the 
 semblance of a collar ; while the white-lipped 
 derives its specific title from having lips of a 
 greyish-white colour. In size, however, there is 
 a great difference between the two : the white- 
 lipped peccary weighing 100 lbs., or nearly twice 
 the weight of the collared species. The former, too, 
 is proportionably stouter in build, and altogether 
 a stronger and fiercer animal ; for although fierce- 
 ness is not a characteristic of their nature, like 
 other animals of the hog family, when roused, they 
 exhibit a ferocity and fearlessness equalling that 
 of the true carnivora. 
 
 Both kinds of peccary are preyed upon by tho 
 jaguar ; but this tyrant of tho wilda approaches 
 them with more caution and fiir less confidence, 
 than when be makes his onslaught on the helplnss 
 
THE AMAZONIAN' FOIIEST, 219 
 
 chiguires ; and not unfrequently in conflicts with 
 the peccary, the jaguar comes off only second best. 
 Of this fact our travellers had ample proofs — 
 having frequently witnessed, while ascending the 
 Xapo, encounters between the peccaries and the 
 jaguars. One of these encounters they had watched 
 with an interest more than common: for in its 
 result their own safety was concerned ; and the 
 very position of peril in which they were placed, 
 enabled them to have a full and perfect view of 
 the whole spectacle ; an account of which we 
 find recorded in the journal of Alexis. 
 
220 BBUU7. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXX. 
 
 THE PERUVIAN CIXKAMOX TREE. 
 
 TiiET had readied a district wliicli lies between two 
 great branches of the Napo river, and which bears 
 the name of CaneJos, or the " cinnamon country." 
 The name was given to it by the Spanish dis- 
 coverers of Peru — from the fact of their finding 
 trees in this region, the bark of which bears a 
 considerable resemblance to the celebrated spice of 
 the East Indies. Canela is the Spanish name for 
 cinnamon; and the rude adventurers Pineda and 
 Gonzalez Pizarro, fancying it was the real cin- 
 namon-tree itself, so called it ; and the district in 
 which they found it most abundant thenceforward 
 took the name of Canelos. 
 
 The tree, afterwards identified and described by 
 the Spanish botanist Mutis, is not the Laitrus cm- 
 namomum of Ceylon ; but a species of hiurus pecu- 
 liar to the American continent — to which tliia 
 botanist has given the name laiinis cinnaviontid&t. 
 
it 13 not, however, confined to the region around 
 Hio Kio Napo, but grows in many parts of ths 
 Great Montana, as well as in oilier countries of 
 tropical America. Bonpland identified it on tlie 
 Upper Orinoco, and again in the county of Ca- 
 raccas ; though nowhere docs it appear to be in 
 such plenty as to the east of the Cordilleras of 
 Ecuador and Peru — througliout the provinces of 
 Quiios, ISIacas, and Jaen de Bracamoros. In these 
 provinces it is found forming extensive woods, and 
 filling the air with the delicious aroma of its 
 flowers. The bark of the laiirus cinnamomuides is 
 not considered equal in delicate flavour to that of 
 the Oriental cinnamon. It is hotter and more 
 pungent to the taste — otherwise the resemblance 
 between the two trees is very considerable, their 
 foliage being much alike, and the bark peeling off" 
 of nearly equal thickness. The American, however, 
 becomes more brownish when dried ; and, though 
 it is not equal to the cinnamon bark of Ceylon, 
 large quantities of it are collected, both for use in 
 the Spanish-American countries and for export to 
 Europe — where it is often passed off" for the truo 
 cinnamon. "NVere it not that the province of 
 %inclos is rather inaccessible to commerce, oO 
 
.222 BEUiir. 
 
 doubt a great deal more of it would find its way 
 into the European mai'kets ; but there are perils and 
 hardships in the collecting of this bark, which make 
 it unprofitable to deal in, even at the full price of the 
 true cinnamon. The Peruvians believe that, were 
 the tree cultivated in a proper manner, as the 
 Oriental cinnamon is, its bark would prove equal in 
 quality to the latter ; and perhaps this may be true, 
 since occasionally specimens of it have been pro- 
 cured, having all the rich aroma of the spice of 
 Ceylon. These have been taken from trees that 
 grew in favourable situations — that is, standing 
 alone, and where the sun had free access to the 
 leaves and flowers. The leaves themselves have 
 the peculiar cinnamon flavour, and the flowers 
 also ; but in a much stronger degree. Indeed, the 
 flowers are even more aromatic than those of the 
 Taurus cinnmnomum. 
 
 It is said that llic wild pigs (jpeccaries) arc very 
 fond of these flowers, as well as the seeds, when 
 ripe ; and a singular habit of these animals is re- 
 lated by some of the early Peruvian travellers — the 
 Jesuit Ovalle for one. The old fatlier states that 
 when a flock of the peccaries go in search of the 
 flowers of the cauela-tree, they separate into two 
 
THE PKULVIAX CIKXaMOX TEEE. 223 
 
 divisions, of about nearly equal numbers. Tlie 
 individuals of one division place their shoulders to 
 the different trees ; and, by shaking them violently, 
 cause the flowers to fall down to the earth. While 
 thus employed, the peccaries of the other party 
 stand under the shower, and eat undisturbedly 
 until they have quite filled their bellies, or other- 
 wise satisfied themselves. These last then take 
 the place of the hungry hogs ; and reciprocating 
 the service by shaking the trees, leave the former 
 to enjoy themselves in their turn ! 
 
 It is not easy to swallow this story of the Jesuit, 
 though ho was himself a native of the country 
 where the scene is laid. That part of it which 
 relates to the hogs shaking the trees for ono 
 another, is not likely to be true, though it is pos- 
 sible all the other particulars are correct. 
 
 It may be true enough that the animals shako 
 the trees to bring down the flowers : for this would 
 exhibit a sagacity not greater than hogs of other 
 species are capable of; but it is not according to 
 the laws of their moral nature to perform the 
 service for one another. That they roam in great 
 flocks through the cancla forests, and devour with 
 avidity the blossoms of these trees, is undoubtedly 
 
224< BEFiir. 
 
 a fact — of which our travellers had the evidence oJ 
 their own eyes wliile on their journey up the 
 river Napo. 
 
 They were passing a place where these wild 
 cinnamon trees lined the banks of the stream ; and, 
 in order to make a closer examination of such an 
 interesting species, Alexis landed from the periagua. 
 Ivan went along with him — taking his double- 
 barrelled gun, in hopes of getting a shot at some- 
 thing. In one barrel he had a bullet, while the other 
 was loaded with shot — so that he was prepared for 
 any sort of game that might turn up, either beasts 
 or birds. Alexis, as usual, carried his rifle. 
 
 It was their intention to walk for some distance 
 up the bank. There was a sandy strip between 
 the water and the trees — which would enable them 
 to make way without difficulty — and it is only where 
 this occurs that tlie banks of the Amazonian rivers 
 can be followed on foot. Generally, the thick forest 
 comes down to the very water's edge ; and there is 
 no pathway except an occasional track followed by 
 the chiguires, tapirs, and other animals; but, as those 
 creatures only open tlic underwood to the height 
 of their own bodies, all above that is a matted laby- 
 vinth of leaves and llanos, that form an impenetrable 
 
THE PEnUYJAX CINKAllOX TREK. 22o 
 
 barrier to the passage of anvthing so tall as a man. 
 The Indians themselves rarely follow these paths, 
 but keep to thoir canoes or periagiias. 
 
 Seeing this fire open sand-bar, which appeared 
 to stretch for miles above them, our young travel- 
 lers, tired of sitting upon the ioJJo, determined to 
 stretch ll;cir legs iu a walk; and, directing the 
 capataz to keep up the river and take them in 
 above, they set out along the bank — now and then 
 dipping into the woods, wherever an opening showed 
 itself, and examining such rare natural objects as 
 attracted their attention. 
 
 Pouchskin did not go with them ; and the reason 
 was that, some days before, Pouchskin had en- 
 countered a mishap, by which he was laid up lame. 
 The cause of his lameness was simply that some 
 chigas had got between his toes; and not liaving 
 been extracted in time, had there laid their eggs, 
 and caused a terrible inflammation to his foot. A 
 misfortune that frequently happens in tropical 
 countries. The wound caused by the chiga, though 
 not absolutely of fatal consequences, id very dan- 
 gerous to be trifled wilh — often leading to the 
 necessity of amputating the part attacked by 
 these diminutive insects. Pouchskin, sneering at 
 Q 
 
226 BEtJiir. 
 
 the insignificance of the enemy, had neglected 
 taking proper precautions — notwithstanding that 
 the Indian canoe-men had •warned him of the dan- 
 ger. The consequence was a swelling of the parts 
 and an inflammation, that lamed the old grenadier 
 as completely as if his leg had been carried oS" by 
 a bomb-shell ; and he was now reclining along the 
 top of the toldo, unable to stand upon his feet. 
 
 JFor this reason, being in no condition to join 
 his young masters on their pedestrian excursions, 
 he was necessarily left behind. It was, perhaps, 
 just as well for him: since it was the means of 
 keeping him clear of a scrape into which both of 
 the young hunters chanced to fall very soon after ; 
 and which, perhaps, had Pouchskin been with 
 them, might have ended worse than it did: since 
 it could not have ended much better. 
 
A SKUKRT OVEtt A SAND-BAB. 227 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 A SKUBET OTEB A SA>'D-BAB. 
 
 JoUBXEYiN'o along the bank, as wo have described, 
 Alexis aud Ivan had gone some two or three miles 
 up the river. They were beginning to get tired of 
 their walk : as the sand was rather soft, and sank 
 under their feet at every step. Just then they 
 descried, a little ahead of them, a long bar, or 
 " spit " of the bank, running out nearly to the 
 middle of the river. They made up their minds to 
 go on until they should reach this bar. At its end 
 appeared a proper place for the pcriagua to com© 
 to, and take them aboard. 
 
 The craft was still working up stream, and had 
 got nearly opposite them, so that thoy could hail it. 
 They did so — desiring the popero, or steersman, to 
 put in at the extremity of the sand-bar. This 
 matter having been arranged, they continued on 
 up the bank, going at their leisure. 
 q2 
 
228 BEurrr. 
 
 On arriviog at tliat part of the bank where the 
 sand-spit projected into tlic river, they were about 
 stepping out upon it, vrhen the quick car of Ivan 
 caught the sound of some animals moving among 
 the underwood. All was game that came to Ivan's 
 gun ; and as he had seen nothing worth wasting a 
 charge upon, durmg tlieir long wallc, lie was very 
 desirous to have a ehot at something before re- 
 turning to the periagua. 
 
 What he heard was a rustling of leaves. It did 
 not appear to proceed from any particular spot, 
 but rather from all parts of the forest. Now and 
 then the sound was varied by a sort of half-squeak- 
 ing half-grunting noise, that indicated the presence 
 ■of animals, and a great many of them too: since 
 at times, several scores of these squeaks and 
 grunts could be heard uttered simultaneously. 
 Alexia heard the sounds too ; but being less of 
 a keen sportsman than his brother, cared less 
 to go after the creatures that were making them. 
 He had no objection to Ivan straying a little out 
 of his way ; and promised to wait for him on the 
 open bank. 
 
 Had he known what sort of game it was that 
 his brother v.as going after — that is, had he bcea 
 
A SKCi:nV OTEU A SAND-UAH. 229 
 
 acquaiiiteil with the habits of the animals that 
 were making themselves hoard, he would either 
 have gone along with Ivan, or, what is more likely^ 
 would have hindered him from going at all. Alexis, 
 however, was under the impression that monkeys 
 of some kind were making the strange noises — for 
 not only are there many species of these in the 
 forests of the Xapo, but some that can imitate the 
 voices of other animals. Of course, with monkeys, 
 there could be no danger: since none of the 
 American quadrumana are large enough or strong 
 enough to attempt an attack upon ican. 
 
 Ivan had not left the spot more than five 
 minutes, when a loud report, reverberating amonj 
 the trees, announced that he had fired his gun ; 
 and, almost in the same iuslant, a second crack told 
 that both barrels were now empty. 
 
 Alexia was abcut nrocoeding to the place to see 
 what his brother htxj atict, when all at once his ears 
 were assailed by a loud chorus of noises — a scream- 
 ing, and snorting, and grunting, — that seemed to 
 come from all parts of the wood ; while the cracking 
 of sticks, and the "swishing" of branches, an- 
 nounced a singular commotion — as if some hun- 
 dreds of creatures were rushing to and fro through 
 
230 BEUiy. 
 
 the jungle. At tlae same instant was beard the 
 voice of Ivan, crying out iu accents of alarm ; 
 while the boy was himself seen breaking his way 
 through the bushes, and running with all his might 
 in the direction of his brother. His looks betokened 
 terror, as if some dreaded pursuer was behind him. 
 
 "E-un! brother — run!" cried he, as he got 
 clear of the underwood ; " run for your life ! — 
 they're after me — they're after me ! " 
 
 It was no time to inquire what pursuers were 
 after him. EviJeutly, they were of a sort to be 
 shunned : since they had caused to the courageous 
 Ivan such serious alarm ; and Alexis, without stay- 
 ing for an explanation, turned, and joined in his 
 brother's flight. Both directed themselves towards 
 the open sand-spit, in hopes of being able to reach 
 the periagua — which could be seen just drawing 
 up to its point of the bar. 
 
 They had not made a dozen steps into the open 
 ground, when the bushes from which thej had just 
 parted were seen to vibrate, and from out their 
 trembling cover rushed a host of strange creatures : 
 literally a host, for, in a few seconds' time, not less 
 than two hundred of them made their appearance. 
 
 They were quadrupeds of a greyish-browu colour, 
 
A. 8EUUBT OT£It A SA.yD-BAB. 231 
 
 not larger than half-grown pigs ; and pigs they 
 were — that is to say, they were peccaries. They 
 were those of the species iahiatus — as could be 
 Been by their white lips. These lips were espe- 
 cially conspicuous, for each individual was rushing 
 on open-mouthed, with snout raised aloft — all of 
 them cracking their-teeth like castanets, uttering, 
 as they ran, a confused chorus of short, sharp 
 grunts and squeaks expressive of auger. 
 
 As soon as Alexis saw them, he recognized the 
 peril of the situation in which he and his brother 
 were placed. He had read, and heard moreover 
 from the Portuguese trader — as well as from 
 the Indian canoe-men — of the danger to he appre- 
 hended from an attack of these fierce little animals ; 
 and how the hunter, to escape from them, is often 
 compelled to take to a tree. Had he and Ivan re- 
 flected for a moment, they would probably have 
 made for the woods, instead of running out on the 
 open sand-bar as they had done. It was now too 
 late, however. The peccaries covered the whole 
 line of beach behind them ; and no tree could have 
 been reached, without passing back again tlirough 
 the midst of the drove. Their retreat in the direc- 
 tion of the woods was completely cut off ; and there 
 
232 BEUIN. 
 
 appeared no alternative, but to make the best use 
 they could of their lieels, and if possible get on 
 board tlie periagua. 
 
 AVith this determination tho} rushed on over 
 the sandbank, closely pursued by tbe peccaries. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 PURSUED BT PECCAKIES. 
 
 It is needless to say that our young hunters took 
 as long strides as the nature of tlie ground would 
 permit ; but, unfortunately, they were not long 
 enough. The sand was soft and heavy, and in 
 places so full of holes, where th.e turtles had Iiad 
 tlieir eggs — now empty — that the fugitives could 
 make but slow progress, though fear was urging 
 them to do their utmost. The pursuers themselves 
 did not make as good speed as they would have 
 made on firmer ground, but they were going faster 
 than the pursued ; and the boys were beginning to 
 fear that they would never be able to reach the 
 periagua in time. To be overtaken meant the 
 
pcnsuED BT peccahies. 233 
 
 same as to be dragged down upon the sand, and 
 torn to pieces by the sharp tusks of the peccaries. 
 The periagua was still three hundred yards distant. 
 The Indians saw the chase, and knew the danger 
 — knew it so well, that it was not likely they would 
 venture ashore to the rescue ; and as for Pouch- 
 akin, he was unable to budge an inch — even had 
 there been no other means of saving his young 
 masters. It was a moment of fearful apprehen- 
 sion for the faithful Pouchskin. He had seized his 
 fusil, and wriggled his body into an erect attitude ; 
 but he felt powerless to do more. 
 
 In this moment of peril an object came under 
 the eyes of Alexis that promised safety. At least 
 it held out the prospect <.f a temporary retreat 
 from the danger — though whether they might suc- 
 ceed in reaching this retreat was not certain. 
 
 This object was a tree — not standing and grow- 
 ing, but a fallen tree — dead, and divested of its 
 leaves, its bark, and most of its branches. It lay 
 upon the sand-spit — where it had, no doubt, been 
 deposited during the season of floods — not exactly 
 in the line of their flight, but some paces to the right 
 of the track they would have followed in keeping 
 on to the periagua. It was nearer them than the 
 
234 BEUIN. 
 
 boat, by fall two hundred yards ; and Alexis ob- 
 serving this, suddenly conceived a bope that they 
 migbt yet reach the tree, and find shelter, either 
 upon its trunk or among its branches. Of these 
 the larger ones still remained — rising many feet 
 above the surface of the sand, and shrouded under 
 masses of weeds and withered grass, which had 
 been there deposited at the falling of the flood. 
 Indeed, Alexis scarce looked to the capabilities the 
 tree afforded for giving them a secure retreat. 
 There was no alternative. It was like the drowning 
 man catching at straws. He only cast a look behind 
 him, to see what time they might have to spare ; 
 and by a quick glance calculating their distance 
 from the pursuers, he shouted to Ivan to follow 
 him, and turned obliquely towards the tree. 
 
 They had noticed the tree when first starting to 
 run, but had not thought of it as a place of retreat. 
 Indeed, they had thought of nothing except getting 
 back to the boat ; and it was only now, whoa this 
 had proved clearly impossible, that they determined 
 on taking to the tree. 
 
 As they fiaccd full towards it, they were able to 
 note the chances it oflered for their safety. Tliey 
 saw that they were not so bad ; and, encouraged 
 
PCBSUED BY l'£CCAniES. 235 
 
 by hope, they made efforts more energetic than. 
 ever — both of them straining every nerve and 
 muscle in their legs and bodies. 
 
 The effort was needed ; but fortunately it proved 
 sufficient to save them. Just sufficient : for 
 scarce had they succeeded in getting upon the 
 log, and drawing their limbs up after them, 
 when the infuriated host arrived upon the ground, 
 and in a few seconds surrounded them on all sides. 
 Lucky it was that the log was a large one. It 
 was the dead-wood of a gigantic silk-cotton — the 
 homhax ceiba of the tropical forests ; and its trunk, 
 being full five feet in diameter, gave them that 
 elevation above the surface of the sand. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, they saw that tlieir 
 safety was not yet quite assured : for the spiteful 
 peccaries, instead of desisting in their attacks, 
 commenced leaping up against the log, endeavour- 
 ing to reach its top, and there assail them. 
 Now and then one more active than the rest 
 actually succeeded in getting its fore feet over the 
 ridge of the dead-wood : and, had it not been lor 
 the quick use which our hunters made of the 
 butts of their guns, undoubtedly they would have 
 been reached. Bot!i stuod with their barrels 
 
236 BEUIN. 
 
 grasped firmly — now threatening the assailing host, 
 and now punching in the head such of them as 
 sprang within reach — the peccaries all the while 
 uttering their angry grunts, and chattering their 
 teeth, as if a hundred strings of Christmas crackers 
 were being let off at the same time ! 
 
 In this way the conflict was carried on — the 
 hunters bit by bit working themselves along the 
 log towards the top branches, which, projecting 
 higher, appeared to offer a more secure place of 
 retreat. But at intervals as they advanced, they 
 were compelled to make halt, and deal a fresh 
 shower of blows to their assailants, who still kept 
 leaping up from below. 
 
 At length the boys succeeded in reaching the 
 projecting limbs of the tree ; and each choosing 
 one strong enough to carry him, they scrambled up 
 towards their tops. This placed them in a position 
 where they could set the peccaries at defiance ; for 
 although the creatures could now spring up on the 
 main trunk — which several of them had already 
 done — the more slender limbs bafilod all their 
 efforts at climbing ; and such of them as attempted 
 it were seen to roll oft' and tumble back upon the 
 eand-bank. 
 
8CTLLA AND CilAnTBDIS. 237 
 
 The hunters, now feeling secure, could not re- 
 frain from a shout of joy, which wa3 answered 
 by a cheer from the poriagua, in which the bari- 
 tone of Pouchskin bore a conspicuous part. 
 
 Our heroes now believing themselves in for a 
 siege, began to consider the best means of raising 
 it ; wlion all at once a spectacle came under their 
 eyes, that guided their thoughts into a far dif- 
 ferent channel. 
 
 CIIAPTEli XXXIII. 
 
 8 C T L L A AND C U A U T B D I S. 
 
 Their retrent upward upon the planting limbs 
 of the tree had brought a largo band of their 
 assailants round to that side; and, just as they 
 raised their triumphant cry, tlrey saw the peccaries 
 dancing among the branches tliat lay extended 
 along the sand-bar. Many of these were hidden 
 by the flakes of hanging grass already mentioned ; 
 but another fearful creature chanced to have been 
 
23S BEUIN-. 
 
 hidden there also ; who now displayed himself in all 
 his shining majesty — not only to the eyes of the 
 besieged, but likewise to those of the besiegers. 
 The creature was a quadruped — one of fearful 
 mien, and dimensions far exceeding that of the 
 Lilliputian peccaries. It was their natural enemy 
 — the jaguar ! 
 
 "Whether it was the shout that had startled him, 
 or the peccaries had trodden him out of his lair, or 
 both, certain it was that he now sprang suddenly 
 out, and with one bound launched himself upon 
 the log. Eor a moment he stood cowering on 
 its top, turning his eyes first upon the branches 
 where the boys bad taken refuge, and then in 
 the opposite direction, towards the woods. He 
 seemed irresolute as to which course he would take ; 
 and this irresolution, so long as it lasted, produced 
 an unpleasant ciYect upon our young hunters. 
 Should the jaguar also attack them, their destruc- 
 tion might be accounted as certain ; for the great 
 cat would either strike them down from their un- 
 stable perch, or claw them to death if they continued 
 to cling to it. Of course, to fall down among 
 the peccaries would be death, equally certain and 
 terrible. 
 
6CTLLA AND ClIAUTBDIS. 239 
 
 By good fortune, however, the jaguar at the 
 moment of showing himself was eagerly assailed 
 by the wild pigs ; and it was to escape from their 
 assault, that he had sprung upward to the log. 
 Thither the peccaries had pursued him, and were 
 now endeavouring to reach the top of the dead- 
 wood, just as they had done while after the hunters. 
 The jaguar no longer stood silent and irreso- 
 lute ; but, uttering loud screams, he commenced 
 defending himself ajrainst the assailinp; host, strik- 
 ing them with his broad ungulated paws, and 
 flinging one after another back to the ground, 
 where they lay kicking in the throes of death. 
 
 Perhaps it was the presence of mind exhibited 
 by Alexis that brought matters to a climax, and 
 saved the lives of himself and his brother. His 
 rifle was still loaded — for it had appeared useless 
 firing into the midst of two hundred assailants. 
 He knew he could kill oidy one or two ; and this, in- 
 stead of frightening them off, would but render the 
 others more implacable in their resentment. Partly 
 for this reason, and partly that he had all along 
 held the piece " clubbed " in his hands, ho had 
 reserved his fire. Xow was the time to deli*'cr it. 
 The jaguar was even more to be dreaded than the 
 
240 BRUiy. 
 
 peccaries — for tbey were uow secure from the 
 attacks of the latter, -whereas they were uot only 
 within reach of the former, but in the very place 
 to which the brute might fancy retreating. To 
 prevent this contingency, Alexis resolved to give 
 the jaguar his bullet. 
 
 It was but a moment's work to turn the gun 
 in his hand and take aim. The crack followed 
 quickly ; and, on the instant, the hunters had the 
 gratification to see the great tawny quadruped 
 spring out from the log, and alight upon the 
 sand — where, in a second's time, he was surrounded 
 by the dark drove, that from all sides rushed 
 screaming towards him. 
 
 It was a bit of good fortune that the bullet o£ 
 Alexis had only wounded the jaguar, instead of 
 killing him on the spot. Had he been shot dead, 
 the peccaries would have torn his beautiful skin to 
 ribbons, and reduced his quivering flesh to mince- 
 meat, and that witl.un the space of a score of 
 seconds; but luckily it chanced that the jaguar 
 was oidy wounded — had only received a broken 
 leg; and, availing himself of the three that re- 
 mained sound, he commenced retreating towards 
 the timber. Thither he was followed by bis thick- 
 
8CTLLA AND CltABTBDIS. 241 
 
 skinned assailants ; who, transferring their spite 
 to this new enemy, seemed to forget all about 
 their original adversaries, who remained quictlj 
 perched upon the limbs of the tree ! 
 
 For some time nothing could be seen but a con- 
 fused crowd, writhing over the sand — a dark mass, 
 in the midst of which now and then a bright vellow 
 object appeared conspicuous, and was then for a 
 time out of sight ; and thus, iike a rolling wave, 
 the great drove went surging on, amidst grunting 
 and screaming, and growling, and chattering of 
 teeth, till it swept up to the edge of the under- 
 wood, and then suddenly disappeared from the eyes 
 of the spectators ! 
 
 Whether the peccaries eventually succeeded in 
 destroying the jaguar, or whether the wounded 
 tyrant of the forest escaped from their terrible 
 teeth, could never be told. Our young hunters 
 had no curiosity to foilow and witness the denoue- 
 ment of this strange encounter. Neither cared 
 they to take up the bodies of the slain. Ivan was 
 completely cured of any penchant ho might have 
 had for peccary pork ; and, as soon as their lata 
 assailants were fairly out of sight, both leaped 
 down from the limbs of the tree, and made all haste 
 B 
 
242 BEUiN. 
 
 towards the boat. This they reached without 
 further molestation ; and the canoe-men, rapidly 
 plying their paddles, soon shot the craft out upon 
 the bosom of the broad river — where they were safe 
 from the attack either of wild pigs or wild cats. 
 
 It was likely the jaguar betook hiipself to a tree 
 — his usual mode of escape when surrounded by 
 a herd of infuriated peccaries — and, as a proof that 
 he had done so, our travellers could hear the wild 
 bogs still uttering their fierce grunts long after 
 the boat had rounded the sand -spit, and was 
 passing up the bend of the river. 
 
TQE OLD illSSI0>3. 213 
 
 CIIAPTEK XXXI \\ 
 
 T-n E OLD MISSIONS. 
 
 Passing many scenes of interest, and meeting with 
 several other strange incidents, our travellers at 
 length arrived at Archidona — a small town at the 
 head of boat navigation upon the Napo, and the 
 usual port of embarcation for persons proceeding 
 from the country around Quito to the regions 
 upon the Amazon. Up to this place they had 
 been journeying through a complete wilderness — 
 the only exceptions being some missionary sta- 
 tions, in each of which a monkish priest holds a 
 sort of control over two or tiirec hundred half- 
 christianized Indians. It would be absurd to call 
 these missions civilized settlements: since they are 
 in no degree more advanced, either in civilization 
 or prosperity, than the maloccas, or villages of the 
 w ild Indians — the "inGdels," as it pleases the monks 
 to call those tribes who have not submitted to 
 their puerile teachings. Wliatever difference 
 2 n 
 
244 Buriy. 
 
 exists between the two kinds of Indians, is decidedly 
 in favour of the unconverted tribes, who display at 
 least the virtues of valour and a love of liberty, 
 while the poor neophytes of the missions have 
 suffered a positive debasement, by their conversion 
 to this so-called " Christian religion," All these 
 monkish settlements — not only on the Xapo, but 
 on the other tributaries of the Amazon — were at 
 one time in a state of considerable prosperity. 
 The missionary padres, backed by a little soldier 
 help from the Spanish Goyernment, were more able 
 to control their Indian converts, and compel them 
 to work — so that a certain amount of prosperity 
 was visible in the mission settlements, and some of 
 them had even attained to a degree of wealth. This, 
 however, was but an apparent civilization ; and 
 its benefits only extended to the monks tlicmsclves. 
 The Indian neophytes were in no way bettered by 
 the wealth they created. Their condition was one 
 of pure slavery — the monks being their masters, 
 and very often hard taskmasters they proved 
 themselves — living in fine conventual style upon tlie 
 sweat and labour of their brown-skinned converts. 
 The only return made by them to the Indians was 
 to teach the latter those trades, by the practice of 
 
THE OLD MISSIONS. 246 
 
 which they themselves miglit be benefited, and that 
 was their sole motive for civilizing them. On the 
 other hand, instead of endeavouring to cultivate 
 their intellectual nature, they strove in every way 
 to restrain it — inculcating those doctrines of duty 
 and obedience, so popular among the priests and 
 princes of the world. They taught them a reli- 
 gion of the lips, and not of the heart — a religion 
 of mere idle ceremonios, of the most showy kind ; 
 and above all a religion, whose every observance 
 required to be paid for by toll and tithe. In 
 this manner they continued to filch from the poor 
 aboriginal every hour of his work — and keep him 
 to all intents and purposes an abject slave. No 
 wonder, that when the Spanish power declined, 
 and the soldier could no longer be spared to 
 secure the authority of the priest — no wonder that 
 the whole system gave way, and the missions of 
 Spanish America— from California to the Patago- 
 nian plains — sank into decay. Hundreds of these 
 establishments have been altogether abandoned — 
 their pseudo converts having returned once more 
 to the savage state — and the ruins of convents and 
 churches alone remain to attest that they ever 
 existed. Those still in existence exhibit the mere 
 
246 BiiuiN'. 
 
 remnants of their former prosperity, and are only 
 kept together by the exertions of the monks them- 
 selves — backed by a slight thread of authority, which 
 they derive from the superstitions they have been 
 able to inculcate. In fact, in the missions now exist- 
 ing, the monks have no other power than that which 
 they wield through the terrors of the Church ; and 
 in most cases, these padres constitute a sort of 
 hierareh chieftaincy, which has supplanted the old 
 system of the curacas, or caciques. 
 
 At one period the missions of the Napo were 
 both numerous and powerful. That was while 
 they were under the superintendence of those 
 active apostles, the Jesuit fathers ; but most of 
 their settlements have long ago disappeared ; and 
 now only a few sparse stations exist along the 
 borders of the great Montana. 
 
 In ascending the Napo, our travellers had an 
 opportunity of visiting some of these old mis- 
 sionary establishments ; and observing the odd 
 rigmarole of superstitions there practised under the 
 guise, and in the name of religion — a queer com- 
 mingling of pagan rites with Christian ceremonies — 
 /lot unlike those Budhistic forms from wliich these 
 same ceremonies have been borrowed. 
 
THE OLD MISSIONS. 217 
 
 One advantage our travellers derived from the 
 existence of these stations : they were enabled to 
 obtain from them the provisions required upon 
 their long riverine voyage ; and without this assist- 
 ance they would have found it much more difficult 
 to accomplish such a journey. 
 
 BeyoiJ Archidona the rest of the journey to 
 Quito would have to be performed on horseback, or 
 rather muleback : but they were not going direct to 
 Quito. Between them and tlie old Peruvian capital 
 lay the eastern cordillera of the Andes, and it was 
 along its declivities, and in the valleys between its 
 transverse spurs, facing the Montana, they would 
 have to search for the haunts of the bear. 
 
 On the Napo itself, still higher up tlian Archi- 
 dona — where the stream, fed by the snows of the 
 grand volcano of Cotopaii, issues from the spurs of 
 the Andes — there were they most likely to accom- 
 plish the object of their expedition, and thitlicr 
 determined they to go. 
 
 Having procured mules and a guide, they pro- 
 ceeded onward ; and after a journey of three days — 
 in which, from the difficulty of the roads, they had 
 travelled less than fifty miles — they found them 
 selves among the foot hills of the Andes — the 
 
248 BBUirr. 
 
 giant Cotopaxi with his snowy cone towering 
 stupendous above their heads. 
 
 Here they were in the proper range of the bears — 
 a part of the country famous for the great numbers 
 of these animals — and it only remained for them to 
 fix their head-quarters in some village, and make 
 arrangements for prosecuting the chase. 
 
 The little town of Napo, called after the river, 
 and situated as it is in the midst of a forest wilder- 
 ness, ofiered all the advantages they required ; and, 
 choosing it as their temporary residence, they were 
 soon engaged in searching for the black bear of the 
 Cordilleras. 
 
lATIKO A. KEQBO'S HEID. 249 
 
 CUAPTER XXXV. 
 
 EATIXO A KEOno's HEAD. 
 
 According to tlitir usual practice, they had hired 
 one of the native hunters of the district to act as a 
 guide, and assist them in finding the haunts of 
 Bruin. In Napo they were fortur.tite in meeting 
 with the very man in tlie person of a mestizo, or 
 hali'-blood Indian, wlio followed hunting for his 
 eole calling, lie was what is termed a " tigrero," 
 or tiger hunter — whi»li title he derived from the 
 fact that the jaguar was the principal object of his 
 pursuit. Among all JSpaniah Americans — Mexicans 
 included — the beautiful spotted jaguar is erro- 
 neously termed iigre (tiger), as the puma or 
 couguar is called leon (lion). A hunter of the 
 jaguar is therefore denominated a " tiger-hunter," 
 or tigrero. 
 
 There are no puma or lion-hunters by profession 
 — as there is nothing about this brute to ninko it 
 worth while — but hunting the jaguar is, in many 
 
250 I5EUIS-. 
 
 parts of Spanisli America, a specific calling ; and 
 men make their living solely by following this 
 occupation. One inducement is to obtain the skin, 
 "which, in common with those of the great spotted 
 cats of the Old AVorld, is an article of commerce, and 
 from its superior beauty commands a good price. 
 But the tifjrero could scarce make out to live upon 
 the sale of the skins alone ; for although a London 
 furrier will charge from two to three guineas for a 
 jaguar's robe, the poor hunter in his remote wilder- 
 ness market can obtain little more than a tenth 
 part of this price — notwithstanding that he has to 
 risk his life, before he can strip the fair mantle 
 from the shoulders of its original wearer. 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that jaguar-hunting 
 would not pay, if there was only the pelt to de- 
 pend upon; but the tigrero looks to another source 
 of profit — the hounty. 
 
 In the hotter regions of Spanish America, — the 
 Brazils as well — there are many settlements to 
 which the jaguar is not only a pest, but a terror. 
 Cattle in hundreds arc destroyed by these great 
 predatory animals ; even full-grown horses are 
 killed and dragged away by them ! But is this nil ? 
 Are the people theuisolves left unmolested? llso. 
 
EATING A TTEORO'S HEAD. 251 
 
 On the contrary, great numbers of human bcing'i 
 every year fall victims to the rapacity of the jaguars. 
 Settlements attempted on the edge of the great 
 Montana — in the very country where our young 
 hunters had now arrived — have, after a time, been 
 abandoned from this cause alone. It is a •well- 
 known fact, that wTiere a settlement has been 
 fonned, the jaguars soon become more plentiful 
 in that neighbourhood : the increased facility of 
 obtaining food — by preying on the cattle of the 
 settlers, or upon the owners themselves — account- 
 ing for this augmentation in their numbers. It 
 is precisely the same with the royal tiger of India, 
 as is instancea in the history of the modern settle- 
 ment of Singapore. 
 
 To prevent the increase of the jaguars then, a 
 bounty is offered for their destruction. This 
 bounty is sometimes the gift of the government of 
 the country, and sometimes of the municipal autho- 
 rities of the district. Not unfrequently private indi- 
 viduals, who own largo herds of cattle, give a 
 bounty out of their private purses for every jaguar 
 killed within the limits of their estates. Indeed, it 
 is not an uncommon thing for the wealthy pro- 
 prietor of a cattle-estate {hacienda dc ganadcs) to 
 
252 BiiUiK. 
 
 maintain one or more "tigreros" in his service — 
 just as gamekeepers are kept by European grandees 
 — whose sole business consists in hunting and 
 destroying the jaguar. These men are sometimes 
 pure Indians, but, as a general thing, they are of 
 the mixed, or 5j:e9t%e race. It need hardly be said 
 that they are hunters of the greatest courage. 
 They require to be so : since an encounter with a 
 full-grown jaguar is but little less dangerous than 
 with his striped congener of the Indian jungles. 
 In these conflicts, the tigreros often receive severe 
 wounds from the teeth and claws of their terrible 
 adversary ; and, not unfrequently, the hunter him- 
 self becomes the victim. 
 
 Ton may wonder that men are found to follow 
 such a perilous calling, and with such slight induce- 
 ment — for even the bounty is only a trifle of a 
 dollar or two— differing in amount in difierent 
 districts, and according to the liberality of the 
 bestower. But it is in this matter as with all 
 others of a like kind — where the very danger itself 
 seems to be the lure. 
 
 The tigrcro usually fe^'^lids upon fire-arms for 
 destroying his noble g^me ; but wliero his shot 
 fails, and it is necessary to come to close quarters, 
 
EATINO A XEORO'S HEAD. 253 
 
 he will even attack the jaguar with his machete — a 
 species of half-kuife halt-sword, to be found in 
 every Spanish-American cottage from California to 
 Chili. 
 
 Very often the jaguar is hunted without the 
 gun. The tigrcro, iu this case, arms himself with 
 a short spear, the shaft of which is made of a strong 
 hard wood, either a gtiaiacum, or a piece of the split 
 trunk of one of the hardwood palms. 
 
 The point of this spear is frequently without 
 iron — only sharpened and hardened by being held 
 in the fire — and with this in his left band, and his 
 short sword in the right, the hunter advances with 
 confidence upon his formidable adversary. This 
 confidence has been fortified by a contrivance 
 which he has had the precaution to adopt — that is, 
 of enveloping his left arm in the ample folds of 
 his blanket — scrape, roana, or poncho, according to 
 the country to which he belongs — and using this 
 as a shield. 
 
 The left arm is held well forward, so that the 
 woollen mass may cover his body against the bound 
 of the animal, and thus is the attack received. The 
 jaguar, like all feline quadrupeds, springs directly 
 forward upon his prey. The tigrcro prepared for this, 
 
254 BRUIX. 
 
 and, with every nerve braced, receives the assailant 
 upon the point of his short spear. Should the jaguar 
 strike with its claws it only clutches the woollen 
 cloth ; and while tearing at this — which it believes 
 to be the body of its intended victim — the right arm 
 of the hunter is left free, and with the sharp blade 
 of his macliete he can either make cut or thrust at 
 his pleasure. It is not always that the tigrero 
 succeeds in destroying his enemy without receiving 
 a scratch or two in return ; but a daring hunter 
 makes light of such wounds — for these scars be- 
 come badges of distinction, and give him eclat 
 among the villages of the Montaiia. 
 
 Just such a man was the guide whom our young 
 hunters had engaged, and who, though a tiger 
 hunter by profession, was equally expert at the 
 capturing of a bear — when one of these animals 
 chanced to stray down from the higher slopes of 
 the mountains, into the warmer country frequented 
 by the jaguars. It was not always tliat bears could 
 be found in these lower regions ; but there is a 
 particular season of the year when the black bear 
 {ursus fnigilegiis) descends far below his usual 
 range, and even wanders far out into the forests 
 of the Monlaua. 
 
EA.T1NG A >EOUO S UEAD. 2oO 
 
 Of course there must be some inducement for 
 his making this annual migration from his moun- 
 tain home ; for the ursus frugilegus, though here 
 dwelling within the tropics, docs not affect u 
 tropical climate. ^Neither is he a denizen of the 
 very cold plains — the paramos — that extend among 
 the summits of eternal snow. A medium tempera- 
 ture is his choice; and tliis, as we have already 
 stated, he finds among the foot-hills, forming the 
 lower zone of the Eastern Andes. It is there 
 he spends most of his life, and that is his place 
 of birth, and consequently his true home. At 
 a particular season of the year, corresponding to 
 the summer of our own country, he makes a roving 
 expedition to the lower regions; and for what 
 purpose ? This was the very question which 
 Alexis put to the tigrero. The answer was as 
 curious as laconic : 
 
 " Comer la calcza del negro." (To cat the 
 negro's head !) 
 
 "lla, ha! to eat the negro's head !" repeated 
 Ivan, with an incredulous laugh. 
 
 " Just 80, senorito!" rejoined the man; "that 
 is what brings him down here." 
 
 " Why, the voracious brute ! " said Ivan ; '* you 
 
2uG BEUIN. 
 
 don't mean to say that he makes food of the heads 
 of the poor negroes ? " 
 
 "Ob no!" replied the tigrero, smiling in his 
 turn ; " it is not that." 
 
 " What then ? " impatiently inquired Ivan. 
 "I've heard of negro-head tobacco. He's not a 
 tobacco chewer, is he ? " 
 
 " Carramho! no, scfiorito," replied the tiger 
 hunter, now laughing outright; "that's not the 
 sort of food the fellow is fond of. Tou'll see it 
 presently. By good luck, it's just in season now — 
 just as the bears fancy it — or else we needn't look 
 to start them here. We should have to go further 
 up the mountains : where they are more difficult 
 both to find and follow. But no doubt we'll soon 
 stir one up, when we get among the cahezas del 
 negro. The nuts are just now full of their sweet 
 milky paste, of which the bears are so fond, and 
 about a mile from here there are wliole acres of 
 tlie trees. I warrant we lind a bear among them." 
 
 Though still puzzled witli this half-explanation, 
 our young hunters followed the guide — confident 
 tliat they would soon come in sight of the " negro's 
 head." 
 
TUE TAGCA TEEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE TAOUA TREE. 
 
 Aftee going about a mile further, as their guide 
 had forewarned them, they caine within sight of a 
 level valley, or rather a plain, covered with a 
 singular vegetation. It looked as if it had been 
 a forest of palms — the trunks of which had sunk 
 down into the earth, and left only the heads, with 
 their great radiating fronds above the ground ! 
 Some of them stood a foot or two above the 
 surface ; but most appeared as if their stems had 
 been completely buried ! They were growing all 
 the same, however ; and, at the bottom of each 
 great bunch of pinnate leaves, could bo seen a 
 number of large, roundi&h objects — which were 
 evidently the fruits of the plant. 
 
 There was no mystery about the stems being 
 buried underground. Tliero wcro no stems, and 
 never had been any — except those that were seen 
 rising a yard or so above the surface. Neither 
 
258 BBriK. 
 
 was there any longer a mystery about the " negro's 
 head ; " for the rounded fruit, with its wrinkled 
 coriaceous pericarp — suggesting a resemblance to 
 the little curly knots of wool on the head of an 
 African — was evidently the object to which the 
 tigrero had applied the ambiguous appellation. 
 
 What our hunters saw was neither more nor 
 less than a grove of Tagua trees — better known as 
 the " vegetable ivory." 
 
 This singular tree was for a long time regarded 
 as a plant of the Cycas family ; and by some 
 botanists it has been classed among the Panda- 
 nacecB, or screw-pines. Growing, as its leaves do, 
 almost out of the earth, or with only a short 
 trunk, it bears a very marked resemblance to the 
 cycads ; but for all this, it is a true palm. Its not 
 having a tall trunk is no reason why it should not 
 be a palm, since many other species of pahnacecB 
 are equally destitute of a visible stem. It is now, 
 however, acknowledged by the most expert bota- 
 nists, that the " Tagua "—or " Caboza del Negro," 
 as the Peruvians style it — is a palm ; and it has 
 been honoured as the representative of a genus 
 (JPIiytelephas) , of wliicli there are but two species • 
 known — the great fruited and little fruited {ma- 
 
TnE TAGUA TREE. 259 
 
 crocarpa and microcarpa). Both are natives of the 
 hot valleys of the Andes, and differ very little 
 from each other; but it is the species with the 
 larger fruit that is distinguished by the figurative 
 title of " negro's head." 
 
 The Peruvian Indians use the pinnate fronds of 
 both species for thatching their huts ; but it is the 
 nuts of the larger one that have given its great 
 celebrity to the tree. These are of an oblong tri- 
 angular shape ; and a great number of them are 
 enclosed in the pericarp, already described. When 
 young, they are filled with a watery liquid that^ 
 has no particular taste ; though regarded by the 
 Indians as a most refreshing beverage. A little 
 older, this crystal-like fluid turns of a milky colour 
 and consistence ; and still later it becomes a white 
 paste. "When fully ripe, it congeals to the white- 
 ness and hardness of ivory itself; and, if kept out 
 of water, is even more beautiful in texture than 
 the tusks of the elephant. It has been employed 
 by the Indians from time immemorial in the con- 
 struction of buttons, heads for their pipes, and 
 many other purposes. Of late years it has found 
 its way into the hands of civilized artisans ; and, 
 since it can bo procured at a cheaper rate, and 
 s 2 
 
2G0 iSRUiy, 
 
 is quile equal to tlie real ivory for many useful and 
 oruamental articles, it has become an important 
 item of commerce. 
 
 But however much the vegetable ivory may be 
 esteemed by the Indians, or by bipeds of any 
 kind, there is one quadruped who thinks quite as 
 much of it as they, and that is tlie black bear of 
 the Andes (iirsus frugilegus). It is not, however, 
 vhen it has reached the condition of ivory that 
 Bruin cares for it. Then tlie nut would be too 
 hard, even for his powerful jaws to crack. It is 
 when it is in the milky state — or rather after it has 
 become coagulated to a paste — that he relishes it ; 
 and with so much avidity docs he devour the 
 sweet pulp, that at this season he is easily dis- 
 covered in the midst of his depredations, and will 
 scarce move away from his meal even upon tlie 
 appearance of tlie hunter ! "While engaged in 
 ■devouring his favourite negro head, he appears 
 indillbrent to any danger that may threaten him. 
 
 Of this our imnters had proof, and very shortly 
 •after entering among the tagua trees. As the 
 tigrero had predicted, they soon came upon the 
 " sign" of a bear, and almost in the same instant 
 discovered Bruin himself browsing upon the fruit. 
 
THE TAOUA TBEE. 261 
 
 The YOung liunters, and Poucbskin too. were 
 about getting ready to fire upon him ; when, to 
 their surprise, they saw the tigrero, wlio was 
 mounted on a prancing little horse, spur out in 
 front of them, and gallop towards the bear. They 
 knew that the killing of the animal should have 
 been left to them • but, as they had given their 
 guide no notice of this, they said nothing, but 
 looked on — leaving the tigrero to manage matters 
 after his ovvn way. 
 
 It was evident that he intended to attack the 
 bear, and in a peculiar fashion. They knew this by 
 seeing that he carried a coil of raw-hide rope over 
 his arm, on one end of which there was a ring and 
 loop. They knew, moreover, that this was a cele- 
 brated weapon of the South Americans — the htzo, 
 in short ; but never having witnessed an exhibition 
 of its use, they were curious to do so; and this 
 also influenced them to keep their places. 
 
 In a few minutes the horseman had galloped 
 within some twenty paces of the bear. The latter 
 took the alarm, and commenced trotting off"; but 
 with a sullen reluctance, which showed that he had 
 no great disposition to shun the encounter. 
 
 The ground was tolerably clear, tho tnguu3 
 
262 BEUIN. 
 
 standing far apart, and many of them not rising 
 higher than the bear's back. This gave the spec- 
 tators an opportunity of witnessing the chase. 
 
 It was not a long one. The bear perceiving 
 that the horseman was gaining upon him, turned 
 suddenly in his tracks, and, with an angry growl, 
 rose erect upon his hind-legs, and stood facing his 
 pursuer in an attitude of defiance. As the horse- 
 man drew near, however, he appeared to become 
 cowed, and once more turning tail, shambled off 
 through the bushes. This time he only ran a few 
 lengths : for the shouts of the hunter provoking 
 him to a fresh fit of fury, caused him to halt again, 
 and raise himself erect as before. 
 
 This was just the opportunity of which the 
 hunter was in expectation; and before the bear 
 could lower himself on all-fours — to charge forward 
 upon the horse, the long rope went spinning through 
 the air, and its noose was seen settling over the 
 shoulders of the bear. The huge quadruped, puz- 
 zled by this mode of attack, endeavoured to seize 
 hold of the rope ; but so thin was the raw-hide 
 thong, that he could not clutch it with his great un- 
 wieldy paws ; and by his efforts he only drew the 
 noose tigliter around his neck. 
 
THE TAGCA TREE. Zo8 
 
 Meanwhile, the hunter, on projecting the lazo, 
 had wheeled, with the quickness of thought ; and, 
 driving his sharp spurs into the ribs of his horse, 
 caused the latter to gallop in the opposite direction. 
 One might have supposed that he had taken fright 
 at the bear, and was endeavouring to get out of 
 the way. Not so. His object was very different. 
 The lazo still formed a link of connection between 
 the hunter and his game. One end of it was fast to 
 a staple firmly imbedded in the wood of the saddle- 
 tree, while the other, as we have seen, was noosed 
 around the bear. As the horse stretched off, the 
 rope was seen to tighten with a sudden jerk ; and 
 Bruin was not only floored from his erect atti- 
 tude, but plucked clear off his feet, and laid 
 sprawling along the earth. In that position he 
 was not permitted to remain : for the horse 
 continuing his gallop, he was dragged along the 
 ground at the end of the lazo — his huge body now 
 bounding several feet from the earth, and now 
 breaking through the bushes with a crackling, 
 crashing noise, such as he had himself never made 
 in his most impetuous charges. 
 
 In this way went horse and boar for half a 
 mile over the plain ; the spectators following after 
 
2G4 BEUIK. 
 
 to witness the ending of the affair. About 
 that there was nothing particular : for when the 
 tigrero at length halted, and the party got up 
 to the ground, they saw only an immobile mass 
 of shaggy hair — so coated with dust as to re- 
 semble a heap of earth. It was the bear without 
 a particle of breath in his body ; but, lest he might 
 recover it again, the tigrero leaped from his horse, 
 stepped up to the prostrate bear, and buried his 
 machete between the ribs of the unconscious 
 animal. 
 
 That, he said, was the way they captured bears 
 in his part of the country. Tliey did not employ 
 the same plan with the jaguars : because these 
 animals, crouching, as they do, offered no oppor- 
 tunity for casting the noose over them ; and, besides, 
 the jaguars haunt only among thick woods, where 
 the lazo could not be used to advantage. 
 
 Of course, the skin of this particular bear was 
 not suitable for the purpose for which one was re- 
 quired ; and the tigrero kept it for his own profit. 
 J5ut that did not signify: another boar was soon 
 discovered among the tagua trees ; and this being 
 despatched by a shot from the riile of Alexis, — 
 supplemented, perhaps, by a bullet from the fusil 
 
THE TAQUA TEEE. 2G5 
 
 of the cx-guardsmnn, — supplied tlicm witli a skin 
 according to contract; and so far as the ursusfru- 
 gihgus was concerned, their bear-hunting in tliat 
 neighbourhood was at an end. To find his cousin 
 with tlic " goggle eyes," they would have to journey 
 onward and upward ; and adopting for tlieir motto 
 the spirit-stirring ej'mbol " Excelsior ! " they pro- 
 ceeded to climb the stupendous Cordilleras of the 
 Andes. 
 
 In one of the higher valleys, known among Peru- 
 vians as the " Sierra," they obtained a specimen of 
 the " llucumari." They chanced upon this crea- 
 ture while he was engaged in plundering a field of 
 Indian corn — quite close to a " tambo," or travel- 
 ler's shed, where they had put up for the night. 
 It was very early in the morning when the corn- 
 stealer was discovered ; but being caught in tlio 
 act, and his whole attention taken up with the 
 sweet milky ears of maize, his " spectacled " eyes 
 did not avail him. Our hunters, approaching with 
 due caution, were able to get so near, that tiie first 
 shot tumbled him over among the stalks. 
 
 Having secured his .skin, they mounted their 
 mules, and by the great Cordillera road proceeded 
 onward to the ancient capital of northern Peru. 
 
266 BBUiN. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXYII. 
 
 NOETHWAED ! 
 
 ArxEK resting some days in the old capital of 
 Quito, our travellers proceeded to the small port 
 of Barbacoas, on the west coast of Equador ; and 
 thence took passage for Panama. Crossing the 
 famous isthmus to Porto Bello, they shipped again 
 for New Orleans, on the Mississippi. Of course, 
 their next aim was to procure the North American 
 bears — including the Polar, which is equally an 
 inhabitant of northern Asia, but which, by the con- 
 ditions of their route, would be more conveniently 
 reached on the continent of North America. Alexis 
 knew that the black bear {ursiis amc7'icanus) might 
 be met with anywhere on that continent from the 
 shores of Hudson's Bay to the isthmus of Panama, 
 and from the seaboard of the Atlantic to the coast 
 of the Pacific Ocean. No other has so wide a range 
 as this species — with the exception, perhaps, of the 
 
yoBTiiWAUu ! 267 
 
 brown bear of Europe — which, as we have said, is 
 also an Asiatic animal. Throughout the whole 
 extent of country above dcGued, the black bear 
 mav be encountered, not specially confining himself 
 to mountain-ranges. True, in the more settled 
 districts he has been driven to these — as affording 
 him a refuge from the hunter ; but in his normal 
 condition he is by no means a mountain-dwelling 
 animal. On the contrary, he affects equally the 
 low-wooded bottoms of ravines, and is as much at 
 home in a climate of tropical or sub-tropical cha- 
 racter, as in the cold forests of the Canadas. 
 
 Mr. Spencer Baird — the naturalist intrusted by 
 the American Government to describe the fauna 
 of their territory, and furnished for his text with 
 one of the most splendid collections ever made — in 
 speaking of the genus ursus, makes the following 
 remarks : — 
 
 " The species of bears are not numerous, nor are 
 they to be found except in the temperate regions of 
 the northern hemisplicre. .North America possesses 
 more species than any other part of the world, 
 having at least four, and perhaps five." 
 
 With the exception of the very idle assertion 
 that " the species of bears are not numerous," 
 
268 BBum. 
 
 every idea put forth in the above categorical 
 declaration is the very reverse of what is true. 
 
 Is the polar bear found only in the temperate 
 regions of the northern hemisphere ? Is the 
 ursus arctos of Europe confined to these limits ? 
 Are the bears of South America ? — the sloth bear 
 of India and Ceylon ? — the bruang of Borneo ? — 
 and his near congener, the bruang of Java and 
 Sumatra ? Why, these last are actually dwellers 
 among palm-trees — as the cocoa-planters know to 
 their cost ! Even Mr. Baird's own American black 
 bear is not so " temperate " in his habits ; but loves 
 tlie haU'-tropical climate of Florida and Texas quite 
 as much as the cold declivities of the Alleghanies. 
 
 And how does North America possess more 
 species than any other part of the world ? Even 
 admitting the doubtful fifth, on the continent of 
 Asia there are six species at the very least ; and, 
 if we are allowed to include the Oriental islands, 
 we make eight Asiatic. There are throe species 
 in the Himalaya mountains alone — unquestionably 
 distinct, dwelling in separate zones of altitude, but 
 witli tlie territory of all three visible at a single 
 coup d'ocil. 
 
 Mr. Baird is a naturalist of great celebrity la 
 
KouTnwABD ! 269 
 
 America. He is a secretary of the Smithsonian 
 Institution: he should make better use of the 
 books which its fine library can afford him. 
 
 The United States' Government is extremely 
 unfortunate in the selection of its scientific em- 
 ployes — more especially in the departments of 
 natural history. Perhaps the most liberal appro- 
 priation ever made for ethnological purposes — that 
 for collecting a complete account of the North 
 American Indians — has been spent witliout pur- 
 pose, the "job" having fallen into the hands of a 
 "placeman," or "old hunker," as the Americana 
 term it — a man neither learned nor intellectual. 
 With the exception of the statistics furnished by 
 Indian agents, the voluminous work of School- 
 craft is absolutely worthless; and students of 
 ethnology cannot contemplate such a misappro- 
 priation without feelings of regret. 
 
 Fortunately, the American aboriginal had 
 already found a true portraycr and historian. 
 Private enterprise, as is not unfrequently the 
 case, has outstripped Government patronage ia 
 the performance of its task. In the unpretend- 
 ing volumes of George Catlin we find the most 
 complete ethnological monograph ever given to 
 
270 BBTJlJf. 
 
 the world ; but just for that reason, Catlin, not 
 Schoolcraft, should have been chosen for the 
 "job." 
 
 Knowing the range of the black bear to be thus 
 grandly extended, our young hunters had a choice 
 of places in which to look for one ; but, as there is 
 no place where these animals are more common 
 than in Louisiana itself, they concluded that they 
 could not do better than there choose their 
 hunting ground. In the great forests, which still 
 cover a large portion of Louisiana, and especially 
 upon the banks of the sluggish bayous, where the 
 marshy soil and the huge cypress trees, festooned 
 with Spanish moss, bid defiance to all attempts at 
 cultivation, the black boar still roams at will. 
 There he is found in sufficient numbers to ensure 
 the procuring of a specimen without much diffi- 
 culty. 
 
 The hunters of these parts have various modes 
 of capturing him. The log-trap is a common 
 plan ; but the planters enjoy the sport of running 
 him down with dogs; or rather should it be termed 
 running him up ; since th(s chase usually ends by 
 Bruin taking to a tree, and thus unconsciously 
 putting himself within roach of tlic unerring rifle. 
 
KOBTnWABD ! 271 
 
 It was by this means that our young hunters 
 detferained to try their luck; and they had no 
 difficulty in procuring the necessary adjuncts to 
 ensure success. The great Czar, powerful every- 
 where, was not without his agent at ?s'cw Orleans. 
 From him a letter of introduction was obtained to 
 a planter living on one of the interior hayous ; and 
 our heroes, having repaired thither, were at once 
 set in train for the sport — the planter placing him- 
 self, his house, his hounds, and his horses at their 
 disposal. 
 
272 BEiriN. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE NOETHEKN PORESTS. 
 
 Osr their arrival, the hospitable planter sent to 
 his neighbours, and arranged a grand hunt, to come 
 off at an early day speciGed in the invitation. Each 
 •was to bring with him such hounds as he was pos- 
 sessed of — and in this way a large pack might bo 
 got together, so that a wide extent of forest could 
 be driven. 
 
 Among the planters of the Southern states this 
 is a very common practice: only a few of them 
 keeping what might be called a regular kennel 
 of hounds, but many of them having five or 
 six couples. ]n a neighbourhood favourable to 
 the cliasc, by uniting a number of these little 
 bands together, a pack may be got up large enough 
 for any purpose. 
 
 The usual game hunted in the Southern states 
 is the American fallow-deer (cervus virginianus), 
 which is still found iu considerable plenty in the 
 
THE XOUTHEnS FORESTS. 27.3 
 
 more solit.Try tracts of forest all over the L'nited 
 States. It in the only species of deer indigenous to 
 Louisiana: since, the noble stag or "elk," as he is 
 erroneously called (cervus canadensis), docs not 
 range so far to the south. On the Pacific coast 
 this animal is found in much lower latitudes than 
 on that of the Atlantic. 
 
 Besides the fallow-deer, the fox gives sport to 
 the Louisiana hunter. This is the grey fox {vuJj)es 
 virjinianus). The bay lynx also — or wild cat, as it 
 is called {Jynx rvfus) — and now and then, but more 
 rarely, the cougar {fdis eoncolor), give the hounds 
 a run before taking to the tree. 
 
 Racoons, opossums, and skunks are common 
 enough in tho forests of Louisiana ; but these are 
 regarded as " vermin," and are not permitted to 
 lead the dogs a.stray. 
 
 With regard to the other animals mentioned, they 
 all rank as noble game — especially the cougar, 
 called "panther" by the backwoodsman — and tho 
 pack may follow whichever is first " scared up." 
 
 The grand game, however, is tho bear ; and tho 
 capture of Bruin is not a feat of cvery-day occur- 
 rence. To find bis haunts it is necessary to make 
 an excursion into the more unfrequented and inac 
 T 
 
274 BEUIN. 
 
 cessible solitudes of the forest — in places often 
 inauy miles from a settlement. Kot unfrequently, 
 however, the old gentleman wanders abroad from 
 his unknown retreat, and seeks the plantations — 
 where in the night-time he skulks round the edges 
 of the fields, and commits serious depredations on 
 the young maize plants, or the succulent stalks of 
 the sugar-cane, of which he is immoderately fond. 
 Like his brown congener of Europe he has a 
 sweet tooth, and is greatly given to honey. To get 
 at it he climbs the bee-trees, and robs the hive of 
 its stores. In all these respects he is like the 
 brown bear ; but otherwise he diflers greatly from 
 the latter species, so much indeed, that it is matter 
 of surprise how any naturalist should have been led 
 to regard them as the same. 
 
 Not only in colour, but in shape and other respects, 
 are they totally unlike. "While the fur of the brown 
 bear is tossed and tufty — having that appearance 
 usually termed shaggy — that of the Aiuorican black 
 bear is of uniform length, and all lying, or rather 
 standing, in one direction, presenting a smooth sur- 
 face corresponding to the contour of his body. lu 
 this respect he is far more akin to tlio bears of the 
 Asiatic islands, tiian to tlie nrsus arctos. In shape, 
 
THE KOntllEnX FORESTS. li/5 
 
 too, be differs essentially from the latter. His body 
 is more slender, bis muzzle longer and sharper, and 
 his proGle is a curve with its convexity upward. 
 This last characteristic, which is constant, pro- 
 claims bim indubitably a distinct species from the 
 brown bear of Europe ; and he ia altogether a 
 smaller and more mild-tempered animal. 
 
 As the grand " chasse " had been arranged to 
 come off on the third day after their arrival, our 
 young hunter* determined to employ the inter- 
 val in ranging the neighbouring woods ; not with 
 any expectation of finding a bear — as their host 
 did not believe there was any ao near — but rather 
 for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the 
 character of the Xorth American sylva. 
 
 That of South America Alexis had carefully ob 
 served and studied in their long journey across 
 that continent. He had noted the grand tropical 
 trees — the palms and pothos plants — the mimosas 
 and mu8ace<B — the magnificent forms of the hombax 
 and hertJiolletia — the curious cecropias and fig-trees 
 — the giant cedrclaa and the gum-yielding sipho' 
 nias. On the Andes he had observed the agaves, 
 the cycads, and cactaccie — all strange to the eye of 
 a Eussian. He was now desirous of making himself 
 X 2 
 
276 EnuiN. 
 
 familiar with the forests of North America; which, 
 tliough of a sub-tropical character in Louisiana, 
 contained forma altogether different from those of 
 the Amazonian regions. Here he would meet 
 \\ith the famed magnolia, and its relative the tulip- 
 tree ; the catalpa and flowering cornel, the giant 
 cypress and sycamore, the evergreen oak, the 
 water-loving tupelo, and the curious fan-like pal- 
 metto. Of these, and many other beautiful trees 
 belonging to tlie North American si/Jva, Alexis 
 had read — in fact, knew them botanically ; but 
 he wished to cultivate a still plcasanter acquaint- 
 ance with them, by visiting them in their own 
 native liome. 
 
 Tor this purpose he and Ivan set out alone, 
 with only a negro for their guide ; the planter 
 bein"; en":a<];ed, visiting: his different friends, and 
 warning thera for the grand hunt. 
 
 Pouchskin remained behind. He had been left 
 at the house — to do some necessary repairs to the 
 travelling traps both of himself and his young 
 masters, which, after tlieir long South Amcricvui ex- 
 pedition, needed looking to. At this work had 
 Pouchskin been left, Burrounded by a circle of 
 grinning darkies, iu whose company the old 
 
TlIK LOSE LAOOOX. 277 
 
 grenadier would find material to interest and 
 amuse him. 
 
 It was only for a stroll that our young hunters 
 had sallied forth, and without any design of entering 
 upon the chase ; but they had become so accus- 
 tomed to carrying their guns everywhere, that these 
 were taken along with them. Some curious bird or 
 quadruped might be started — whose fur or feathers 
 they might fancy to make an examination of. For 
 that reason, both shouldered their guns. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE LONE LAGOOK. 
 
 TiiET were soon beyond the bounds of the plv • 
 tation, and walking under the dark mnjestic 
 woods — the darkey guiding them on their way. 
 They had heard of a curious lake or lagoon, that lay 
 about a mile from the plantation. There they would 
 be likely to witness a spectacle characteristic of 
 
278 BEUIIT. 
 
 the swamps of Louisiana ; and tbibher they directed 
 their steps. 
 
 Sure enough, on arriving at the borders of the 
 lagoon, a singular scene was presented to their 
 eyes. The whole surface of the lake appeared alive 
 with various forms of birds and reptiles. Hun- 
 dreds of alligators were seen, lying like dead trees 
 upon the water, their corrugated backs appearing 
 above the surface. Most of them, however, were 
 in motion, swimming to and fro, or darting rapidly 
 from point to point, as if in pursuit of prey. Xow 
 and then their huge tails could be seen curling 
 high up in air, and then striking down upon the 
 water, causing a concussion that echoed far 
 through the forest. At intervals a shining object, 
 flung upward by their tails, could be seen for a 
 moment in the air, amidst the showery spray that 
 was raised along with it. It was easy to see that the 
 glittering forms thus projected were fishes, and 
 that it was the pursuit of these that was causing 
 the commotion among the huge reptiles. Aquatic 
 birds, of a great number of kinds, were equally 
 busy in the pursuit of the fish. Huge pelicans 
 stood up to their tibia in tlie water — now and then 
 immersing their long mandibles and tossing their 
 
THE LOXE LA.GOO>'. 279 
 
 finny victims high into the air. Cranes and herons 
 too were there — among others the tall Louisiana 
 crane — conspicuous among the smaller species — 
 suow-vrhite egrets, the wood ibis, and others of 
 white and roseate hue — the snake-darterjWith long- 
 pointed beak and crouching serpent-like neck — the 
 qua-bird, of lugubrious note and melancholy aspect 
 — and, fairest of all, the scarlet flamingo. 
 
 Other birds besides those of aquatic habits took 
 part in the odd spectacle. Hovering in tlie air 
 were black vultures — the carrion crow and the tur- 
 key-buzzard — and upon the tops of tall dead trees 
 could be seen the king of the feathered multitude, 
 the great white-headed eagle. His congener, the 
 osprey, soared craftily above — at intervals swoop- 
 ing down, and striking his talons into the fish, 
 which the alligators had tossed into the air — thus 
 robbing the reptiles of their prey, to be robbed in 
 turn by his watchful cousin-germau upon the tree. 
 
 The spectacle was far from being a silent one : on 
 the contrary, the confused chorus of sounds was 
 deafening to the ears of the spectators. The hoarse 
 bellowing of the alligators — the concussions made 
 by their great tails striking the water — the croak- 
 ing of the pelicans, and the clattering of their liugo 
 
280 BBUiy. 
 
 mandibles — the doleful screaming of the herons, 
 cranes, and qua-birds — the shrieks of the osprey — 
 and the shrill maniac laughter of the white-headed 
 eagle, piercing through all other sounds — formed a 
 medley of voices as unearthly as inharmonious. 
 
 A shot from the gun of Ivan, that brought 
 down a splendid specimen of the white-headed 
 eagle — together with the appearance of the hunters 
 by the edge of the water — put a sudden termination 
 to this grand drama of the wilderness. The birds 
 flew up into the air, and went soaring off in difle- 
 rent directions over the tops of the tall trees ; while 
 the huge reptiles, that had been taught by the 
 alligator hunters to fear the presence of man, de- 
 sisted for a while from their predatory prey, and 
 retreated to the reeds upon the opposite shore. 
 
 The spectacle was one well worthy of being seen, 
 and one that cannot be witnessed every day — even 
 in the swamps of Louisiana. Its occurrence at 
 that time was accounted for by the drying up of 
 the lake, which left the fish at the mercy of their 
 numerous enemies. 
 
 Having taken up the eagle which Ivan had shot* 
 the young hunters continued their excursion along 
 tiic edge of the lajroon. 
 
TOE LONE L.VOOOK. 2S1 
 
 They Lad not gone far when tlicy came upon a 
 bank of mud, that had formerly been covered with 
 water. So recently liad the water dried from it. 
 that, in spite of the hot sun shining down upon it, 
 the mud was still soft. They had not gone many 
 steps further, when they perceived upon its surface, 
 what at first they supposed to be the tracks of a 
 man. On getting a little closer, ho»vever, they 
 doubted this ; and, now recollecting the resem- 
 blance which they had noticed in the snows of 
 Lapland — between the footsteps of a human being 
 and those of a bear — it occurred to them that 
 these might also be bear tracks — though thev 
 knew that the tracks of the American bear would 
 be slightly difl'erent from those of his European 
 cousin. 
 
 To satisfy themselves, they hastened forward to 
 e.\amine the tracks ; but their negro guide hat! 
 anticipated them, and now called out, with tho 
 whites of his eyes considerably enlarged, — 
 
 " Golly, young mass'rs ! dat bo do tracks ob urn 
 ba!" 
 
 " A bear ! " 
 
 " Ya, ya, mass'rs! a big ba — dis child know urn 
 track — see'd um many do time — do ole coou ho be 
 
282 Euriy. 
 
 arter de fish too — all ob dem adoin' a bit ob fisbin' 
 dis morniu' — yau', yaw, yaw ! " 
 
 And the darkey laughed at what he appeared to 
 consider an excellent joke. 
 
 On closely scrutinizing the tracks, Alexis andlvan 
 saw that they were in reality the tracks of a bear — 
 though much smaller than those they had followed 
 in Lapland. They were quite fresh — in fact, so 
 recently did they appear to have been made, that 
 both at the same time, and by an involuntary im- 
 pulse, raised their eyes from the ground and 
 glanced around them ; as if they expected to see 
 the bear himself. 
 
 No such animal was in sight, however. It was 
 quite probable he had been on the ground, at their 
 first coming up to the lake ; but the report of 
 Ivan's gun had alarmed him, and he had made off 
 into the woods. This was quite probable. 
 
 " What a pity," reflected Ivan, " that I didn't 
 leave the eagle alone ! We might have got sight 
 of Master Bruin, and given him the shot instead. 
 And now," added he, " what's to be done ? There's 
 no snow, — therefore we can't track the brute. The 
 mud bank ends here, and he's gone oft' it, the 
 way he came ? Of course he wouldn't bo out 
 
THE LOXE LAGOOX. 2S3 
 
 yonder among those logs ? lie would'iit have taken 
 shelter there, would he ? " 
 
 As Iran spoke, he pointed to a little peninsula 
 that jutted out into the lake, some twenty or thirty 
 yards beyond the spot where tliey were standing. 
 It was joined to the mainland by a narrow neck or 
 isthmus of mud; but at the end towards the 
 water there was a space of several yards covered 
 with dead trees — that had been floated thither in 
 the floods, and now lay high and dry, piled irregu- 
 larly upon one another. 
 
 Alexis looked in the direction of this pile as 
 Ivan pointed it out. 
 
 " I'm not so sure of that," he answered, after 
 scrutinizing the logs. " It's a likely enough place 
 for an animal to lurk. He might be there ? " 
 
 " Let us go and see, then ! " said Ivan. " If he's 
 there be can't escape us, without our having a shot 
 at him ; and you say that these American bears 
 are much easier killed than ours. The South 
 Americans were so, certainly. I hope their 
 northern brothers may die as easy." 
 
 " Not all," rejoined Aleiis. " Wo may expect 
 some toug-h struggles when we come to the great 
 grisly, and to him of the polar regions ; but tlie 
 
28i BEUiy. 
 
 black bears are, as you conjecture, not so difficult 
 to deal \Aith. If wounded, however, they will 
 show fight ; and, though their teeth and claws are 
 less dangerous than the others, they can give a man 
 a most uncomfortable bug, I have heard. But let 
 us go, as you say. If not yonder, he must have 
 taken to the woods. In that case there is no way 
 of following him up, except by dogs ; and for these 
 we must go back to the house." 
 
 As they continued talking, they advanced to- 
 wards the narrow isthmus that connected the little 
 peninsula with the mainland. 
 
 " AVhat a pity," remarked Ivan, " tliat that great 
 log is there ! But for it we might have seen his 
 track in the mud crossing over." 
 
 Ivan referred to a prostrate trunk that traversed 
 the istlnnus longitudinally — extending from the 
 mainland to the higher ground of tlic peninsula, 
 to which it formed a kind of bridge or causeway. 
 Certainly, had it not been there, either the bear's 
 tracks would have been seen in the mud or not ; and 
 if not, then no bear could have passed over to the 
 peninsula, and their exploration would have been 
 unnecessary. But, although they saw no tracks, 
 they had started to examine the wood pile ; and 
 
TUE I,0>E LAGOOX. 2S5 
 
 they continued on, climbing up to tlie log, and 
 walking along its top. 
 
 All at o:ice, Alexis was seen to pause and bend 
 his body forward and downward. 
 
 " What id it ? " inquired Ivan, who was behind, 
 on seeing his brother in the bent attitude, as if 
 be looked at something on the log. 
 
 " The bear's tracks ! " ar)swered Alexis, in a low 
 but earnest tone. 
 
 "Ha! you think so? Where?" 
 
 Alexis pointed to the dead wood under his eyes — 
 upon the bark of which were visible, not tlie tracks 
 of a bear, but dabs of mud, that must have been 
 recently deposited there, either by the feet of a 
 bear, or some other animal. 
 
 " liy the Great Peter!" said Ivan, speaking 
 cautiously, notwithstanding his innocent adjura- 
 tion ; " that must be his tracks ? It's the same 
 sort of mud as that in which we've just been 
 tracing him — black as ink nearly. It has come 
 off his great paws — not a doubt of it, brother ? " 
 
 " I think it is likely," assented Alexis, at llio 
 same time that both looked to the locks of their 
 guns, and saw that the caps were on the nipples. 
 
 A little further along the log, the bark wa» 
 
2SG BEUIX. 
 
 smoother, and there the track was still more con. 
 spicuous. The print was better defined, and 
 answered well for the footmark of a bear. There 
 was the naked paw, and the balls of the five toes, 
 all complete. They no longer doubted that it was 
 the track of a bear. 
 
 It was just a question whether the animal had 
 gone over the log and returned again. But this 
 was set at rest, or nearly so, by a closer scrutiny. 
 There was no sign of a return track. True, he 
 might have washed his paws in the interval, or 
 cleaned them on the dead wood ; but that was 
 scarce probable, and our hunters did not think so. 
 They felt perfectly sure that the bear was before 
 them ; and, acting upon this belief, they cocked 
 their guns, and continued their approach towardd 
 the wood pile. 
 
▲ SABKET 0>' fi£AB-BACK. 287 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 A DAHKEY 0>' BEAR-BACK. 
 
 Boxn the young hunters succeeded in passing over 
 the log, and had set foot on the peninsula ; while 
 the negro, who was following a little behind, was 
 still upon the prostrate trunk. Just at that moment 
 a noise was heard — very similar to that made by a 
 pig when suddenly started from its bed of straw — 
 a sort of half snort, half grunt ; and along with the 
 noise a huge black body was seen springing up 
 from under the loose pile of dead trees, causing 
 several of them to shake and rattle under its 
 weight. Our hunters saw at a glance that it was 
 the bear; and levelled their guns upon it witli the 
 intention of firing. 
 
 The animal had reared itself on its hind legs — 
 as if to reconnoitre the ground — and wliilu in 
 this attitude both the hunters had sighted it, and 
 were on the eve of pulling their triggers. Before 
 they could do so, however, the bear dropped back 
 
2S8 Buuix. 
 
 on all-fours. So sudden was the movement, that 
 the aim of both was quite disconcerted, and they 
 Loth lowered their guns to get a fresh one. The 
 delay, however, proved fatal to their intention. 
 Before either had got a satisfactory sight upon the 
 body of the bear, the latter sprang forward with a 
 fierce growl, and rushed right between the two, so 
 near that it was impossible for either of them to fire 
 otherwise than at random. Ivan did fire, but to 
 110 purpose ; for his bullet went quite wide of the 
 bear, striking the log behind it, and causing the 
 bark to splinter out in all directions. Tiie bear 
 made no attempt to charge towards them, but 
 rushed straight on — evidently with no other 
 design than to make his escape to the woods. 
 Alexis wheeled round to fire after him ; but, as he 
 was raising his gun, his eye fell upon the negro, 
 MJio was coming on over the log, and who had 
 just got about halfway across it. The boar had 
 by this time leaped up on the other end, and in a 
 luirried gallop — that had been quickened by the 
 report of Ivan's piece — was going right in the oppo- 
 eite direction. The negro, who saw the huge shaggy 
 quadruped coming straight towards liim, at once 
 ect up a loud " hulla-ballo," and, with his eyea 
 
A DABKLT ON BEAR-nAClC. 2S0 
 
 almost starting from their sockets, was entlcavour- 
 in<; to retreat backwards, and get out of the way. 
 
 His efforts proved fruitless : for before he had 
 made three steps to the rear, tlie boar — more 
 frightened at the two adversaries behind him 
 than the one in front — rushed right on, and in 
 the next instant pushed Iris snout, head, and neck 
 between the darkey's legs ! 
 
 Long before this the negro bad lost his senses, 
 but now came the loss of his legs : for as the thick 
 body of the bear passed between them, both were 
 lifted clear up from the log, and hung dangling in 
 the air. For several feet along the log was the 
 negro carried upon the bear's back, his face turned 
 to the tail ; and no doubt, had he preserved his 
 equilibrium, he might have continued his ride for 
 some distance further. But as the darkey had no 
 desire for audi a feat of equestrianism, he kept 
 struggling to clear himself from his involuntary 
 mount. His body was at length thrown heavily to 
 one bide, and its weight acting like a lever upon 
 the bear, caused the latter to lose his balance, 
 and tumbling off the log, both man and bear fel 
 " slap-dash " into the mud. 
 
 For a moment there was a confused scrambling, 
 u 
 
290 BRrix. 
 
 and spattering, and splashing, througli the soft 
 mire — a growling on the part of the bear, and the 
 wildest screeching from the throat of the affrighted 
 negro — all of which came to an end by Bruin — 
 whose body was now bedaubed all over with black 
 mud — once more regaining his feet, and shuffling 
 off up the bank, as fast as his legs could carry him. 
 
 Alexis now fired, and hit the bear behind ; but 
 the shot, so far from staying his flight, only quick- 
 ened his pace ; and before the darkey had got to 
 his feet, the shaggy brute had loped off among the 
 trees, and disappeared from the sight of every- 
 body upon the ground. 
 
 The grotesque appearance of the negro, as he 
 rose out of the mire in which he had been wallow- 
 ing, coated all over with black mud — which was a 
 shade lighter than his natural hue — was too ludi- 
 crous for Ivan to resist laughing at ; and even the 
 more serious Alexis was compelled to give way to 
 mirth. So overcome were both, that it was some 
 minutes before they thought of reloading their 
 guns, and giving chase to the bear. 
 
 After a time, however, they charged again ; and 
 crossing back over the log, proceeded in the direc- 
 tion in which Bruin had made his retreat. 
 
A DARKLY ON BEAn-HACK, 201 
 
 They had no idea of being able to follow him 
 without do<r3 : and it was their intention to send 
 for one or two to the house, when they perceived 
 that the bear's trace could be made out — at least, 
 for some distance — without them. The inky water, 
 that had copiously saturated his long fur, had been 
 constantly dripping as he trotted onward in his 
 flight ; and this could easily bo seen upon the 
 herbage over which he had passed. 
 
 They determined, therefore, to follow this trail 
 as far as they could ; and when it should give 
 out, it would be time enough to send for the 
 dogs. 
 
 They had not proceeded more than a hundred 
 yards ; when all at once the trail trended up to the 
 bottom of a big tree. They might have examined 
 the ground further, but there was no need ; for, 
 on looking up to the trunk, they perceived large 
 blotches of mud, and several scratches upon the 
 bark, evidently made by tho claws of a bear. 
 These scratches were, most of them, of old date ; 
 but there were one or two of them quite freshly 
 done ; besides, tho wet mud was of itself sufllcicnt 
 proof that tho bear had gono up tlio tree, and 
 must still be somewhere in its top. The tree was s 
 u » 
 
292 Bnuix. 
 
 sycamcre, and therefore only sparsely covered witli 
 leaves ; but from its branches hung long festoons 
 of Spanish moss (tiUandsia tisneoides), that grew 
 in large bunches in the forks — in several of which 
 it was possible even for a bear to have stowed 
 himself away in concei>lnient. 
 
 After going round the tree, however, and viewing 
 it from all sides, our hunters perceived tliat the 
 bear was not anywhere among the moss ; but 
 must have taken refuge in a hollow in the trunk — 
 the mouth of which could be seen only from one 
 particular place; since it was hidden on all other 
 sides by two great limbs that led out from it, and 
 between which the cavity had been formed by the 
 decaying of the heart-wood. 
 
 There could be no doubt that Bruin liad entered 
 this tree-cave ; for all arouud the aperture the bark 
 was scraped and worn ; and the wet mud, lately 
 deposited there, was visible i'rom below. 
 
CUTTINO OLT TllK BEAn, 203 
 
 CIL\PTEll XLI. 
 
 CUTTIKO OUT THE BEAU. 
 
 The question was, how he was to be got out ? 
 Perhaps by making a noise he might issue fortli? 
 
 Tliis plan was at once tried, but without success. 
 While the negro rasped the bark with a pole, and 
 struck the stick nt intervals against the trunk, the 
 hunters stood, with guns cocked, watching the hole, 
 and ready to give the bear a reception, tlic moment 
 he should show himself outside. 
 
 It was all to no purpose. Bruin was too 
 cunning for them, and did not protrude even the 
 tip of his snout out of his secure cavity. 
 
 After continuing the rasping, and repeating the 
 blows, till the woods echoed the sonorous con- 
 cussions, Ihey became convinced that this plan 
 would not serve their purpose, and desisted 
 
 On ciamining tbe track mow cloeely, tfcey ncn 
 perceived spots of blood mi.ted among the mud 
 
294 . BHFiy. 
 
 which the bear had rubbed off upon the bark. This 
 convinced them that the animal was ■svounded, and 
 therefore there would be no chance of starting 
 him out from his hole. It was no doubt the 
 wound that had led him to retreat to this tree, so 
 near the ph^ce where he had been attacked, other- 
 wise he would have led them a longer chase 
 througli the woods before attempting to hide liim- 
 self. Wlien, severely wounded, the black bear 
 betakes himself to the first hollow log or tree he 
 can find ; and taking refuge in it, will there re- 
 main — even to die in his den, if the wound has 
 been a fatal one. 
 
 Knowing this habit of the animal, our hunters 
 perceived that they had no chance of again setting 
 their eyes upon the bear, except by cutting down 
 the tree ; and they resolved to adopt this method, 
 and fell the great sycamore to the ground. 
 
 The darkey was despatched to the plantation ; 
 and soon returned with half a dozen of his 
 brethren, armed with axes — Pouchskin heading 
 the sable band. "Without furtlicr delay the chop- 
 ping began ; and the white chips flew out from the 
 great trunk in all directions. 
 
 In about an hour's time tlie 8}1:amore camo 
 
CUTTING OUT THE BEAH. 295 
 
 crashing down, carryiug a number of smaller trees 
 along with it. The hunters, who expected that the 
 bear would at once spring forth, had taken their 
 position to cover the mouth of tlic cavity with their 
 guns ; but, to their surprise, the tree fell, and lay 
 as it had fallen, without any signs of Bruin. This 
 was strange enough ; for, as the negroes alledged, 
 in all similar cases the bear is certain to charge 
 out upon the fall of a tree that contains him ! 
 
 A sapling was now obtained, and inserted into 
 the cavity — at first with caution, but after a time 
 it was punched in with all the force that Pouch- 
 skin could put into his arm. lie could feel the 
 bear quite distinctly ; but poke the animal as he 
 might, it would not stir. 
 
 It was suggested that tliey should cut into the 
 trunk — at a place opposite to where the bear was 
 encased — and then tlu-y could drag him out at 
 will; and, allhougli this would cost a good deal of 
 trouble, it appeared to be the only mode of reach- 
 ing the obstinate animal. 
 
 This course was followed, therefore ; and a cross 
 section being made of the hollow trunk, the shaggy 
 hair was at length reached, and then the body of 
 Bruin, who was found to be dead as a nail ! 
 
296 BEUIK. 
 
 They no longer wondered that he had paid no 
 heed to the punching of the pole. The bullet of 
 Alexis had traversed his huge body in a longi- 
 tudinal direction, until it had lodged in a vital 
 part, and, of course, it vras this that had deprived 
 hiui of life. He would, therefore, have died all the 
 same, and in his tree-den, too, whether they had 
 pursued him or not. 
 
 Our hunters learnt from their negro assistants 
 a singular fact in relation to the black bear : and 
 that is, that the tree-cavity in which the animal 
 often takes shelter, or goes to sleep, is rarely of 
 greater width than his own body ! In most cases 
 it is so narrow, that he cannot turn round in it, nor 
 has it any lair at the bottom wide enough for him 
 to lie down upon. It follows,, therefore, that he 
 must sleep in a standing position, or squatted upon 
 his hams. It is in this attitude he makes his 
 descent into the cavity, and in the same way comes 
 down the trunk of the tree, when at any time 
 making his departure from Iiis den. From this 
 it would appear that the upriglit attilmlo is as 
 natural to this animal, as that of resting on all 
 fours, or even lying prostrate on the ground ; for 
 it is well kuown that, farther to tlic north — where 
 
CUTIIKO OUT THE BEAB. 207 
 
 the winters are more severe, and where the black 
 bear hybernates for a short season — he often takes 
 his nap in a tree-cavitj', which his body completely 
 fills, without the possibility of his turning round 
 in it! One precaution he takes, and that is, to 
 scrape oil' all the rotten wood around the sides of 
 the cavity ; but for what purpose he exercises this 
 curious instinct, neither hunter nor naturalist can 
 tell. Perhaps it is that the projections may not 
 press aj^ainst his body, and thus render his couch 
 uncomfortable ? 
 
 Our young hunters found this bear otie of the 
 largest of his species, and his skin, after the mud had 
 been washed off, proved to be an excellent specimen. 
 
 Of course, they coveted no other ; but for all 
 that, they had the pleasure of being present at the 
 death of several bears, killed in the great hunt 
 that came off on the appointed day. 
 
 A deer-chase was also got up for their spe- 
 cial entertainment — during which a cougar was 
 " treed " and killed — an event of rarer occurrence 
 than even the death of a bear ; for the cougar is 
 now one of the scarcest quadrupeds to bo met 
 with in the forests of North America. 
 
 Another entertainment which the planter pro- 
 
298 BEIJIN. 
 
 vided for his guests ^yas a " larlecue" — a species 
 of festival peculiar to the backwoods of America, 
 and whicb, on account of its peculiarity, deservea 
 a word or two of description. 
 
 CHAPTEE XLII. 
 
 THE SQUATTEe's BAEGAIX. 
 
 As we have just said, the barbecue is a festival 
 which especially belongs to the backwoods settle- 
 ments, although it has now become known even 
 in the older States, and often forms a feature in 
 the great political meetings of an election cam- 
 paign — losing, however, much of its true character 
 in the elaborate adornments and iinprovemeuts 
 sometimes bestowed upon it. 
 
 AVhcn Alexis and Ivan strolled down in the 
 early morning to the quiet glade which liad been 
 selected as the scene of this rural fL-slivity, they 
 found there a noisy and bustling crowd. A mon- 
 strous lire of logs, enough to roast not only a single 
 ox, but a hecatomb of o\eu, was blading near the 
 
THE SQUA-TTEU'S BAEGAIK. 299 
 
 edge of the glade, while a half-dozen cbattcriug 
 negroes were busy digging a great pit close by. 
 This pit, when entirely excavated, measured some 
 ten or twelve feet in length, by five or sii iu width, 
 and perhaps three in depth ; and was lined wkh 
 smooth flat stones. As soon as the logs had 
 ceased to flame and smoke, and were fast falling 
 into a mighty heap of glowing ruddy coals, they 
 were shovelled hastily into the pit. Another 
 party of negroes had been busy in the woods, 
 searching out the tall slender saplings of the paw- 
 paw {asimina triloba), and now returned, bringing 
 their spoil with them. The saplings were laid 
 across the top of the pit, thus extemporizing over 
 it a huge gridiron. The ox, which was to form 
 the staple of the day's feast, had been killed and 
 dressed ; and, having been split in halves after 
 the fashion of the barbecue, was laid upon the 
 bars to roast. Proudly presiding over the opera- 
 tion was the major-domo of the planter's house- 
 hold, assisted by several celebrated cooks of the 
 neighbourhood, and a score of chosen farm-hands, 
 whoso strength was ever and anon invoked to turn 
 the beef; while the cA^ ordered a fresh basting, 
 or himself sprinkled the browning surface with the 
 
300 Bnuiir. 
 
 savoury dressing of pepper, salt, and fine herbs, for 
 the composition of which he had attained a grand 
 reputation. 
 
 The morning wore swiftly on in the observation 
 of these novel manoeuvres ; and with the noon 
 came the guests in numbers from the neighbouring 
 plantations and settlements. Even the determined 
 resistance of the toughest beef must have failed 
 before the hot attack of such an army of live coals, 
 as had lain intrenched in the deep fireplace ; and 
 the tender joints of the enormous Jjozxtf roii were 
 ready to bear their share in the festivities almost as 
 soon as the invited company. Separated with great 
 cleavers, and laid into wliite button-wood trays 
 hollowed out for the purpose, they were borne 
 rapidly to the shady nook selected for the dining- 
 place, followed by vast supplies of sweet potatoes, 
 roasted in the ashes, and of rich, golden maize 
 bread. A barrel of rare cider was broached ; while 
 good old-fashioned puddings, and the luscious 
 fruits of tlie region coiupleted the bill of fiire in 
 honour of the day. Of course " joy was uncon- 
 fined." Everybod^'^ '^ronoanoed the r^fst .-i crrii.t.t 
 success ; and the young Kussians thought that 
 they had never tasted so apiietising a meal. "With 
 
THE squatteb's n.vnGAix. 301 
 
 the cxliiliration of the fresh, clear air, the en- 
 couragement of hearty appetite, and tl)e full 
 flavour of the meat — for it is wt-ll known tliat 
 the sap which exudes from the pawpaw, when thus 
 exposed to fire, adds a new relish to whatever is 
 cooked upon it — combined to make a dinner fit for 
 the Czar himself; and they determined to attempt, 
 at some time, an imitation of the Southern barbecue 
 under the colder sky of Russia. 
 
 Merriment was unbounded ; healths were drunk, 
 songs sung, odd speeches made, and stories told. 
 
 One of the last in particular made an impression 
 upon our heroes ; partly, because it was a bear story, 
 and partly because it illustrated a very character- 
 istic phase of squatter life and practical humour. 
 In fact, Alexis made a sketch of it in his journal, 
 and from his notes we now reconstruct it. 
 
 Two squatters had occupied lands not far from 
 each other, and within some eight or ten miles 
 of a small town. Busied in clearing off the 
 woodland, each bethought himself of a eourco of 
 revenue beyond the produce of his tilled ground. 
 lie would occupy an occasional leisure day in 
 hauling to the town, the logs which ho cut from 
 time to time, and then selling them as firewood. 
 
802 ■Buvis. 
 
 This unity of purpose naturally brought the two 
 men into competition with one another for the 
 limited custom of the settlement ; and a riyalry 
 sprang up between them, which was fast ripening 
 into jealousy and ill-will, when a curious coinci- 
 dence occurred. 
 
 Each owned a single yoke of oxen, v.hich he 
 used regularly in his farm labour, and also in drag- 
 ging Ills wood to market. AViihin a week each 
 lost an ox ; one dying of some bovine distemper, 
 — the other being so injured by the fall of a tree, 
 that his owner had been obliged to kill him. 
 
 As one ox could not draw a wood- wagon, the 
 occupation of both squatters as wood merchants 
 ^as gone — and even farm operations were likely 
 to suffer. Each soon heard of his neighbour's 
 predicament ; and proposed to himself to make a 
 bargain for the remaining ox, that he might be the 
 possessor of the pair, continue his clearing pros- 
 perously, and command the wood-hauling business. 
 But, as one might suppose, where both parties were 
 so fully bent upon accomplishing their own ends, 
 the trade was no nearer a conclusion whrn a dozen 
 negotiations had taken place than at first. So 
 matters stood in tsfalu quo, the days rolled by, and 
 
THE squatter's BABOAUf. 303 
 
 our two squnttcrs found tlicir condition waxing 
 desperate. 
 
 One fine morning, squatter the first started off 
 to make a last attempt — determined to close the 
 bargain peaceably if he could, forcibly if he must. 
 Revolving project upon project in his mind, he had 
 traversed the two or three miles of woodland which 
 lay between him and his neighbour's clearing, and 
 was just entering it, when a sudden rustle and 
 significant growl coming from bcliind broke in 
 upon his reverie. Turning liastily, he saw almost 
 at his heels a bear of the most unprepos- 
 sessing aspect. To reach the cabin before Bruin 
 could overtake him was impossible ; and to turn 
 upon the creature would bo folly : for, in the depth 
 of his deliberation, he had forgotten on leaving 
 home to take any kind of weapon with him. Some 
 dead trees had been left standing in the field, and 
 to one of these ho sped with flying steps, hoping to 
 find shelter behind it till help could come. lie did 
 not hope in vain for this protection. Ho found 
 that by pretty active dodging, he could keep the 
 trunk of the tree between himself and the bear — 
 whoso brain could hardly follow the numerous 
 shifts made by the squatter to escape the frequent 
 
304 EEL'iy. 
 
 clutches of his claws. Rising indignantly upon 
 his hind legs, the bear made a fierce rush at the 
 squatter, but hugged only the tough old tree, in 
 whose bark he buried deep his pointed claws. An 
 inspiration flashed through the squatter's inind, as 
 he saw the bear slowly and with some difficulty 
 dragging out his nails ; and seizing Bruin's shanks 
 just above the paws, he braced himself against the 
 tree, resolved to try and hold the claws into their 
 woody sockets until his neighbour could respond 
 to his halloos for help. 
 
 The other squatter heard his cries ; but instead 
 of hastening to the rescue, he came slowly along, 
 carelessly shouldering bis axe. Perceiving his 
 neighbour's difficulty, a new solution of the ox 
 question had entered his mind ; and to the re- 
 doubled appeals for assistance, he calmly replied — 
 
 " Ou one condition, ueiglibour! " 
 
 " What is it?" anxiously inquired the other. 
 
 " If I let you loose from the bar, you'll gi' mo 
 up your odd steer." 
 
 There was no help for it, and with a heavy sigh, 
 the prisoner consented. "Stop!" cried he, ere 
 the axe could fall ; " this old brute lias half plagued 
 the life out o' me, and I'd like nothing bettcr'u the 
 
THE SQUATTEtt's BAnOAlK. 305 
 
 ■atisfaclion o' killin' liiin myself. Jest you ketch 
 hold here, and let mo give liiin his death-blow." 
 
 Tiio second squatter, rejoicing beyond measure 
 at having accomplished his long-desired purpose, 
 unsuspiciously agreed, dropped the axe, cautiou&ly 
 grasped the sinewy. shanks, and bent liis stccngth 
 to the momentary struggle. To his utter dismay, 
 he beheld his neighbour quietly shoulder the axe, 
 and walk away from the ground ! 
 
 " Hold on ! " he shouted ; " ain't yc goin' to kill 
 the bar?" 
 
 " Wal, not jest no\\', I fancy ; I tliought you 
 might like to hang on a wjiile ? " 
 
 The tables thus turned, the deluded squatter 
 had no resource but to make terms with his grimly 
 gleeful neighbour, who at last consented to put an 
 end to the wild beast's life, if he might not only be 
 released from the bargain he had just made, but, 
 in addition, bo himself the recipient of the odd ox. 
 Sorely chagrined, the second squatter consented. 
 But he was a little comforted at the idea of a slight 
 revanche ihxii had just entered his head. AV^atching 
 his chance, as the other approached to deal the 
 fatal blow, with a desperate cfTort he tore out the 
 bear's claws from the bark— setting the infuriated 
 
 X 
 
306 BRriN. 
 
 animal free — and tlien fled at full sp6ed to his 
 cabin, leaving the two original combatants to fight 
 it out between themselves. 
 
 The particulars of the contest even tradition 
 has not preserved — the sequel to the narrative only 
 telling that half an hour later the first squatter, 
 scratched and bloody, hobbled slowly up to the 
 cabin, remarking satirically as he threw down the 
 broken axe: — 
 
 "Thar, neiglibour; I'm afraid I've spiled ycr 
 axe, but I'm sure I've spiled the bar. Prehaps 
 you'd let one o' your leetle boys drive that ero 
 ox over to my house ? " 
 
 * * * * 
 
 After enjoying the hospitality of their planter 
 friend for a few days longer, our travellers once 
 more resumed their journey ; and proceeded up 
 the great Mississippi, towards the cold countried 
 of the North. 
 
THE rOLAU BEAU. 8U« 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 TUE I'OLAU BEAK. 
 
 A PEW weeks after leaviug the Louisiana planter, 
 our hunters were receiving hospitality from a very 
 different kind of host, a " fur-trader." Their head- 
 quarters was Fort Churchill, on the western shore 
 of Hudson's Bay, and once the chief entrepot of 
 the famous company who have so long directed 
 the destinies of that extensive region — sometimes 
 styled Prince Eupert's Land, but more generally 
 known as the " Hudson's Bay Territory." 
 
 To Fort Churchill they had travelled almost 
 due north — first up the Mississippi, then acrosa 
 land to Lake Superior, and direct over the lake to 
 one of the Company's posts on its northern shore. 
 Thence by a chain of lakes, rivers, and " portages" 
 to York factory, and on northward to Fort 
 Churchill. Of course, at Fort Churchill they 
 had arrived within the range of the great white or 
 Polar bear {ursus maritimus), who was to bo the 
 X 2 
 
308 BRUIN. 
 
 next object of their " chasse." In tlio neiglibour- 
 Lood of York factory, and even further to the 
 eouth,they might have found bears of tliis species: 
 for the ursiis maritimus extends his wanderings all 
 round the shores of Hudson's Bay — though not to 
 those of James' Bay further south. The latitude 
 of 55° is his southern limit upon the continent 
 of America ; but this only refers to the shores 
 of Labrador and those of Hudson's Bay. On the 
 vrestern coast Behring's Straits appears to form 
 his boundary southward ; and even within these, 
 for some distance along both the Asiatic and 
 iVraerican shores, he is one of the rarest of wan- 
 derers. His favourite range is among the vast 
 conglomeration of islands and peninsulas that 
 extend around Hudson's and Baffin's Bays — in- 
 cluding the icebound coasts of Greenland and 
 Labrador — while going westward to Behring'a 
 Straits, although the great quadruped is occa- 
 sionally met wilh, he is much more rare. Some- 
 what in a similar manner, are the white bears 
 distributed in the eastern hemisphere. "While 
 found in great plenty in the Fro/.en Ocean, in its 
 central and eastern parts, towards the west, on the 
 northern coasts of Ivussia and Laplajul, they are 
 
THE rOLAn BEAH. 309 
 
 never seen — except when by chance they havo 
 strayed thither, or beca drifted upon masses of 
 floating ice. 
 
 It is unnecessary to remark that this species of 
 bear lives almost exclusively near the sea, and hy 
 the sea. lie may be almost said to dwell upon it: 
 since out of the twelve months in tlie year, ten of 
 them at least are passed by him upon the fields of 
 ice. During the short summer of the Arctic 
 regions, he makes a trip inland — rarely extending 
 it above fifty miles, and never over a hundred — 
 guided in his excursions by the courses of rivers 
 that fall into the sea. His purpose in making 
 these inland expeditions, is to pick up the fresh- 
 water fish ; which he finds it convenient to catch 
 in the numerous falls or sliallows of the streams. 
 lie also varies his fish diet at this season, by 
 making an occasional meal on such roots and 
 berries as he may find growing along the banks. 
 At other times of the year, when all inland water 
 is frozen up, and even the sea to a great distance 
 from land, he then keeps along the extreme edge 
 of the frozen surface, and finds his food in the open 
 water of the eea. Sea-fiah of different species, 
 seals, tlie young walrus, and even at times tho 
 
310 BEUIN. 
 
 young of tbe great whale itself, become his prey — 
 all of which he hunts and captures with a skill and 
 cunning, that appears more the result of a reason- 
 ing process than a mere instinct. 
 
 His natatory powers appear to have no limit : 
 at all events, he has been met with swimming 
 about in open water full twenty miles from either 
 ice or land. He has been often seen much further 
 from shore, drifting upon masses of ice ; but it is 
 doubtful whether he cared much for the footing 
 thus afforded him. It is quite possible he can 
 swim as long as it pleases him, or until his strength 
 may become exhausted by hunger. While going 
 through the water, it docs not appear necessary 
 for him to make the slightest effort ; and he can 
 even spring up above the surface, and bound 
 forward after the manner of porpoises or other 
 cctaccce. 
 
 If any quadruped lias ever reached tlio pole, it 
 is the polar bear ; and it is quite probable that his 
 range extends to this remarkable point on the earth's 
 surface. Most certainly it may, if we suppose that 
 there is open water around the pole — a supposition 
 tliat, by analogical reasoning, may be proved to be 
 correct. The daring Parry found white bears at 82°; 
 
THE FOLAB BEAH. 311 
 
 and there is no reason why they should not traverse 
 the interrcning zone of 500 odd miles, ahnost 
 as easily as the fowls of the air or the fish of the 
 sea. No doubt there are polar bears around the 
 pole ; though it may be assumed for certain that 
 none of them ever attempts to " swarm " up it, as 
 the white bear is not the best climber of his kind. 
 The female ot the polar bear ia not so much 
 addicted to a maritime life as her liege lord. The 
 former, unless when barren, keeps upon the land ; 
 and it is upon the land lliat she brings forth her 
 young. When pregnant, she wanders off to some 
 distance from the shore ; and choosing her bed, she 
 lies down, goes to sleep, and there remains until 
 spring. She does not, like other hybernating 
 bears, seek out a cave or hollow tree ; for in the 
 desolate land she inhabits, ofttimes neither one nor 
 the other could bo found. She merely waits for the 
 setting-in of a great snow-storm — which her in- 
 stinct warns her of — and then, stretching herself 
 under the lee of a rock — or other inequality, where 
 the snow will bo likely to form a deep drift — sho 
 remains motionless till it has "smoored" her qiiito 
 up, often covering her body to the depth of several 
 feet. There she remains throughout the winter, 
 
312 BETJiir. 
 
 completely motionless, and apparently in a state of 
 torpor. The heat of her body thawing the snow 
 that comes immediately in contact with it, together 
 with some warmth from her limited breathing, in 
 time enlarges the space around her, so tliat she 
 reclines inside a sort of icy shell. It is fortunate 
 tliat circumstances provide lier with this extra 
 room : since in due course of time she will stand 
 in need of it for the company she expects. 
 
 And in process of time it is called into use. 
 AVhen the spring sun begins to melt tlie snow- 
 outside, the bear becomes a motlier, and a brace of 
 little white cubs make their appearance, each about 
 as big as a rabbit. 
 
 The motlier docs not immediately lead them 
 forth fi'om their snowy chamber; but continues 
 to suckle them there until they are of the size 
 of Arctic foxes, and i*eady to take the road. Then 
 she makes an effort, breaks through the icy crust 
 that forms the dome of her dwelling, and com- 
 mences her journey towards the sea. 
 
 There are times when the snow around her has 
 become so firudy caked, that, with her strcngtli 
 exhausted by the suckling of her cubs, the bear is 
 unablo to break throu'di it. In a case of tLis 
 
TilE POLAU HEAR. 818 
 
 kind, she is compelled to remain in an invuluntary 
 durance — until the sun gradually melts the ice 
 around her and sets her free. Then she issues 
 from her prolonged imprisonment, only the sha- 
 dow of her former self, and scarce able to keep 
 her feet. 
 
 Tiie Northern Indians and Eskimos capture 
 hundreds of these hybernating bears every season- 
 taking both them and their cubs at the same time. 
 They find the retreat in various ways : sometimes 
 by their dogs scraping to get into it, and some- 
 times by observing the white hoar that hangs over 
 a little hole which the warmth of the bear's breath 
 has kept open in the snow. 
 
 The hunters, having ascertained the c^act posi- 
 tion of the animal's body, either dig from above, 
 and spear the old she in her bed ; or they make a 
 tunnel in a horizontal direction, and, getting a 
 noose around the head or one of the paws of the 
 bear, drag her forth in that way. 
 
 To give an account of the many interesting 
 habits peculiar to the polar bear — with others 
 which this species shares in common with the Bruin 
 family — would require a volume to itself. These 
 habits are well described by many writers of 
 
314 BRUIN 
 
 veracity, — sucli as Lyon, Hearne, Eichardson, and 
 a long array of other Arctic explorers. It is there- 
 fore unnecessary to dwell on them here — where we 
 have only space to narrate an adventure which 
 occurred to our youn^ bear-hunters, vr.me pro- 
 curing the skin of this interesting quadruped. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 THE OLD SHE SUEEOUKDED. 
 
 TnET had been for some days on the look-out for 
 a white bear ; and had made several excursions from 
 the Fort — going as far as the mouth of the Seal 
 river, which runs into Hudson's Bay a little farther 
 to the north. On all these excursions they had 
 been unsuccessful ; for, although they had several 
 times come upon the track of the bears, and liad 
 even seen tliem at a distance, thoy were unable in 
 a single instance to get within shot. The difficulty 
 arose from the level nature of the ground, and its 
 
THE OLD SHE SUREOUNDED. 315 
 
 being quite destitute of trees or other cover, under 
 which they might approach the animalg. The 
 country around Fort Churchill is of this character — 
 and indeed along the whole western shore of 
 Hudson's Bay, where the soil is a low alluviom, 
 without cither rocks or hills. This formation runs 
 landward for about a hundred miles — constituting 
 a strip of marshy soil, which separates the sea 
 from a parallel limestone formation further inward. 
 Then succeed the primitive rocks, which cover 
 a large interior tract of country, known as the 
 " Barren Grounds." 
 
 It is only on the low belt adjoining the coast 
 that the polar bear is found ; but the females range 
 quite across to the skirts of the woods which cover 
 the limestone formation. Our hunters therefore 
 knew that either upon the shore itself, or upon the 
 low alluvial tract adjoining it, they would have to 
 search for their game ; and to this district they 
 con6ncd their search. 
 
 On tiie fifth day they made a more extended 
 excursion towards the interior. It was now the 
 season of midsummer, when the old males range 
 up the banks of the streams: partly with the 
 design of catching a few fresh-water fish, partly to 
 
316 BEUIN. 
 
 nibble at tlie sweet berries, but above all to meet 
 the females, who just tlien, with their half-grown 
 cubs, come coyly seaward to meet their old friends 
 of the previous year, and introduce their offspriug 
 to their fathers, who up to this hour have not set 
 eyes on them. 
 
 On the present excursion our hunters were more 
 fortunata than before : since they not only wit- 
 nessed a reunion of this sort, but succeeded in 
 making a capture of the wliole family, — father, 
 motlier, and cubs. 
 
 They had on this occasion gone up the Churchill 
 river, and were ascending a branch stream that runs 
 into the latter, some miles above the fort. Their 
 mode of travelling was in a birch-bark canoe: for 
 horses are almost unknown in the territory of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, excepting in those parts of 
 it that consist of prairie. Throughout most of this 
 region the only means of travelling is by canoes 
 and boats, which are managed by men who follow 
 it as a calling, and who are styled " voyageurs." 
 They are nearly all of Canadian origin — many of 
 them half-breeds, and extremely skilful in tlie 
 navigation of the lakes and rivers of this untrodden 
 wildcruosa. Of course most of them are in (he 
 
THE OLD SHE SUUnOrNDEJ. 317 
 
 employ of the Hudson's Boy Company ; and when 
 not actually engaged in " voyaging " do a little 
 hunting and trapping on their own account. 
 
 Two of these voyageurs — Kindly furnished by 
 the chief factor at the fort — propelled the canoe 
 which carried our young hunters ; so that with 
 Pouchskin there were five men in the little craft. 
 This was nothing, however, as birch-bark canoes 
 are used in the Territory of a much larger 
 kind — some that will even carry tons of merchan- 
 dise and a great many men. Along the bank of 
 the stream into which they had now entered grew 
 a selvage of willows — here and there forming leafy 
 thickets that were impenetrable to the eye; but 
 in other places standing so thinly, that the plains 
 beyond them could be seen out of the canoe. 
 
 It was a likely enough place for white bears to 
 be found in — especially at this season, wlicn, as 
 already stated, the old males go inland to meet 
 the females, as well as to indulge in a little vege- 
 table diet, after having ccnlined themselves all 
 tl>e rest of the year to fish and seal-flesh. The 
 voyageurs said that there were many bulbous roots 
 growing in those low meadows of which the bears 
 arc very fond ; aud also lan'<c of certain insects, 
 
318 BEUIN, 
 
 found in heaps, like anthills — which bj Bruin are 
 esteemed a delicacy of the rarest kind. 
 
 For this reason our hunters were regard- 
 ing the land on both sides of the stream, 
 occasionally standing up in the canoe to recon- 
 noitre over the tops of the willows, or peering 
 through them where they grew thinly. "While 
 passing opposite one of the breaks in the willow- 
 grove, a spectacle came before their eyes that 
 caused them to order the canoe to be stopped, 
 and the voyageurs to rest on their oars. 
 
 Alexis, who had been upon the look-out, at first 
 did not know what to make of the spectacle : so odd 
 was the grouping of the figures that composed it. 
 He could see a large number of animals of qua{ 
 rupedal form, but of diflferent colours. Some were, 
 nearly white, others brown or reddish brown, and 
 several were quite black. All appeared to have 
 long shaggy hair, cocked cars, and large bushy 
 tails. They were not standing at rest, but moving 
 about — now running rapidly from point to point, 
 now leaping up in tlic air, while some were rushing 
 round in circles ! In all there appeared to bo 
 thirty or forty of them ; and they covered a space 
 of ground about as largo as a drawing-room floor. 
 
TUK OLD SUE SURUOCXBKD. 319 
 
 There was a slight haze or mist hanging over 
 the meadow, which hindered Alexis from having 
 a clear view of these animals ; and, through the 
 magnifying influence of this sort of atmosphere, 
 they appeared as large as voung oxen. Their 
 form, however, was very different from these ; and 
 from their pointed ears, long muzzles, and full 
 bunching tails, Alexis could think of nothing else 
 to compare them to but wolves. Their varied 
 colours signified nothing: since in these northern 
 lands there are wolves of many varieties from 
 white to black ; and wolves they really were — only 
 mag:nified by the mist into gigantic proportions. 
 
 Alexis had not viewed them long before per- 
 ceiving that they were not all wolves. In their 
 midst was an animal of a very diflerent kind — much 
 larger than any of them ; but what sort of a crea- 
 ture it was the young hunter could not make out. 
 
 Ivan, who had risen to his feet, was equally 
 puzzled to tell. 
 
 It appeared as large as half a doztu ot tno 
 wolves rolled up into one, and was whiter tiiau 
 the whitest of them ; but it looked as if it had a 
 iiunch upon its back ; and altogether more liko a 
 shapeless mass of white bristly hair than a regularly- 
 
320 Enuiy. 
 
 formed quadruped. It must be an animal, however, 
 as its motions testified ; tor it was seen to be 
 turning round and round, and at intervals darting 
 forward a pace or two, as if working its way in 
 the direction of the river. 
 
 Whatever the animal was, it soon became clear 
 that it was battling with the wolves that sur- 
 rounded it ; and this accounted for the singular 
 movements that these last were making, as ■well as 
 for their fierce barking and growling that, in con- 
 fused chorus, filled the air. At intervals, and still 
 louder, could be heard a different sort of cry — 
 shrill and plaintive, like the hinny of a mule — 
 and evidently proceeding not from the wolves, 
 but from the huge white animal which they were 
 assailing. 
 
 The voyagours at once recognized the cry. 
 
 "A bear! — a sea bear!" exclaimed both to- 
 gether. 
 
 One of tliem stood up, and looked over the 
 plain. 
 
 "Yes," said he, confirming his first assertion. 
 "An old slie it is, surrounded by wolves, lla ! it's 
 her cubs they're ai'tcr ! Vuilu, messieurs ! She's got 
 one of thcni on her back. Enfant Jc (jarcc, how the 
 
THE OLD SUE SUnnOUNDED. 321 
 
 old beldam keeps tliem at bay ! She's fighting her 
 way to the water! " 
 
 Guided by the words of the voyagcur, our 
 hunters now perceived clearly enough that the 
 white object appearing over the backs of the 
 wolves was neither more nor less than a large 
 bear ; and that which they had taken for a hunch 
 upon its shoulders was another bear — a young 
 one, stretched out at full length along the back 
 of its mother, and clinging there, with its fore- 
 arms clasped around her neck. 
 
 It was evident, also, as the voyagcur had said, 
 that the old she was endeavouring to work her way 
 towards the river — in hopes, no doubt, of retreating 
 to the water, where slie knew the wolves would 
 not dare to follow her. This was evidenkly her 
 design: for, while they stood watching, she advanced 
 several yards of ground in the direction of the 
 stream. 
 
 Notwithstanding the Ceres eagerness with which 
 the wolves kept up the attack, they were observing 
 considerable caution in the conflict. They had 
 good reason : since before their eyes was an example 
 of what they might expect, if they came to very 
 close quarters. Upon the ground over \>hicli 
 T 
 
322 BEUiN. 
 
 the figlit had been raging, three or four of their 
 number were seen lying apparently dead — while 
 others were limping around, or sneaked off 
 with whining cries, licking the wounds they had 
 received from the long claws of their powerful 
 adversary. 
 
 It was rather an odd circumstance for the 
 wolves to have thus attacked a polar bear — an 
 antagonist of which they stand in the utmost 
 dread. The thing, however, was explained by one 
 of the voyageurs ; who said that the bear in question 
 was a weak one — half famished, perhaps, and feeble 
 from having suckled her young ; and it was the 
 cubs, and not the old bear herself, that the wolves 
 were after — thinking to separate these from their 
 mother, and so destroy and devour them. Perhaps 
 one of them had been eaten up already : since only 
 one could be seen ; and there are always two cubs 
 in a litter. 
 
 Our young hunters did not think of staying longer 
 to watch the strange encounter. Their sole idea was 
 to get possession of the bear and her cub ; and witli 
 this intent they ordered the voyageurs to paddlo 
 close up to the shore and land them. As soon as tlio 
 canoe touched the bank, both leaped out ; and, 
 
A WHOLE FAMILY CAPTUIIED. 323 
 
 followed by Poucliskin, proceeded toward' the 
 scene of the conflict, — the vojageura remaining in 
 the canoe. 
 
 CnAPTEK XLV. 
 
 A WHOLE FAMILT CAPTUEED. 
 
 The party had not gone more than a dozen steps 
 from the water's edge, when a new object coming 
 under their eyes caused them to halt. This was 
 another quadruped that at that moment was seen 
 dashing out from the willows, and rushing onward 
 towards the scene of the strife. There was no mis- 
 taking the character of the creature. Our hunters 
 «aw at a glance that it was a large white bear — 
 much larger than tho one surrounded by tho 
 wolves. It was, in fact, the male ; who, wandering 
 in the thicket of willows — or, more likely, lying 
 there asleep — had not till that moment been awaro 
 of what was going on, or that his wife and children 
 T 2 
 
321 BRUiir. 
 
 were in such deadly danger. Perhaps it was the 
 noise that had awaked him ; and he was just in 
 the act of hastening forward to the rescue. 
 
 AVith a shuffling gallop he glided over the plain 
 — as fast as a horse could have gone ; and in a few 
 seconds he was close up to the scene of the con- 
 flict — to which his presence put an end right on 
 the instant. The wolves, seeing him rush open- 
 mouthed towards them, one and all bolted off"; and 
 ran at full speed over the plain, their long tails 
 streaming out behind them. Those that were 
 wounded, however, could not get clear so easily ; 
 and the enraged bear, charging upon these, rushed 
 from one to the other, knocking the breath out of 
 each as he came up to it, with a single "pat" of 
 his heavy paws. 
 
 In less than ten seconds the ground was quite 
 cleared of the ravenous wolves. Only the dead ones 
 remained on it ; while the others, having got off" to 
 a safe distance, halted in straggling groups ; and, 
 with their tails drooping upon ti»e grass, stood gaz- 
 ing back with looks of melancholy disappointment. 
 
 Eruin, meanwhile, having settled his all'air with 
 the wounded wolves, ran up to his mate ; and, 
 throwing his paws around her neck, appeaivd to 
 
A WnOl.E FAMILY CAmUED. 325 
 
 confjratulate licr upon licr cscanc ! And now 
 did our liuiitors perceive tiiat tiicrc were two 
 cubs instead of one — that whicti siil: clung fast 
 upon tlie mother's back, and another which waa 
 Bceu under her belly, and which she had been 
 equally protecting against the crowd of assailants 
 that surrounded her. 
 
 Both the little fellows — about as large as foxes 
 they were — now perceived that they were out of 
 a danger — which, no doubt, they had perfectly 
 comprehended. That upon the shoulders of the 
 dam leaped down to the earth ; while the other 
 crawled out "from under ;" and both coming toge- 
 ther began tumbling about over the grass, and 
 rolling over one another in play, the parents 
 watching with interest their uncouth gambols. 
 
 Notwithstanding the well-known ferocity of these 
 animals, there was something so tender in the 
 ppectacle, that our hunters hesitated about advanc- 
 ing. Alexis, in particular, whose disposition was 
 a shade more gentle than that of his companions, 
 felt certain qualms of compassion, as he looked 
 upon this exhibition of feelings and affections that 
 appeared almost human. Ivan was even touched; 
 and certainly neither he nor his brother would 
 
326 BHTJIN. 
 
 have slain these creatures out of mere ■wanton 
 sport. They would not have thought of such a 
 thing under ordinary circumstances; and it was 
 only from the necessity they were under of pro- 
 curing the skin that they thought of it at all. 
 Perhaps they would even hare passed this group ; 
 and taken their chances of lindLcg another, that 
 might make a less powerful appeal to their compas- 
 sion ; but in this they were overruled by Pouchskin. 
 The old grenadier was afflicted by no such tender 
 sentiments ; and throwing aside all scruple, before 
 his young masters could interfere to prevent him, 
 he advanced a few paces forward, and discharged 
 his fasil, broadside at the biggest of the bears. 
 
 Whether he hit the bear or not, was not then 
 known. Certain it was that he in no way crippled 
 the animal ; for, as soon as the smoke had cleared 
 out of his eyes, he saw the huge quadruped part 
 from the side of his mate, and come charging 
 down upon him. 
 
 Pouchskin liesitatcd for a moment whether to 
 withstand the attack, and had drawn his knife to 
 be ready ; but the formidable appearance of the 
 antagonist, his immense size, and fierce aspect, 
 admouibhed Pouchskin that in this case discretion 
 
A WnOLE FAMILY CAPTUBED. 827 
 
 might be the better part of valour, and he yielded 
 to the suggestion. Indeed, the two voyageurs in 
 the canoe were already shouting to all three to run 
 for it — warning them of the danger they were in 
 by the most earnest speech and gesture. 
 
 Ivan and Alexis stood their ground till Pouch- 
 skin had returned' to where they were, and then 
 both fired upon the bear. They may have hit him 
 or not ; but the huge monster showed no sign, and 
 only appeared to charge forward the faster. 
 
 All three together now ran for the boat. It 
 was their only refuge ; for had it been a trial of 
 speed, and much ground to go over, the bear would 
 certainly have overtaken them ; and a few wipes 
 from his paw would have ended the life of one or 
 the other — pcrliaps of the whole trio. 
 
 It was fortunate they liad the boat to flee to : 
 else Pouchakin's imprudence, in provoking the 
 bear, migiit have led to a fatal termination. 
 
 Quick as their legs could carry them they made 
 for the canoe ; and one after tlie other leaped into 
 it. "Without even waiting for them to seat them- 
 selves, the two voyageurs pushed off from the 
 bank, suddenly shooting the craft out iuto the 
 middle of the stream. 
 
828 Bnuiy. 
 
 But this did not stay the pursuit of the infu- 
 riated bear, nor even delay him for a moment. 
 
 On reaching the bank, he did not make halt ; 
 but, launching out, sprang down with a plunge 
 upon the water. Then, stretching his body at 
 full length, he swam direct after tlie canoe. 
 
 The craft had been turned head down the 
 stream ; and, what with the help of the current 
 and the impulse of the oars, it swept onward with 
 arrow-like rapidity. But for all that it soon 
 became apparent that the bear was gaining upon 
 it — his broad paws enabling him to swim with the 
 velocity of a fish — while every now and then he 
 rose above the surface, and bounded forward 
 to a distance of several feet through the 
 air! 
 
 The voyageurs plied their paddles with all their 
 skill and energy ; tliere was tlie dread of death to 
 stimulate them to the utmost exertion of their 
 strength. They knew well, that, if the bear sliould 
 succeed in coming up with the canoe, he would 
 cither mount into it, and drive all of them into the 
 water; or, \\hat was more probable, he would 
 upset the craft, and spill the whole party out of it. 
 In either case, there would be the danger of coming 
 
A WIIOI-B FAMILY CArTlBED. 329 
 
 in contact with his claws ; and that, they knew, was 
 the danger of death itself. 
 
 The hunters were all three busy reloading their 
 guns ; and getting ready to fire before the enemy 
 should be up to them. 
 
 They were not in time, however. With the 
 motion of the boat, and the constrained attitudes 
 in which it placed them, the loading was a slow 
 process ; and, before any of the three had a 
 bullet down, the bear was close astern. Only 
 Ivan had a barrel loaded ; and this, unfortu- 
 nately, was with small shot, which be had been 
 keeping for waterfowl. He fired it, nevertheless, 
 right into the teeth of the pursuer; but, instead 
 of stopping him, it only increased his rage, and 
 roused him to make still greater efibrts to overtake 
 the canoe. 
 
 Pouchskin, in despair, threw down his gun, and 
 seized upon an axe, that by good luck had been 
 brought in the boat. "With this firmly grasped 
 in his hands, and kneeling in the stern, he waited 
 the approacli of the infuriated swimmer. 
 
 The bear had got close up to the boat — in fact 
 was within the length of hia own body of touching 
 it. Believing himself now nc:;r enough, he made 
 
330 BErix. 
 
 one of his prodigious bounds, and launched himself 
 forward. His sharp claws rattled against the birch 
 bark, tearing a large flake from the craft. Had 
 this not given way, his hold would have been com- 
 plete ; and the boat would, in all likelihood, have 
 been dragged, stern foremost, under water. But 
 the failure of liis clutch brought the head of the 
 monster once more on a level with the surface ; 
 and before he could I'aise it to make a second 
 spring, the great wedge of steel descended upon 
 his crown, and went crashing through his skull. 
 
 Almost in the same instant, he was seen to 
 turn ov'er in the water ; his liuibs moved only with 
 a spasmodic action ; he gave a feeble kick or two 
 with his long hind-legs ; aud then his carcass 
 floated along the surface, like a mass of white 
 foam. 
 
 It was soon secured, and drawn out upon tlie 
 bank — for the purpose of being stripped of its 
 snow-white robe. 
 
 Our young hunters would have been contented 
 to have left the others alone — neitiier the female 
 nor her cubs being rcijuired by them. But the 
 voyageurs — who were desirous of obtaiuiiig the 
 skins of all three on their own account — proposed 
 
A WHOLE FAMILl' CAPTURED. 331 
 
 returning to cfTect their destruction ; and in this 
 proposal the}- were backed by Pouchslcin, who had 
 a natural antipathy to all bears. 
 
 It ended in the killing of the dan:, and tlie 
 capturing of her cubs alive ; for, encumbered as 
 the old she was with her offspring, she was soon 
 overtaken, and fell an easy victim to the volley 
 of bullets that were poured into her from all sides 
 at once. 
 
 "With the skins of the old bears, and the cubs 
 tied in the bottom of the canoe, our hunters 
 started back down stream ; but they had scarce 
 parted from the place, before the ravenous wolves 
 returned — not only to devour the carcases of the 
 bears, but also those of their own comrades that 
 had fallen in the encounter ! 
 
332 BiiuiN 
 
 CHAPTER XLYI. 
 
 THE BAEHEN guoukds. 
 
 The " Barren Ground bear " was next to be sought 
 for ; but to reach the haunts of this animal, a long 
 and toilsome journey must be made. That tract cf 
 the Hudson's Bay territory known as the " Barren 
 Grounds," extends from the shores of the Arctic 
 Sea as far south as the latitude of the Churchill 
 river; bounded eastward by Hudson's Bay itself, 
 aud westward by a chain of lakes, of which the 
 Great Slave and Athapescow are the principal. 
 
 This immense territory is almost unexplored to 
 the present hour. Even the Hudson's Bay trap- 
 pers have a very imperfect knowledge of it. It 
 has been crossed in one or two places, and skirted 
 by exploring parties, but it is still almost a terra 
 ignota, except to the four or five tribes of Indians 
 who dwell around its borders, and the Esquimaux, 
 who venture a little way into it along ilie coast of 
 the Arctic Sea. 
 
• TUE DAUCEX GROUNDS, 333 
 
 Before proceeding to hunt the Barren Ground 
 bear, let us saj a word about his species. By writers, 
 both old and modern, he has been variously classed. 
 Even the ablest naturalist who has written about 
 him is puzzled as to his species. "We speak of Sir 
 John Richardson, the companion of the lamented 
 Franklin, and liiraself one of the great men of tho 
 earth. Sir John first regarded this bear, thougli very 
 doubtfully, as a variety of the ursus americanus, or 
 American black bear. Later observations influ- 
 enced him to change this opinion ; and again with 
 modest doubtfulness — characteristic of the man — 
 he suggests his being a variety of the ursus arctos. 
 
 We shall make bold to affirm that he is a variety 
 of neither ; but a distinct species of bear. 
 
 "We shall give our reasons — and first, as to his 
 distinctness from the ursua americanus. lie is not 
 like the latter, either in colour, shape of body, bulk, 
 profile, physiognomy, length of feet or tail. In all 
 these re-opccts he bears a greater resemblance to 
 the ursua arctos, or even to his nearer neighbour, 
 the grisly {ursua ferox). llo differs from both 
 these, however, in other points — as ^\ill [irtscnlly 
 be seen. Again, he is of a fiercer disposition th.ui 
 the black bear, and more dangerous to the hunter 
 
334 TSKTJIN. 
 
 — almost as much so as the grisly, and quite as 
 much as the brown. Moreover, he dwells in a 
 country in which the black bear could not make 
 his home. To the existence of the latter, the 
 forest is essential ; and he is never found far out 
 of it. It is not the higher latitude that keeps liim 
 out of the Barren Grounds, but the absence of 
 timber. This is proved by the fact of liis being 
 found quite as far northward as any part of the 
 Barren Grounds, but where the limestone forma- 
 tion favours the growth of trees ; whereas, among 
 the primitive rocks to the north of !N'elson river, 
 the black bear does not exist — the very region that 
 appears most favourable to tlie existence of the 
 Barren Ground species — who cares not for trees, 
 and cannot climb them. 
 
 Still another material difference may be pointed 
 out. The black bear, in his normal state, is alto- 
 gether frugivorous — a true vegetable feeder. The 
 other is carnivorous and piscivorous — at one season 
 killing and eating marmots and mice, at another 
 frequenting the sea coast and subsisting upon fish. 
 In a word, the two bears are as unlike as may be — 
 they are distinct species. 
 
 To compare the Barren Ground bear with the 
 
THE UAKnEX GROUNDS. 335 
 
 ursus arctos. The former is certainly much more 
 like this species, than he is to the ursus amcri- 
 canus ; but again we encounter notable points of 
 difference ; and were it not for a certain resem- 
 blance in colour, it is possible the two kinds 
 would never have been brought into comparison. 
 It is easy, however, to prove them also distinct 
 species — by simply observing that their habits are 
 altogether unlike. The ursus arctos is a tree- 
 cJimhing tcood hear : the Barren Ground species 
 is not. The former prefers a vegetable diet — the 
 latter likes better fish, flesh, and insects — though 
 he will also fill his stomach with a farrago ot 
 vegetable matters. 
 
 But to say nothing of the very different habits 
 of the two animals, there is a yellowish tinge over 
 the fur of the American species, that is not ob- 
 served in the brown bears of European countries — 
 except, perhaps, in those of the Pyrenees — and 
 at certain seasons this tinge turns so pale, as to 
 give a whitish appearance to the animal : hence, 
 by the Indians, they are often termed " white 
 bears." 
 
 It is, besides, altogether improbable, that the 
 brown bear of Europe should turn up in the 
 
336 BETJIN. 
 
 " Barren Grounds " of the Hudson's Bay ter- 
 ritory — an isolated, treeless tract — quite unlike 
 his habitat in the Old "World ; and to which no line 
 of migration could be traced with much probability. 
 We might suppose such a migration through 
 Siberia and Eussian America ; and certainly there 
 is some probability in this view : for although it 
 has been hitherto stated that the Barren Ground 
 bear is only found within the limits of the peculiar 
 district so called, it is very certain that his range 
 extends beyond these boundaries. The brown bear 
 of Eussian America and the Aleutian Islands ap- 
 pears to be identical w ith this species ; and there is 
 a suspicion that the brown species of Kamschatka 
 is no other than the Barren Ground bear of the 
 Hudson's Bay. The fishing habits of the former 
 go some ways towards an identification of the two 
 species — at the same time separating both from 
 the U7-SUS arctos of Scandinavia. 
 
 It needs hardly to be argued, tliat tlie Barron 
 Ground bear is quite a distinct animal from the 
 grisly — though writers have often confounded 
 them. They are diU'erent in size and colour. 
 Though the grisly is sometimes brown, it is 
 always with a mixture of white tipped hairs ; but 
 
THE nAunEX onoo'DS. 33/ 
 
 the most esscutial distinction is to bo Ibiind in the 
 greater ferocity of the latter, and his far longcw 
 and more curving claws. Many other points might 
 be mentioned — showing them to be animals of two 
 separate species — besides, their range ix altoi^ether 
 distinct. 
 
 The Barren Ground bear, then, is not the ursiis 
 arctos, americanus, or ferox. What then ? Has 
 he received no specific name from tlie naturalists ? 
 Not yet. Alexis, however, bestowed one upon liim- 
 He named him after the man who has given the 
 clearest account of his country ami his habits ; and 
 whom Alexis deemed most worthy of the honour. 
 In his journal we find the record. There it is 
 written, that the Barren Ground bear is the ursii& 
 2iic?iardsonii. 
 
383 BBUI5. 
 
 CHAPTEE XLVII. 
 
 BEUIN TAKING A BATH. 
 
 To seek the haunts of this new species of bear, I 
 have said that our hunters would have a long 
 I'ourney to make — even so far as the Great Slave 
 Lake — foi* although the Barren Grounds extend 
 many degrees to the south of this water, the tirsiis 
 Bichardsonii rarely wanders to a lower latitude. 
 Upon the shores of the Slave Lake, however, they 
 would be certain to encounter him ; and thither 
 they repaired. 
 
 They were fortunate in the time of the year. 
 The annual "brigade" of boats belonging to the 
 Great Tur Company was just setting out from York 
 Factory, for Norway House on Lake "Winnipeg ; 
 and thence a division of it would procciHl to the 
 posts still further northward — on Lake Athapescow 
 and the waters of the Mackenzie Eiver — passing 
 through the Slave Lake itself. Tiieir object, of 
 course, in their annual journey is to distribute at 
 
BBX7IN TAKING A CATU. 339 
 
 the fur stations, the goods, brought from Euglaud 
 by the Company's ships, and in return bring back 
 the peltries collected throughout the winter. 
 
 "With the brigade, then, went our hunters ; and 
 after enduring, in common with the others, the 
 hardships and perils incidental to such a long 
 inland voyage, they at length found themselves at 
 the point of their destiuatiou — Fort liesolution, on 
 the Great Slave Lake, r.ear the mouth of the river 
 bearing the same appellation. Tlie canoe of an 
 Indian fisherman — of which there are many dwell- 
 ing around the shores of this great inland sea — was 
 soon pressed into service ; and with the fisherman 
 (who of course was a hunter also) for their guide 
 and companion, they could make convenient ex- 
 cursions along the shores of the lake, land when- 
 ever they pleased, and search for Bruin in the 
 localities where he was most likely to be encoun- 
 tered. In this they were assisted by their hired 
 guide ; who was not long in putting them upon 
 the trail of a bear. In fact, in the very first ex- 
 cursion which they made, ouo of the true breed 
 was discovered and captured. 
 
 The circumstances attending his capture wer<i 
 of uo very particular interest ; but as they illustrate 
 
340 BEUIK. 
 
 one of the habits of this species, we shall give 
 them as recorded in the journal of Alexis. 
 
 They were paddling gently along the shore — 
 through water that was as calm as a pond — when, 
 at a great distance ahead of them, the Indian 
 observed a slight rippling upon the surface, and 
 pointed it out. It was not caused by the wind ; 
 for there was not a breath stirring at the time ; 
 and it was not like the whitish curl which a breeze 
 casts upon the surface of water. It resembled 
 more a series of little wavelets, such as proceed 
 from a stone plunged into a deep pool, or from a 
 disturbance of the water caused by the movements 
 of some animal. The Indian said that it was a 
 bear : though there was no bear, nor any living 
 thing in sight ! 
 
 As the canoe moved nearer, our hunters perceived 
 that there was an indentation on the shore — a 
 little creek or bay out of which the ripples were 
 proceeding. The guide knew that there was such 
 a bay; and believed that tlie bear would be found 
 eomewhere within it, swimming about in the water. 
 
 The hunters did not stay to inquire the reason 
 why Bruin phuuld be thus bathing himself? There 
 wa8 no time : for just at that instant the Indian 
 
BBUIK TAKIKO A BATU. 3il 
 
 beached his canoe ; and desired them all to debark 
 and follow such further instructions as he might gire 
 them. Without hesitation thej accepted hia invita- 
 tion ; resolved to act according to liis counsel. 
 
 The Indian, after making his boat fast, took the 
 route inland, followed by the other tliree. Alter 
 going some three or four hundred yards, he turned 
 to the left, and conducted the party around the 
 shore of the bay — which trended in a semicir- 
 cular or horse-shoe shape. lie did not take all of 
 them around ; but only one, whom he stationed on 
 the opposite side. This was Pouchskin. Ivan he 
 had already placed on the nearer side, and Alexis 
 at the bottom — so that they were thus set at the 
 three angles of a triangle, nearly equilateral. 
 
 On assigning to each of them his station, the 
 ludian further instructed them to creep forward 
 among the bushes — which still separated them from 
 the water — and to do so without making any nuiso, 
 till they should hear a " wh(jo() " from himself. 
 This would bo the signal for them to show them- 
 selves around the edge of the bay — in the water of 
 which the Indian hunter was confident a bear was 
 bathing himself, lie himself returned to his canoe. 
 
 Agreeably to his instructions, the three hunters 
 
342 EEUITT. 
 
 crawled forward — each on his own line of approach, 
 and all observing the greatest caution and silence. 
 As soon as their eyes rested upon the water, they 
 perceived the correctness of the Indian's conjecture. 
 A bear there was, sure enough ! 
 
 They saw only his head ; but this was sufficient 
 for Bruin's identification: since no similar cranium 
 could have been encountered in such a place. 
 
 As the Indian had apprised them, the bear was 
 swimming about in the bay ; but for what pur- 
 pose it was at first difiScult to make out. To tlieir 
 astonishment, he swam with his mouth wide open — 
 so that they could see the interior of his great 
 encarmined palate, while his long tongue flapped 
 out at intervals, and appeared to sweep the surface 
 of the water. At intervals, too, he was seen to 
 close his mouth— the huge jaws ©oming togctlier 
 ■with a " clap-clap," the noise of which could be 
 heard echoing far over the lake ! 
 
 He did not go long in one course ; but ever and 
 anon kept turning himself, and quartering tlic bay 
 in every direction. 
 
 It was a long time before the spectators could 
 find any explanation of these odd manoeuvres on 
 the part of the bear. They might have fancied he 
 
BBUIK TAKING A BATH, 343 
 
 was merely taking a cool bath to refresh himself: 
 for the day was esceedingly hot, and the air was 
 filled with mosquitoes — as our hunters had already 
 learnt to their great discomfort. It might have 
 been to get rid of these tormentors that Bruin 
 had submerged his body in the water; and so 
 Pouchskin concluded, and also Ivan — though both 
 were puzzled by the odd behaviour of the bear, in 
 swimming open-mouthed, and at intervals snapping 
 his jaws as he did. Alexis, however, was a better 
 reasoner; and soon discovered the why and the 
 wherefore of these mysterious demonstrations. 
 Alexis saw that the surface of the water was 
 thickly coated with something ; and, on scrutinizing 
 it more closely, he made out this something to bo 
 a swarm of insects. There appeared to be moro 
 than one species of them — two indeed there wero 
 — both about the size of ordinary gadflies ; but 
 altogether different from each other in colour and 
 habits. One was a sort of water-beetle that swam 
 near the surface ; while the other was a winged 
 insect that occasionally rose into the air, but nioro 
 generally crawled along the water — making shorl 
 runs from place to place, then stopping a moment, 
 and then darting on a[;aiii. T'nc whole surface oi 
 
314 BEUIK. 
 
 the bay — and even out for some distance into tho 
 lake — fairly swarmed with these creatures ; and it 
 ■was in pursuit of them that Bruin was whisking 
 his tongue so rapidly about, and bringing his jaws 
 together in such sonorous concussion. The auiraal 
 was simply indulging in a favourite meal — which in 
 summer is furnished him not only on the shores 
 of the Great Slave Lake, but most of the smaller 
 lakes throughout the Barren Grounds. 
 
 Alexis had scarce finished making the observa- 
 tion, when a loud " whoop " was heard from the 
 direction of the lake ; and almost at the same 
 instant the canoe of the Indian was seen shooting 
 through the water, right for the entrance of the bay ! 
 
 Obedient to the signal, the tliree hunters ruslied 
 out from their cover, and ran forward upon the 
 beech — each holding his gun in readiness to fire. 
 The bear, seeing himself thus suddenly and un- 
 expectedly surrounded, at once gave over his fiy- 
 trapping ; but, irresolute in which direction to 
 retreat, he turned round and round in the water, 
 first swimming a bit one way and then another. At 
 length, rearing himself high above the surface, and 
 showing his sharp teeth, he uttered a deep growl 
 of rage, and dashed recklessly towards the shore. 
 
DRUIK TAKIKG A D.VTII. 315 
 
 It waa to Ivan's side he first directed himself; 
 but Ivan was upon the watch ; and, advancing close 
 to the edge of the water, he took aim and fired. 
 
 His bullet struck the bear riglit upon the snout, 
 and it appeared to have spun him round — so quickly 
 was he seen heading in the opposite direction. 
 
 It was now Pouchskin's turn ; and in ti second 
 after the loud report of the grenadier's gun went 
 booming over the lake, while the ball splashed tlie 
 water right into the eyes of the bear. Though it 
 did not hit any part of his body, it had the efi'ect 
 of half-turning him — so that he now swam towards 
 Alexis, stationed at the bottom of the bay. 
 
 Alexis took the matter more coolly. There was 
 a convenient tree behind — to which he intended 
 to retreat in case of missing — and this influenced 
 him to hold his ground, till the bear should come 
 near enough to ensure n certain aim. 
 
 The bear swam straight on, until wituin some 
 ten yards of where Alexis was standing; when all 
 at once he appeared to take the rue, and was 
 turning off to one side. This was just what Alexis 
 desired : it brought the head of the animal broad« 
 side towards him, and, taking steady aim, ho planted 
 bis bullet a little under the kft ear. 
 
346 EEUI^^ 
 
 It was a dead shot. The buge creature, loaded 
 with fat, sank instantly to the bottom ; but fortu- 
 nately the water was shallow ; and the Indian now 
 coming in. with his canoe, soon fished up the 
 carcass, and towed it out upon the beach— where 
 its fur coat was stripped off in a trice. 
 
 CHAPTER XLYIII. 
 
 THE GREA.T GEISLT. 
 
 The grisly bear (nrsiis ferox), the fiercest and 
 most formidable of the ursine family, was the next 
 to be captured and skinned. 
 
 The range of the grisl}', though wider than that 
 of the Barren Ground bear, is still not so extensive 
 as that of the ursus americamis. The great chain 
 or Cordillera of the Hocky Mountains may be taken 
 as the axis of his range — since he is found tlirough- 
 out its whole extent, from Mexico to its declen- 
 sion near the shores of tlio Arctic Sea. Some 
 writers have asserted that he is confined to these 
 mountains, but tliat is an error. To the west of 
 
THE OnEAT GRISLY. 317 
 
 them he is encountered throughout all the countries 
 Ijing between the Eocky Mountains and the Pacific 
 coast — wherever circumstances are favourable to 
 his existence ; and to the east he extends his 
 wanderings for a considerable distance into the 
 great plains — though nowhere so far as to the 
 wooded countries near the meridian of the Missis- 
 sippi. In these the black bear is the only forest- 
 ranger of the family. 
 
 "Woods are not the favourite haunt of the grisly 
 bear; and although in youth he can make a 
 sort of scramble up a tree, when full grown his 
 enormous claws — always blunted at the tips — 
 hinder him from climbing. Low bushy thickets, 
 with open glades intervening — and 38pecially where 
 the underwood consists of berry-bearing bushes — 
 are his chosen retreats. He often sallies out into 
 the open ground ; and on those prairies where 
 grows the pomme blanche, or " Indian turnip " 
 {psoralea esculenta), he may bo seen tearing up 
 the earth with his claws, and leaving it turned 
 into furrows— as if a drove of hogs liad been 
 "rooting" the ground. On the bottoms of the 
 streams he also digs up the " kamas " root 
 {eamassia esculenta), the "yampah" {anethum 
 
348 BBUIN. 
 
 graveolens), the"kooyah" {Valeriana edulis), and 
 the root of a species of thistle (circium virginia- 
 7ium). Many species of fruits and berries furnish 
 hitn with an occasional meal ; and the sweet pods of 
 the mesquites (species of acacia), and the cones of 
 the piiion tree {pinus edulis) form portions of his 
 varied larder. 
 
 He does not, however, confine himself to a 
 vegetable diet. Like most of his kind, he is also 
 carnivoroiis, and will dine ofi" the carcass of a horse 
 or buffalo. The latter animal, notwithstanding its 
 enormous bulk and strength, frequently falls a 
 prey to the grisly bear. The long masses of hair 
 that hang over the eyes of the buffalo, hinder it 
 from perceiving the presence of an enemy ; and, 
 unless warned by the scent, it is easily approached. 
 The bear, knowing this, steals up against the wind ; 
 and, when within safe distance, springs upon the 
 hind quarters of the ruminant, and cramping it 
 in his great claws, succeeds in dragging it to the 
 ground. lie is even able to transport the huge 
 carcass to a considerable distance — tor the purpose 
 of concealing it in some thicket, and devouring it 
 at his leisure. 
 
 The grisly bear is more like to the brown bear 
 
TUE GREAT GUISLY. 319 
 
 of Europe than to any otlicr species of the genus. 
 His fur is long and shaggy — not presenting the 
 even surface which characterizes the coat of the black 
 bear. It is generally of a dark-brown colour — the 
 hair being whitish at the tips, more especially 
 during the summer season, when it becomes 
 lighter coloured. The head is always of a grizzled 
 grey ; and it is this appearance that has obtainod 
 for the animal its specific name. There are brown, 
 reddish-brown, bay or cinnamon - coloured, and 
 white-breasted varieties of the black bear ; but the 
 Indians can distinguish all these from the true 
 grisly at a glance. In all of the latter, where 
 there are white hairs intermingled with the fur, it 
 is always observable that these odd hairs are white 
 to the roots ; whereas the hoary appearance of the 
 grisly is caused by only the tips of the hair being 
 white. This characteristic is constant; and would 
 of itself justify a distinction being made between 
 the species ; but there arc many other points ot 
 greater importance. The ears of the gri.xjy are 
 shorter, more conical, and set wider apart than in 
 either the ursus americanut or arctos. His claws 
 are white, arched, far longer, and broader than 
 those of the other bears — their greatest breadth 
 
350 BEUIX. 
 
 being acros3 their upper surface. Underneath they 
 are chamfered away to a sharp edge ; and project- 
 ing far beyond the hair of the foot, they cut like 
 chisels when the animal strikes a blow with them. 
 His huge paw is both broader and longer than that 
 of other bears ; while his tail, on the other hand, is 
 short and inconspicuous — being completely buried 
 under the fur of his buttocks. So characteristic is 
 this appendage for its extreme shortness, that it is 
 a standing joke among the Indians — when they 
 have killed a grisly bear — to desire any one unac- 
 quainted with the animal, to take hold of its 
 tail ! 
 
 This appendage in the ursus americanus and 
 ursus arctos is conspicuous enough ; and in the 
 Barren Ground bear is still longer than in either. 
 
 There could be no possibility of mistaking an 
 old or full-grown grisly for any of the kindred 
 species. Both in size and aspect ho is diflfcrent. 
 It is only in the case of young or half- grown 
 specimens where a mistake of this kind is likely to 
 be made. Tlic enormous size of the old males — ■ 
 often weighing 1,000 lbs., and quite equalling the 
 largest individuals of the nrsus viarilimus — reudera 
 them easy of identification ; though it is certain 
 
THE OnEAT GRISLY. 351 
 
 that under favourable circumstances the ursua 
 arctos often attains to a similar bulk. 
 
 In ferocity of disposition, however, in carni- 
 vorous inclination, and in strength and power to 
 carry out his mischievous propensities, no bear, 
 not even the ursus maritimus, appears to be a 
 match for this monster of the Eocky Mountains. 
 The hunter never thinks of attacking him, unless 
 when assisted by a number of his comrades ; and 
 even then it may be a fatal encounter for one or 
 more of them. Were it not for the advantage 
 obtained by their being mounted on horseback, the 
 grisly would always have a wide berth given him ; 
 but fortunately this fierce quadruped is unable to 
 overtake the mounted hunter — although he can 
 easily come up with a man on foot. 
 
 As to fearing or running away from a human 
 antagonist, the younger grislics may sometimes 
 do so ; but when an old male has been attacked 
 the case is quite diflercnt. A full-grown individual 
 will stand his ground against a crowd of assailants — 
 charging from one to tho other, and showing fight 
 BO long as there is breath in his body. 
 
 The number of Indian and white hunters, who 
 have either been killed or badly mutilated by 
 
352 BRUix. 
 
 grisly bears, is almost incredible. Were it not 
 that these men are usually mounted on good 
 horses the list would have been still greater; and 
 his intended victims often find another means of 
 escaping from his claws — by taking to a tree. 
 
 Fortunate it is that nature has not bestowed 
 upon the grisly the power of tree climbing ; else 
 many a pursued hunter, who has succeeded in 
 gaining the branches of a friendly cottonwood, 
 might have found his refuge anything but a 
 secure one. 
 
 In fact, climbing into a tree — when one can be 
 reached — is the common resource of all persons 
 pursued by the grisly bear ; and by this means did 
 our hunters themselves escape from a brace of 
 infuriated grislies, while engaged in hunting these 
 formidable animals. 
 
 K 
 
A fub-tbadeb's foot. 353 
 
 CHAPTEE XLIX. 
 
 A F U B- T E AD E U'a FORT. 
 
 ITavixo settled their accounts witli Bruin of the 
 Barren Grounds, our travellers proceeded down 
 the Mackenzie river to the Hudson's Bay post of 
 Fort Simpson. Thence they ascended a large 
 tributary of the ^Mackenzie, known as the " Eiver 
 of the Mountains," — or as the Canadian voyagers 
 call it, Riviere aux Liards. This large stream has 
 its sources far beyond the highest peaks of the 
 Kocky Mountains : thus exhibiting the curious 
 phenomenon of a river, breaking through a chain of 
 mountains in a transverse direction; though the 
 same occurs in several other parts of the Kocky 
 Mountain range, and also in the Andes of South 
 America. On the liiviere aux Liarda the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company have several posts — as Forts 
 Simpson, Liard, and Halkett — the last-mentioned 
 being far up among the mountains. "Westward 
 again, upon the Pacific side, they have otlicr 
 2 A 
 
354) BBUIN. 
 
 trading stations — the most important of which is 
 that of Pelly's Banks, situated at the junction of 
 Lewis and Pelly rivers. These rivers, after join- 
 ing, run iato the Pacific, not far from Mount 
 St. Elios — long noted as a landmark to the navi- 
 gators of the North Pacific ocean. 
 
 Prom Port Halkett, a route has been established 
 to the post at Pelly's Banks by means of Dease's 
 river — which is one of the ejffluents of the Riviere 
 mix Liards — and pai'tly by canoe navigation and 
 partly by " portage ; " the continent can be 
 crossed in this northern latitude. Prom Pelly's 
 Banks to the Pacific coast the route is still easier 
 — for not only do the Eussians visit these parts, 
 but there are native Indian traders who go twice 
 every year from Pelly's Banks to Sitka — the 
 entrepot of the Eussian Pur Company — and the 
 Lynn channel, a little to the north of Sitka, is also 
 visited by the steamers of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company itself. 
 
 Our travellers would therefore have no difllculty 
 in reaching Sitka 5 and thence crossing to the 
 peninsula of Kanischatka, on the Asiatic coast. 
 On their way over the Rocky Mountains, they 
 would be certain to fall in with the grisly ; and in 
 
A PrR-TRADEU's rOHT. 355 
 
 tbo countries lying along the PaciBc, they could 
 obtain that variety of the ursus americanits, known 
 as the " cinnamon bear " — for it is to the west of 
 the Kooky Mountains — in California, Oregon, 
 British Columbia, and Russian America — that this 
 spice-coloured species is most frequently met with. 
 
 A party of fur-traders and trappers were just 
 starting from Fort Simpson to carry supplies up 
 to the posts of Liard and llalkett; and along 
 with them our travellers went. 
 
 On reaching the last-named station, they came 
 to a halt, for the purpose of hunting the grisly. 
 
 They were not long in starting their game — for 
 this fierce monster of the mountains is far from 
 being a scarce animal. In fact, in those districts 
 which they choose for their "beat," the grisly 
 bears are more numerous than most other quadru- 
 peds ; and not infrequently half a dozen or more 
 of them maybe seen together. It is not that they 
 are gregarious ; but simply, that, being in consider- 
 able numbers in a particular neighbourhood, acci- 
 dent thus brings them together. To sec troops of 
 four associating together is very common; but these 
 are merely the members of one family — male, 
 female, and yearling cubs — for two is the number 
 2 A 2 
 
356 BEUiK. 
 
 of the progeny — the grisly bear in this respect 
 resembling his congener of the nrsus viaritiinus, 
 and differing as essentially from the black and 
 brown bears — with whom three is the usual number 
 of cubs at a birth. 
 
 There are good reasons why the grisly bears 
 are not in much danger of being exterminated. In 
 the first place, their flesh is of inferior quality. 
 Even tho Indians will not cat it ; wliile they relish 
 that of the black species. Secondly, tiieir robe is 
 of scarce any value, and fetches but a trifling price 
 in the fur-market. Thirdly — and perhaps the most 
 powerful reason of all — is that the hunter cares not 
 to risk his life in an encounter with these animab, 
 knowing that there is no adequate reward for such 
 risk. For this reason " Old Ephraim " — as the 
 trappers jocosely style the grisly — is usually per- 
 mitted to go his way without molestation ; and, 
 therefore, instead of being thinned oil' by an ex- 
 terminating chase — such as is pursued against the 
 buftalo, or even the black bear, whose robe is 
 marketable — the grisly maintains his numerical 
 strength in most places where he is found. 
 
 At l'\)rt llalkett— in cunsequence of a scarcity of 
 hands, and tlie great pressure of business, in for- 
 
A FlR-TnADEu's FORT. 357 
 
 warding the brigade onward to the Felly Station — 
 our young hunters were unable to obtain a guide ; 
 and therefore started out for the chase alone — 
 Pouchskin, of course, being one of the party. 
 
 Tlie trading post of Fort Halkctt being situated 
 in the midst of tlie wildest region — without any 
 cultivated ground jor other settlement around it — 
 they would not have far to go before finding a 
 grisly. Indeed, they were as likely to meet with 
 one within sight of the Fort as anywhere else; and 
 from the moment of passing through the gate of the 
 stockade they were on the look-out. 
 
 They had not the good fortune, however, to meet 
 with one so very easily, for although they came 
 upon the traces of bears, and saw numerous signs 
 of them, they could not set eyes upon them; and 
 returned from their first excursion rather dis- 
 heartened with their day's work. 
 
 In one thing, however, they had their reward. 
 They had succeeded in shooting one of the ^are^t 
 animals of America, a creature only nict with in 
 the more northern districts of the Rocky ^Moun- 
 tains — that is, the " Kocky ^lountain goat " (capra 
 americana). This rare quadruped— whose long, 
 BDOw-white, silky hair renders it one of the most 
 
358 BEUiir. 
 
 attractive of animals — is a true wild goat ; and the 
 only species of the genus indigenous to America. 
 It is about the size of the common domestic breeds, 
 and horned as they ; but the shining hair over its 
 flanks and body is frequently so long as to hang 
 down almost to its hoofs — "ivinn: the animal the 
 appearance of having a much heavier body ami 
 much shorter legs tlian it really has. Like the 
 ibex of Europe, it is only met •with on the loftiest 
 summits of the mountains, upon peaks and cliffs 
 inaccessible to almost every other quadruped — the 
 mountain sheep alone excepted. It is much shyer 
 than the latter, and far more difficult of approach — 
 the consequence being, that its beautiful skin, 
 though highly prized, and commanding a good 
 price, is but rarely obtained, even by the most 
 expert hunters. 
 
 Having succeeded in bringing down one of these 
 precious animals, our young hunters were satisfied 
 with tlieir day's work — almost as well as if it had 
 been a grisly they had killed. 
 
 On their second day's excursion, however, this 
 feat w as also accomplished — as we shall now proceed 
 to relate. 
 
TREED BT OLD ZPUHAIM. 359 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 TBEED BY OLD EPIIEAIir, 
 
 ToET bad got about a mile from tbe Fort ; and 
 were proceeding cautiously along tbrougb a bill' 
 country, wberc thicket-like groves grew inter- 
 spersed with patcbes of open ground, forming park- 
 like scenery. There are many scenes of this cha- 
 racter in tbe valleys of tbe Eocky Mountains ; and 
 in tbe more northern latitudes these groves often 
 consist of berry-bearing bushes — such as wild cur- 
 rants, bird and choke cherries, the amelanchier and 
 hippophde canadensis. Of all these fruits tbe grisly 
 bear is known to be exceedingly fond ; and as tbe 
 thickets among which our hunters bad entered 
 contained many trees of the abovj kinds — at that 
 season drooping under tlieir ripe fruit — it was but 
 reasonable to expect they might find some of tho 
 grislics engaged in gathering tlicm. They had 
 been told at the fort that this was a favouritA 
 browsing-place of the bear ; and, as they passed 
 
360 butjin. 
 
 along tbcy had evidence of the correctness of the 
 information by seeing the cherry-trees with their 
 branches broken — and some of the stems pulled 
 down into a slanting position, — evidently done by 
 the bears to enable them to get convenier,tly at the 
 fruit. From the trees that had been treated in 
 this rough manner all the fruit had been stripped 
 off as clean as if a party of " cherry-pichers " had 
 passed that way. 
 
 The ravages exhibited a very recent sign. Most 
 of them must have been done within a week ; and 
 one tree looked as freshly torn, as if it had been 
 pulled about that very morning. 
 
 Of course, with such indications before their 
 eyes, our hunters were advancing on the qui vive 
 — not knowing the instant that Bruin might break 
 out. 
 
 It would not be correct to say that they were 
 proceeding with caution. Had they been suf- 
 ficiently cautious, they would not have been there 
 afoot. Of course they were on foot — since no horses 
 could be procured in these parts. To go afoot in 
 pursuit of such game as grisly bears was the height 
 of indiscretion ; and the traders had told them so ; 
 but they made light of what they had been told, for 
 
TBEED DT OLD EPHRAIM. 3G1 
 
 two reasons, — first, because it was absolutely neces- 
 sary they should kill a grisly and strip him of his 
 skin ; and secondly, because our young hunters, 
 Pouchskin as well, had but a very indefinite idea 
 of the risk they were running. They had heard 
 tliat the gristly was one of the fiercest of its kind ; 
 but because it was called a bear, and they had 
 now hunted and killed so many other bears, they 
 fancied this one might be as easily conquered as 
 any of its congeners. They had heard that theso 
 animals often turn tail and run away at sight of 
 man ; but these stories are deceptive. The bears 
 that do so are either juvenile grislies or brown 
 individuals of the ursus americanus — which are 
 often mistaken for the grisly. 
 
 With "old Ephraim " himself the cade is quite 
 different, as we have already said. On sight of 
 a human enemy, instead of running away, the 
 grisly more frequently runs towards him, charging 
 forward with open mouth, and often without having 
 received the slightest provocation. 
 
 Of this fact our hunters had proof almost upon 
 the instant. They had entered a wide tract, sparsely 
 covered with trees ; but such small trees, and so 
 thinly standing over the ground, that the hunters 
 
362 BEUix. 
 
 might have fancied them to have been planted ; 
 and that they were entering within the boundariea 
 of some old orchard. The tract thus charac- 
 terized was about five or six acres in superficial 
 extent ; and surrounded by the same kind of cop- 
 pice that covered most of the face of the country. 
 
 Under the thin trees there was neither under- 
 wood, uor long grass ; and tliey could see between 
 their trunks in every direction, to the edge of the 
 jungle that grew around. 
 
 "WTiile walking quietly along, a singular noise 
 reached their ears, that caused them suddenly to 
 halt in their tracks. It caused them to turn 
 also : for the noise appeared to come from behind 
 them. It resembled the hurried breathing of a 
 person badly afilicted with asthma ; but so much 
 louder, that if it had proceeded froii numan lungs, 
 they could only have been tlioac ot an asthmatic 
 giant! 
 
 It was, in reality, a gigantic creature that pro- 
 duced the noise : since it was neither more nor less 
 than a grisly bear. Not one alone, but a brace of 
 these monstrous animals — a male and female, no 
 doubt — were seen at that moment by the edge of 
 the thicket, out of which the hunters had just 
 
TEEED nr OLD EPHUAIM. 3G3 
 
 emerged. Both were standing on their hind limbs, 
 and both uttering tlie strange anuCSng noise that 
 had attracted attention to them. Other noises 
 were now mingled with these — sharp cjuerulou^ 
 grunts — and, by the gestures which the bears were 
 making, it was evident they not only saw the 
 three hunters in the open ground, but were re- 
 connoitering them perhaps with an intention to 
 make an attack upon them 1 
 
 Our hunters were quite taken aback. They had 
 expected, at least, to have been allowed the ini- 
 tiative in any conflict that might occur ; but they 
 now saw that, instead of being the assailing party, 
 they were likely to be the assailed ! 
 
 They had no time for deliberation ; for the brace 
 of bears, apparently having satisfied themselves 
 with their threatening demonstrations, dropped 
 down on all-fours, and came galloping onward— 
 almost as fast as horses could have done ! 
 
 The three hunters fired at once ; and not with- 
 out effect : for one of the bears fell to their shots. 
 It was the smaller one, and that which had been 
 foremost. Acting without concert, they had all 
 aimed at the same animal — choosing that whicl; 
 was nearest ; and this was unfortunate, for had 
 
3G4 BUT lie. 
 
 some one of them sighted the other aud bigger 
 bear, they might have given him a wound that 
 would have, at least, crippled him. 
 
 As it was, he had neither been shot at, nor 
 touched ; and the fall of his mate — for it was the 
 male who survived — now so completely exasperated 
 him, that he rushed on with the full determination 
 to deal death among the enemies who had be- 
 reaved him. 
 
 It was fortunate that he stopped a moment 
 over his fallen companion. He did so as if to 
 convince himself that slie was dead. It was only 
 for an instant; but a precious instant that was to 
 all three of the hunters. It gave them sufficient 
 time to take to a tree — each springing up to the 
 one that was most convenient. Alexis and Ivan 
 being young and nimble, easily accomplished this 
 feat ; but it cost Pouchskin an eftort ; aud he came 
 very near making it in vain. He had got his arms 
 over a branch, and was drawing his great booted 
 legs after him ; but, before ho could raise them to 
 a sufficient height, the bear had arrived upon the 
 ground, and reared upward to seize him. 
 
 Ivan and Alexis uttered a simultaneous shout of 
 alarm. They saw the shaggy fore arms of the 
 
TKEED IlY OLD Eriin.VIM. 305 
 
 quadruped doubled around the lcg3 of their faith- 
 ful follower; and were looking to see Pouchskin 
 in another moment pulled down from the tree. 
 "What was their delight, as well as astonishment, 
 on seeing the bear fall " slap " back to the earth — 
 with one of the ex-grenadicr's great boots fast 
 clutched between his paws — while Pouchskin him- 
 self was seen gliding upward to the top branches 
 of the tree ! 
 
 A shout of joy followed the cry of alarm, to which 
 they had just given utterance ; and without another 
 word all three hastened to reload their guns. 
 
 Meanwhile the disappointed bear appeared deter- 
 mined to revenge himself on the boot ; and for 
 some seconds continued to tear it — both with 
 teeth and claws — till nothing of its original shape 
 remained. Then, scattering tlie fragments over the 
 ground, he desisted from tliis idle employment ; 
 and rushed back to the trunk of the tree up which 
 Pouchskin had climbed. ]Ie knew — from having 
 often made the experiment — that he could uot 
 climb it ; nor did he attempt to do so ; but seizing 
 the slender trunk in his powerful grasp, he shook 
 the tree backward and forward, as if endeavouring to 
 drag it up by the roots or tlirow it to the ground. 
 
366 BnuiN. 
 
 For some time our hunters were not without 
 apprehensions that he might succeed. The tree 
 was not bigger than an ordinary pear-tree ; and its 
 trunk vibrated from side to side, and bent over to 
 such an extent, that its roots could be heard crack- 
 ing beneath the ground. 
 
 Pouchskin, far up in the top, was tossed 
 backward and forward — as if he had been a shut- 
 tlecock between two battledores — and it was just 
 as much as he could do to keep his hold among 
 the branches, much less finish the loading of his 
 fusil, which he had only half accomplished when 
 the rocking began. Had he been alone, his 
 position would have been one of great danger : 
 for no doubt, in process of time, the bear would 
 have torn down the tree. But the efforts of Bruin 
 were brought to a sudden termination : for Ivaii 
 and Alexis, having now reloaded, took careful aim, 
 and scut both their bullets into the body of the 
 beast. One of the shots must have hit him in a 
 mortal part: since, on receiving it, the bear lot go 
 his hold, dropped down from his erect attitude, 
 and doubling himself up at the bottom of tlio 
 tree, looked as if he had suddenly gone to sleep ! 
 But the red stream, pouring out from his still dis- 
 
TIIEED Ur OLD EPIIUAIM. 367 
 
 tended jawa, told that it was the sleep of death 
 that had overtaken him. 
 
 Our hunters, assured that both bears were dead, 
 now descended from their respective perches ; but 
 the sight of Pouchskin, with one leg in stocking, 
 and the other buried up to the tliigh in a great 
 horse-skin boot, wouM have been too much for the 
 gravity of a judg'-, and his young masters were 
 once more merry at his expense. 
 
 Having skinned the bears, they returned to the 
 fort with their spoils — to the no slight astonishment 
 of some of the old trappers stationed there. They 
 could scarce believe that these young strangers 
 were capable of accomplishing such a feat as the 
 conquest of a couple of full-grown grislies. The 
 thing had been done, however — as the trophies tes- 
 ti6ed — and it is needless to say that our hunters, 
 by this gallant action, gained golden opinions from 
 the "mountain men." 
 
 They had no desire, however, to try another 
 contest of the kind. They had become perfectly 
 satisfied of the great peril to be expected in an 
 encounter with " Old Ephraim ; " and were only 
 too well pleased of having it in their power, 
 on all future occasions, to imitntc the example of 
 
368 B-^i.v. 
 
 other travellers, and give the grisly a " wide 
 berth." 
 
 ludecd, tney would have had no opportunity, had 
 they desired it, to hunt the bear any longer in that 
 neighbourhood: forthe "boat" brigade, with which 
 they were travelling, started the next day for Fort 
 Pelly ; and it was necessary for them to accom- 
 pany it, as the journey could not otherwise be 
 accomplished. 
 
 They arrived at this last-named place in safety ; 
 and, with some native traders, that chanced to be at 
 the fort, they were enabled to proceed onward to 
 the Eussiau settlement of Sitka — where the magic 
 cipher which Alexis carried in his pocket procured 
 them tlie most hospitable treatment that such a 
 wild, out-of-the-way place could afford. 
 
 Tliey had beer* fortunate, upon their route, to 
 procure a skia of the "cinnamon" bear — as well 
 as one of black colour with a white breast, both of 
 which Alexis was able to identify as mere varieties 
 of the ursus amcricanus. These varieties are some- 
 times seen to the oast of tlic Eocky ^Mountains; 
 but they are far more common throughout the 
 countries along the Pacific — and especially in Jtus- 
 fliau America, where the cinnamon-coloured kind 
 
Pouchskm's Adventure with Lhc Gru',;-,ly bear. P. o6J. 
 
THE KAMBCUATDALE8. 3G9 
 
 18 usually termed the " red bear." They occur, 
 moreover, in the Aleutian islands ; and very pro- 
 bably in Japan and Kamschatka — in which country 
 bears are exceedingly numerous — evidently of 
 several species, confusedly described and ill iden- 
 tiBed. Unfortunately, the Russian naturalists — 
 whose special duty it has been to make known the 
 natural history of the countries lying around the 
 North Pacific — have done their work in a slovenly 
 and childlike manner. 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 THE KAMSCUATDALEB. 
 
 The bcai of Kamschatka had to be skinned next. 
 lUit it was necessary to catch one before he could 
 be fkitmed ; and also necessary to go to Kams- 
 chatka before he could be caught. To get to Kams- 
 chatka was not 80 difiicult as it may sound to 
 the car. Our travellers were just in the phice, 
 2 a 
 
370 BEUIN. 
 
 from which it was possible to proceed direct 
 to this Asiatic peninsula. Vessels belonging to 
 the Eussian Fur Company every year collect the 
 furs along the north-west coast of America, and 
 among the Pox and Aleutian islands — Sitka being 
 their port of rendezvous. Thence proceeding to 
 the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul (Petropau- 
 louski), on the coast of Kamschatiia, they com- 
 plete their cargoes with the " skin crop " that 
 during the winter has been collected throughout 
 the peninsula. Thence to China a portion of these 
 furs arc taken — especially skins of the sable, which 
 the Chinese mandarins use extensively for trim- 
 ming their costly robes ; and for which, teas, silk, 
 lacquer- ware, and other articles of Chinese manu- 
 facture are given in exchange. 
 
 The Japanese also, and other wealthy Oriental 
 nations, buy up quantities of costly furs ; but by 
 far the greater portiou of this produce is consumed 
 by the Russians themselves — iu wliose cold clinuUc 
 some sort of a fur coat is almost a necessity. Even 
 most of the furs collected by the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany find their way into Russia : for the consumption 
 of these goods in Great Britain is extremely limited, 
 compared with that of many other articles ile luxe. 
 
TIIK KAMSCII.VTD.VLE3. 371 
 
 In tlie fur ship our travellers proceeded from 
 Sitka to the port of Petropaulouski, which is 
 situated on Avatcha bar, near the southern end 
 of the peninsula. 
 
 As Avatcha bay is nearly laud-locked, it forms 
 one of the most sheltered harbours on that side of 
 the Pacific ; but unfortunately during winter the 
 bay freezes over ; and then ships can neither get 
 into nor out of it. 
 
 The vessel which carried our adventurers arrived 
 at Petropaulouski late in the spring ; but, as the 
 winter had been unusually prolonged, the bay 
 was still blocked up with ice, and the ship could 
 not get up to the little town. This did not hinder 
 them from lauding. Dog-sledges were brought 
 cut upon the ice by the inhabitants ; and upon 
 these our travellers were carried to the town, or 
 "ostrog" as it is called— such being the name 
 given to the villages of Kamschatka. 
 
 In Petropaulouski, many curious objects and 
 customs came under the observation of our tra- 
 vellers. They saw no less than three kinds of 
 houses — Cret, the " iabas," built of logs, and not 
 unlike the log-cabins of America. These are the 
 best sort of dwellings; and belong to the Kussian 
 2 u 2 
 
372 BRUiy. 
 
 merchants and officials, who reside there — as well 
 as to the Cossack soldiers, who are kept by the 
 Russian Government in Kamschatka. 
 
 The native Kamschatdales have two kinds of 
 houses of indigenous architecture — one for sum- 
 mer, the " balagan," and another to which they 
 retire during the winter, called the "jourt." Tlie 
 balagan is constructed of roles and thatch upon a 
 raised platform — to which the Kamschatdale climbs 
 up by means of a notched trunk of a tree. There is 
 only one story of the house itself — which is merely 
 the sloping thatched roof — with a hole in the top 
 to give passage to the smoke — and resembles a 
 rough tent or hayrick set upon an elevated stand. 
 The space xmder the platform is left opcMi ; and 
 serves as a store-house for the dried fish, that 
 forms the staple food of all sorts of people in Kams- 
 chatka. Here, too, the sledges and sledge harness 
 are kept ; and the dogs, of which every family owns 
 a large pack, use this lov.'cr story as a sleeping place. 
 
 The winter-house or "jourt," is constructed 
 very differently It is a great hole sunk in the 
 ground to the depth of eight or ten feet, lined 
 round the sides v;illi pieces of timber, and roofid 
 over above the sinface nf the ground — ?o as to look 
 
THE KAMSC1IATDALE3. ' ^73 
 
 like the rounded dome of a large bake-ovcn. A bole 
 at the apex is intended for the chimnev, but it is 
 also the door: since there is no other mode of 
 entrance into the jourt, r.nd the interior is reached 
 by descending a notched tree trunk — similar to 
 that used in climbing up to the balagan. 
 
 The curious fur dresses of the Kamschatdales ; 
 their thin yellowish white dogs, resembling the 
 Pomeranian breed ; their dog sledges, whicli they 
 use for travelling in winter ; the customs and habits 
 of these singular people ; all formed an interesting 
 study to our travellers, and enriched their journal 
 with notes and observations. "We find it recorded 
 there, how these people spend their time and 
 obtain their subsistence. Very little agriculture is 
 practi:«ed by them — the climate being unfavourable 
 to the growth of the cereals. In some parts barley 
 and rye are cultivated ; but only to a very limited 
 extent. Cattle are scarce — a few only being 
 kept by the Kussian and Cossack settlers ; and 
 horses are equally rare, such as there are be- 
 longing to the oflicials of the Government, and 
 used for Government purposes. The common or 
 "native" people subsist almost entirely on a Gsh 
 diet — their lakes and rivers furnishing them with 
 
374 EEriN. 
 
 abundance of fish ; and the whole of the summer is 
 spent in catching and drying tliese for their winter 
 provision. Several wild vegetable productions are 
 added — roots and berries, and even the bark of 
 trees — all of which are eaten along with the dried 
 fish. "Wild animals also furnish part of their sub- 
 sistence ; and it is by the skins of these — especially 
 the sable — that the people pay their annual tax, or 
 tribute, to the Eussian Government. From animals, 
 too, their clothing is chiefly manufactured ; and 
 many other articles used in their domestic economy. 
 The peninsula is rich in the fur-bearing quadru- 
 peds, and some of these furnish the very best quality 
 of furs that are known to commerce. The sable of 
 Kamschatka is of a superior kind as also the many- 
 varieties of the fox. They have, besides, the wolve- 
 rine and wolf, the ermine and Arctic fox, the mar- 
 mot and polar hare, and several smaller ain'mals 
 that yield furs of commercial value. The sea 
 otter is common upon the coasts of Kamschatka ; 
 and this is also an object of the chase — its skin 
 being among the costliest of " peltries." The great 
 argali, or wild sheep, and the rein-deer, furnish 
 them both with flesh and skins ; but one of the 
 chief objects of the chase is that great quadruped 
 
risniNO-BEARS. 375 
 
 for which our young hunters had come all the way 
 to Karaschatka, the bear. Into hia presence they 
 would 6nd no difficulty in introducing themselves : 
 for perhaps in no country in the world does master 
 Bruin's family muster so strongly as in this very 
 peninsula. 
 
 CIIAPTEIl Lll. 
 
 7ISIII>'0-BEAIig. 
 
 Pbevious to starting forth in search of the Kam- 
 Bchatkan bear, our hunters collected all the par- 
 ticulars they could in regard to the haunts and 
 habits of this anicil. 
 
 They learnt that there were at least two varietiea 
 known to the Kurilski and Koriac hunters. One 
 of them was the more common kind — a brown bear, 
 closely resembling the ursus arctos ; and the other 
 also a brown bear; but witli a whitish list running 
 up from the under part of his throat, and meeting 
 like a collar over the tops of his shoulders. This 
 latter kind was undoubtedly the species known as 
 
y7G BEuiy. 
 
 the " Siberian bear" {trrsiis coUaris) ; and which has 
 an extensive range throughout most of the countries 
 of Northern Asia. The native hunters alleged that 
 tlie two kinds were of nearly similar habits. Both 
 went to sleep during the winter — concealing them- 
 selves cunningly in caves and crevices among rocks, 
 or among fallen timber, wliere sucli could be found 
 in sufficient quantity to afford them shelter. 
 
 One remarkable habit of these bears indicates 
 a very marked difference between them and 
 the ursus arctos, with which they have been 
 usually classed ; and that is, that they are JisJi in j 
 bears — subsisting almost exclusively on fidh, which 
 tliey catch for themselves. During their winter 
 sleep, of course they eat nothing ; but in spring, 
 as soon as they emerge from their retreats, thev at 
 once betake themselves to the numerous streams 
 and lakes, with which the country abounds ; and 
 roaming along the banks of these, or wading in 
 the water itself, they spend the whole of their time 
 in angling about after trout and salmon. There, 
 Hah, thanks to their immense numbers, and tlie 
 shallowness of the water in most of the lakes and 
 streams, the bears are enabled to catch almost at 
 discretion. Tlicy wado into the water, and getting 
 
TISIIING-UEARS. 377 
 
 among the slioals of the fish as they are passing 
 to aud fro, strike them dead with their paws. The 
 fish ure killed as instautaDeously as if impaled 
 upon a fiahing spear; and in such numbers do 
 the bears capture them, at Certain seasons, that 
 the captors grow dainty, aud only eat a portion 
 of each fish ! They show a strange preference for 
 that part, which is usually considered refuse, the 
 head, — leaving the tail, witli a considerable portion 
 of the body, untouched. The rejected portions, 
 however, are not lost ; for another animal, still 
 hungrier tlian the bears, and less skilful in the 
 piscatory art, is at this time also in search of a 
 meal of fish. 
 
 Thia creature is the Kamschatkan dog — not a 
 wild spcci.'s, as you may suppose, but the trained 
 sledge-dogs of the Kamschatdales themselves; which 
 at this season forsake the " ostrogs," or villages, 
 and betake themselves to the borders of the lakes 
 and rivers. There they remain during the whole 
 j)eriod of summer, feeding upon fish — which they 
 also know how to capture — and eating up such 
 portions as have been refused by the bears. In 
 tact, tills is the only food which these poor dogs 
 can get ; and, as they are not needed during the 
 
378 BiiuiN. 
 
 summer season, they do not think of returning 
 home until frost sets in. Then, strange to say, 
 one and all of them go voluntarily back, and sur- 
 render themselves up to their old masters — hard 
 taskmasters too, who not oul\- work them like slaves, 
 but half starve them throughout the whole winter. 
 This voluntary submission to their " yoke" has beeu 
 quoted as an illustration of the high training and 
 faithful disposition of the Kamschatkan dogs; but it 
 has its origin in a far different motive than that of 
 mere jBdelity. Their return to the snug shelter of 
 the lalagan is simply an instinct of self-preserva- 
 tion : for the sagacious animals well know, that in 
 winter the lakes and streams will be completely 
 frozen over, and were they to remain abroad, they 
 would absolutely perish either from hunger or^cold. 
 Even the wretched winter allowance of heads and 
 entrails of Ssb — the only crumbs that fall to their 
 share — is better than nothing at all ; which would 
 be their portion were they to remain abroad among 
 the bare snow-clad hills and valleys of Kamschatka. 
 The Kamschatdales have various modes of taking 
 the bear. In early winter they sometimes find his 
 track in the snow ; and then pursue him witli a 
 gun and a bear-spcar, killing him as they best can. 
 
risniN'o-BEATis. 379 
 
 Later still, when he has gone to sleep in his den, 
 he is often found — by similar indications as those 
 which guide the Laplanders, North American 
 Indians, and Esquimaux — such as the hoar caused 
 by his breath showing over the spot, or by their 
 hunting-dogs scenting him out, and barking at the 
 entrance. The log-trap, or dead-fall, is also in use 
 among the Kamschatkan hunters ; and the pcnn 
 formed around the mouth of the bear's cave, 
 shutting him up, until an entrance can be dug 
 into it from above. 
 
 In the summer time the mode is different. Then 
 the hunter lies in ambush, with his loaded rifle — 
 for the Kamschatdale carries this weapon — in such 
 places as he expects the bear to pass. These are on 
 the banks of the streams and lakes that abound in 
 fish J and as the bears ramble along the edge of 
 the water, or are even seen swimming or wading 
 into it, the patient hunter is pretty sure of getting 
 a shot. Should he fail to bring down Bruin at the 
 first fire, the game becomes uncertain ; and some- 
 times dangerous : since tlio animal often charges 
 upon the hunter. Even though the latter may 
 be concealed among the long reeds and bushes, 
 the sagacious bear, guided by the smoke and blaze 
 
380 BRCI5. 
 
 of the powder easily finds out his assailant. Tiie 
 hunter, however, never fires without taking a deli- 
 berate aim. He carries a forked stick, over which 
 he rests his piece, and never fires off-hand. To 
 miss would not only endanger his life and the loss 
 of his game, but what is also of consequence to a 
 Ivamschatdale, the loss of his powder and bullet — 
 costly articles in this remote corner of the earth. 
 Tu case of missing, he has still his bear-spear aud a 
 long-bladed knife to fall back upon ; aud with these 
 he defends himself as well as he can^though not 
 unfrequently Bruia proves the victor, and the 
 hunter the victim. 
 
 There are certain times when tlie Siberian bears 
 become exceedingly dangerous to approach. The 
 season of rut — which occurs iu the latter part of 
 the summer — is one of these ; but there is another 
 period of danger — which, however, does not happen 
 every year. When the spring chances to be late — 
 on account of a prolonged winter — and when the 
 lakes and streams remain frozen over, after the 
 bears have come forth from their hiding-places, then 
 "ware Bruin" is a caution wiiich it is prudent to 
 observe. The fierce animals, half-famished for want 
 of their usual diet of fish, roam over the country 
 
FIS!IING-BE\R3. 381 
 
 in all directions ; and fearlessly approach the 
 " ostrogs," roaming around the balagans and 
 jourts in search of something to eat. "Woe to the 
 Karaschatdale that gets in their way at such a 
 time — for the bear, instead of waiting to be 
 attacked, becomes himself the assailant ; and, as 
 great numbers of these quadrupeds often troop 
 about together, of course the encounter is all the 
 more perilous. 
 
 It was just in such a spring that our young 
 liunters had arrived at Petropaulouski ; and 
 stories of numerous bear conflicts, that had re- 
 cently occurred in the neighbourhood, were rife 
 in the village ; while the number of fresh skins 
 every day brought in by the Kurilski hunters, 
 showed that bears could not be otherwise than 
 plentiful in the country adjacent. 
 
 Guided by one of these hunters, our party set 
 forth upon a search. The snow still covered the 
 ground ; and, of course, they travelled in sledges — 
 each having one to himself, drawn by five dogs, 
 as is the custom of the country. The dogs are 
 harnessed two and two abreast, with the odd one 
 in front. Each has his collar of bearskin, with a 
 leather thong for a trace ; and five of them are 
 
382 BEUIN. 
 
 sufBcient to draw the little sledge with a man in 
 it. The sledge, called saunlca, is less than four 
 leet long; and, being made of the lightest birch 
 wood, is of very little weight. 
 
 A curved stick, called the oscJitol — with an iron 
 point, and little bells at the other end — is used to 
 direct tlie dogs ; and, urged on by this and by 
 well-known exclamations of their driver, they v/ill 
 go at a speed of many miles an hour. 
 
 In this slight vehicle, bills, valleys, lakes, and 
 rivers are crossed, without such a thing as a road 
 being thought of ; and when the dogs are good, 
 and have been well cared for, an immense distance 
 may be passed over in a day. 
 
 In less tliau an hour after their departure trom 
 Petropaulouski, our hunters bad entered amid the 
 wildest scenery — where not the slightest sign of 
 either cultivation or human habitation was to be 
 seen, and where at any moment they might expect 
 to come in sight of their great game. 
 
soa-SBiTnio. 383 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 DOO-DEITINO. 
 
 The guide was conducting them to a stream tliat 
 ran into the bay some ten or twelve miles from the 
 "ostrog." On that stream, he said, the}' would be 
 pretty certain to find a bear, if not several : since at 
 a place he knew of the water was not frozen, and the 
 bears might be there trying to catch fisli. When 
 questioned as to why this particular strcaift wns not 
 frozen like the others, he said that some distance 
 up it there were warm springs — a phenomenon of 
 frequent occurrence in tlie peninsula of Kains- 
 chatka — that these springs supplied most of the 
 water of the stream ; and that for several hundred 
 yards below where they gushed forth, the river 
 was kept open by their warmth during the severest 
 winters. Not throughout its whole course, how- 
 ever. Farther down, where the water became cool, 
 it froze like in other streams ; and that this was 
 the case, was evident to our hunters, who had 
 
38 i Buriy. 
 
 entered the mouth of the rivers from the icv sur- 
 face of the bay, and were gliding in their sledges 
 up its frozen channel. 
 
 After having gone three or four miles up this 
 ice-bound stream, which ran througli a narrow 
 valley with steep sloping sides, the guide warned 
 our hunters that they were close to the place where 
 the water would be found open. At this point 
 a low ridge ran transversely across the valley — 
 through which the stream had, in process of time, 
 cut a channel ; but the ridge occasioned a dam or 
 lake of some half-dozen acres in superficial extent, 
 which lay just above it. The dam itself was rarely 
 frozen o^cr ; and it was by the water remaining in 
 it, or flowing sluggishly through it — and thus 
 giving it time to cool — that the stream immediately 
 below got frozen over. 
 
 The lake lay just on the obher side of the ridge, 
 and was now only hidden from their view by the 
 rise of the ground. If not frozen over, as the guide 
 conjectured, there was likely to be a bear roaming 
 around its edge ; and therefore they resolved to 
 observe caution in approaching it. 
 
 The sledges were to be taken no further. Our 
 hunters had learnt how to manage both dog sledges 
 
' DOQ-DniVlNO. 3S5 
 
 and dogs. Their experience iu Tiuland, as well aa 
 iu tlie countries of the Hudson's Bay territory, had 
 taught them that ; and made them skilful iu the 
 handling of these animals — else they would have 
 made but poor work in travelling aa they did now. 
 In fact, they could not have managed at all : since it 
 requires a great deal of training to be able to drive 
 a dog-sledge. This, however, they had received — 
 both the boys and Pouchskin — and fortunate it had 
 been so ; for very shortly after they were placed in 
 a predicament, iu which their lives depended on 
 their skill as sledge drivers. 
 
 The dogs were lefc under cover of the ridge, 
 near the bottom of the little slope ; a sign was 
 given to them to keep their places — which these 
 well-trained creatures perfectly comprehended ; and 
 the hunters — the Kurilski with the rest — holding 
 their guns in readiness, ascended towards the 
 summit of the slope. 
 
 There was no cover, except what was afforded by 
 the inequality of the ground. There were no trees 
 in the valley — only stunted bushes, not half the 
 height of a man's body, and tiicse nearly buried 
 to their tops in the snow. A few, however, 
 appeared growing along the crest of the ridge. 
 
S86 BiiuiK. 
 
 The hunters crawled up to these on all-fours, 
 and peeped cautiously through their branches. 
 
 It was the impatient Ivan that looked first ; and 
 what he saw so surprised him, as almost to deprive 
 him of the power of speech ! Indeed, he was not 
 able to explain what he saw — till the other three 
 had got forward, and became equally eye-witnesses 
 of the spectacle that had astonished him. 
 
 As the guide had conjectured, the lake was not 
 frozen. There was some loose snow floating over 
 its surface ; but most of the water was open ; and 
 the stream that flowed slowly in on the opposite 
 side was quite clear of either ice or snow. 
 
 The guide had also predicted hypothetically that 
 they might see a bear — perhaps two. It had not 
 occurred to this man of moderate pretensions that 
 they might see twelve — and yet no less than twelve 
 bears were in sight ! 
 
 Tes, twelve bears — they were as easily counted 
 as oxcu — were around the shores of this secluded 
 lake, and on the banks of the little stream that 
 ran into it — all within five hundred yards of each 
 other. Indeed, it would have been eas}' to have 
 mistaken theiA for a herd of browu heifers or 
 oxen ; had it not been for the various attitudes m 
 
Doo-Dninyo, S8T 
 
 which they were seen : some upon all-fours — some 
 standing erect, like human beings, or squatted 
 on their hams like gigantic squirrels — others in 
 the water, their bodies half submerged — others 
 swimming about, their backs and heads only visible 
 above the surface; and still others, prowling lei- 
 surely along the banks, or over the strip of level 
 meadow-land that bordered the lake. 
 
 Such a sight our bear-hunters had never wit- 
 nessed before, and might never witness again, in any 
 other country, save Kamschatka itself. There it is 
 by no means uncommon ; and twenty bears instead 
 of twelve have been often seen in a single drove — 
 at that season when they descend from their 
 mountain retreats to their favourite Cshiug- 
 grounds upon the lakes and streams. 
 
 Our hunters were perplexed by so unexpected a 
 sight ; and for some moments unresolved as to how 
 they should act. Fortunately, tho bushes already 
 mentioned served to conceal them from tho bears ; 
 and the wind was blowing towards the hunters — 
 otherwise tho bears, who aro keen of scent, would 
 soon have discovered their presence. As it was, 
 not one of them — though several were close to 
 the ridgo — seemed to have any suspicion that an 
 2 c 2 
 
3S8 EEnx. 
 
 enemy was so near. The huge quadrupeds ap- 
 peared to be too busy about their own affairs — 
 endeavouring to capture the fish — some of them 
 greedily devouring those they liad already taken, 
 and others wandering restlessly about, or eagerly 
 observing the movements of the fish in the water. 
 One and all of them looked fierce and famished, 
 their bodies showing gaunt and flaky, and their 
 enormous limbs having a lank angular appearance, 
 that gave them a still greater resemblance to 
 beifers — only heifers that bad been balf starved ! 
 
 CHAPTEK LIV. 
 
 A SLEDOE-CUABE. 
 
 I RATE said that our hunters were for some time 
 irresolute about how to act. The Kurilski was 
 inclined to withdraw from the spot and leave the 
 bears alone ; and this of course was his advice 
 to the others. He said there niiglit bo danger 
 in disturbing them — so many clustered together, 
 
A SLEDGE-CIIASE. 3S9 
 
 aud in such a mood. as they appeared to be. IIo 
 had known them to attack a large party of men 
 under such circumstances, and give chase to them. 
 They might do the same now ? 
 
 Our hunters, however, did not give full credit to 
 this etory of their guide — thinking it might have 
 its origin in the fears of the Kurilski, whom they 
 knew to be of a timid race ; and therefore they 
 determined not to back out. The chance was too 
 tempting to be surrendered for so slight a reason, 
 and without a struggle. There were several bears 
 within easy shot of the ground where they were 
 kneeling ! 
 
 It would never do to let such an opportunity 
 pass. They might not meet with so good a 
 chance again ; or, at all events, they might be 
 delayed a good long time before another would 
 turn up ; and a residence in Petropaulouski, even 
 in the " isba " of the governor — who was himself 
 only a sergeant of Cossacks, aud his dwelling a 
 mere hut — was not so pleasant as that they should 
 wish to prolong it. They had now been a great 
 while journeying through countries covered with 
 frost and snow ; and they were longing to reach 
 those tropical isles — famed for their ppiccs and 
 
390 . BEnx. 
 
 tlieir loveliness — -u-bicli were to be the next stage 
 iu their grand tour round the globe. 
 
 Influenced by these thoughts, then, they resolved 
 to run all hazard, and try a shot at the bears. 
 
 The Kurilski, seeing them determined, gave in ; 
 and, joining his gun to theirs, a volley of four shots 
 was simultaneously discharged through the bushes. 
 
 Two bears were seen to drop over and lie kicking 
 upon the snow ; but whether they continued their 
 kicking for any considerable length of time, was a 
 question about which our hunters could give no 
 definite information. They did not stay to see : 
 for the moment the smoke had cleared off, they 
 saw the whole gang of bears in motion, and rush- 
 ing towards them from all sides of the lake. The 
 shrill fierce screaming of the animals, and the 
 hurried pace in which they were making towards 
 the ridge, declared their intentions. They were 
 charging forward to the attack. 
 
 The hunters saw this at a glance ; and thought 
 only of retreating. Eat wliithor could they fly ? 
 There were no trees ; and if there had been, 
 the bears could have climbed them even better 
 than themselves. There were steep rocky clifls 
 on botli sides of the ravine ; but these would 
 
A SLEDGE-CllASi:. 391? 
 
 afford them no security — even bad their ice-coated 
 slope permitted of their being scaled. But it did 
 not, and if it had, the bears could have scaled the 
 rocks too ! 
 
 Our Russian hunters were in a complete state 
 of perplexity, and perhaps would not have known 
 how to save themselves, had it not been for their 
 Kurilski comrade. He, however, had conceived 
 an idea — or, rather, had drawn it from old experi- 
 ence ; and just at this moment he rushed down 
 the slope, as he did so calling to the others to take 
 to their sledges, and warning them that it was 
 their only chance of escape. 
 
 Of course none of them thought of disputing 
 his advice, or even calling it in question ; but one 
 and all of them yielded obedience on the instant. 
 Without saying a word, each rushed to his sledge, 
 leaped upon the runners, seated himself in double 
 quick time upon the little crescent-like cradle, 
 seized the " ribbons," and straightened his team 
 to the road. 
 
 Had the dogs not been well trained, and their 
 drivers equally well used to the management of a 
 sledge, their peril would have been extreme. As 
 it was — though all came into their places in good 
 
•892 ERuix. 
 
 etyle, and without confusion — they had not a 
 second to spare. The bears were already gal- 
 loping down the slope ; and as the last sledge — 
 which was Pouchskin's — moved off from the 
 bottom of the ridge, the foremost of the roaring 
 pursuers had got witliin less than six yards of it ! 
 
 It was now a trial of speed between bears 
 and sledge-dogs — for the latter knew that they 
 were in as ^much danger as their masters ; and 
 needed neither the exclamation Ah ! nor the 
 oschtol to urge them forward. On swept they 
 over the frozen crust, as fast as they could go — 
 handling their limbs and claws with the nimblcncss 
 peculiar to their race. 
 
 The bears followed \\\ a sort of lumbering 
 gallop ; yet, notwithstanding their uncouth move- 
 ments, they kept for a long time close in the rear 
 of the fugitives. 
 
 Fortunately they did not possess the speed of 
 Jie canine race ; and at length — seeing that thev 
 Avero being distanced — one after another gave up 
 the chase, and commenced returning towards tho 
 lake, slowly, and witli apparent reluctance. 
 
 Just at this crisis an accident occurred to Pouch- 
 tikln — or rather Pouchskiu committed a mistake — 
 
A SLEDGE-CUASE. C93 
 
 which, had it been made live uiiuutes sooner, 
 would most assuredly have cost him his life. The 
 mistake which Pouchskin made, was to drop the 
 iron end of his " oscJitoV on the snowy crust 
 between his sledge and the two dogs nearest to it 
 — tho " wheelers " as we may call them. The effect 
 of this, with Kamsckatkan sledge-dogs, is to cause 
 the whole team to halt ; and so acted tho dogs that 
 Pouchskin was driving — all five suddenly coming 
 to a dead stop ! Pouchskin endeavoured to urge 
 them forward — crying out the usual signal, Ha ; 
 but, in his anxious eagerness, Pouchskin placed 
 the accent after the vowel, instead of before it ; and 
 instead of Ha ! his exclamation sounded Ah ! The 
 latter being the command for the dogs to halt, of 
 course only kept them steady in their places ; and 
 they stood without offering to move a leg. By good 
 fortune, tho bears had already given up the pur- 
 suit, and were not witnesses of this interruption : 
 otherwise it would have gone ill with the cx- 
 grcuadier. 
 
 In duo time the dogs were once more started ; 
 and Pouchskin — putting them to their highest 
 rate of speed — soon overtook the sledge-train ; 
 which did not come to a halt until a good 
 
od4i BEUIX. 
 
 mile of snow-covered country was between it and 
 the bears. 
 
 The hunters only paused then, for a short while, 
 to breathe their panting dogs ; and this done, they 
 resumed their seats on the sledges, and continued 
 on to the ostrog — without a thought of going back 
 after the bears. 
 
 ■ They had no intention, however, of giving them 
 up entirely. They only drove home to the village — 
 in order to get assistance ; and, as soon as their 
 report was delivered, all the men of the settle- 
 ment — Cossacks, Kurilskis, and half-breeds — 
 turned out armed to tlie teeth for a grand battue, 
 and proceeded towards the lake with the Governor 
 himself at their head. 
 
 The bears were still upon the ground — both the 
 living and the dead — for it was now seen that two 
 of their number had fallen to the shots of our 
 hunters — and upon the former a general fusillade 
 was at once opened, which ended in their complete 
 discomfiture. Five more of them were killed upon 
 the spot ; and several others that took to flight • 
 were tracked througli the snow, and destroyed in 
 their hiding-places. For a week after, there was 
 very little fish eaten in the ostrog of Petropau- 
 
TUE SIX BEAKS. 895 
 
 louski — which for a long period previous to that* 
 time had not witnessed such a carnival. 
 
 Of course our Russian hunters came in for their 
 share of the trophies ; and, choosing the skin of 
 one of the bears they had themselves shot, they lefc 
 it with the Governor, to be forwarded via Okhotsk 
 and Takoutsk, to the distant capital of St. Peters- 
 burg. Shortly after the fur ship carried them to 
 Canton, — whence they might expect to find a pas- 
 sage in a Chinese trading vessel to the grand island 
 of Borneo. 
 
 CHAPTER LY. 
 
 THE BUN B E A n S. 
 
 There aro colonics of Chinese settled in different 
 parts of Borneo — whoso principal business there is 
 the working of gold and antimony mines. These 
 Chinese colonial settlements — along with nume- 
 rous others throughout the Oriental islands — aro 
 
396 BEUix. 
 
 under the protection and direction of a great Mer- 
 cantile Company called Xung Li — somewhat resem- 
 bling our own East India Company. In Borneo, the 
 head quarters of this commercial association of the 
 Chinese, is the port and river of Sambos, on the 
 western coast ; though they have many other settle- 
 ments in different parts of the island. Of course, 
 between these colonies and Canton there is a regu- 
 lar traffic ; and our travellers found no difficulty 
 in proceeding to Borneo in a Chinese junk which 
 traded direct from Canton to Sambos. At Sambos 
 there is also a Dutch settlement, or " factory," 
 belonging to the Dutch East Indir. Company ; and 
 this Company has also two other stations in the 
 island — all, however, occupying a territory of 
 limited extent, compared with the large surface of 
 the island itself. Xo other European settlements 
 exist in Borneo, if we except an English " agency " 
 lately established at the little island of Labuan ; 
 and a settlement at Sarawak, under an English 
 adventurer, who styles himself " Eajali Brooke." 
 
 The " rajah " rests his claim \o the title and 
 territory of Sarawak on a grant from the Sultan of 
 Borneo (Bruni) ; and the quid pro quo which he 
 professes to have given, was the having assisted the 
 
TUE SUN BEAnS. 397 
 
 Baid Sultan iu putting down the " Dyak pirates!" 
 This is tlio pretence hitherto put forth to the 
 British public; but on a closer inquiry into the 
 facts of this transaction, the story assumes quite a 
 different colour ; and it would rather appear, that, 
 instead of assi>ting to put down piracy in the 
 Bomean watc^^, the first act of the philanthropic 
 Englishman was to assist the Malay Sultan in 
 enslaving several tribes of inoffensive Dyaks, and 
 forcing them to work without pay in the mines of 
 antimony ! This appears to have been the nature 
 of the services that purchased Sarawak. It was, 
 in fact, aiding the pirates, instead of putting them 
 down : since the Bomean Sultan was himself the 
 actual patron and protector of these sea robbers, 
 instead of being their enemy ! 
 
 The patriot and statesman Ilume endeavoured 
 to procure an ir.quiry into these acts of Oriental 
 filibusterism ; but the underhand influence of an 
 unprincipled Administration, backed by an in- 
 terested commtrcial clamour, was too strong for 
 him; and the shameful usurpation has been jus- 
 tified. 
 
 Notwithstanding that Europeans have been 
 settled for hundreds of years in the islands of tho 
 
398 BEUiy. 
 
 Indian Archipelago — ruling them, as we may almost 
 say — it is astonishing how little is yet known of the 
 great island of Borneo. Only its coasts have been 
 traced, and these very imperfectly. The Dutch 
 have made one or two expeditions into the interior ; 
 but much knowledge need not be expected from 
 such trading hucksters as they. Their energies in 
 the East have been expended throughout a period 
 of two centuries, with no other apparent object 
 than to promote dissension, wherever it was pos- 
 sible ; and to annihilate every spark of freedom or 
 nobility among the races who have had the mis- 
 fortune to come in contact with them. 
 
 Notwithstanding their opportunities, they have 
 done little to add to our knowledge of Borneo — 
 whicli was about as well known a hundred years 
 ago as it is at the present hour. Xevcr was a sub- 
 ject more ripe for illustration than this magnificent 
 island. It courts a monograph — such as has been 
 given to Sumatra by Marsdeu, by Teunant to 
 Ceylon, and to Java by Sir Sl^^amford Eaflles. 
 Perhaps some one of my young readers may be- 
 come the author of that monograph ? 
 
 Teeming with the most gorgeous forms of 
 tropical life — so rich in fauna and flora, that it 
 
THE SUX BEAnS. 399 
 
 might be almost regardod as a great zoological and 
 botauical garden combined — it will well repay tbe 
 scientific explorer, who may scarce find such 
 another field on the face of the earth. 
 
 Our young hunters, in contemplating the grand 
 tropical scenery of Borneo, were filled with admi- 
 ration. The sy/fo was quite equal to anything 
 they had witnessed on the Amazon ; wliile the 
 fauna — especially in quadrupeds and qxi.adrumana 
 — was far richer. 
 
 To one quadruped was their attention more 
 especially directed ; and I need hardly say that this 
 was the Bornean bear — by far the most beautiful 
 animal of the whole Bruin family. The Bornean 
 bear is also the smallest of the family — in size, 
 being even less than his near congener, the 
 Malayan bear; though resembling the latter in 
 many particulars. His fur is a jot black, with 
 a muzzle of an orange-yellow colour, and a disc of 
 still deeper orange upon tho breast, bearing a 
 certain resemblance to tho figure of a heart. Tho 
 hair is thickly and evenly set over his whole body — 
 presenting tho same uniform surface which charac- 
 terizes tho black bear of North America, the two 
 species of South America, and also his Malavan 
 
400 BE ON. 
 
 cousin — who inhabits the neighbouring islands of 
 Sumatra and Java. For the latter, indeed, he is 
 often taken ; and many naturalists consider them 
 as one species — though this is certainly an error. 
 The Bornean bear is not only much less in 
 bulk; but the deep orange-colour on his breast 
 offers a permanent mark of distinction. In the 
 Malayan bear there is also a marking on the breast ; 
 but it is of half-moon shape and whitish colour. 
 Besides, the colour of the muzzle in the latter 
 species is only yelloivish, not yellow; and the 
 animal altogether is far from being so handsome as 
 the bear of Borneo. 
 
 Dr. Ilorsfield, who had good opportunities of 
 observing them both, has pointed out other essen- 
 tial characteristics, which prove conclusively that 
 they are separate species ; but the Doctor, guided 
 by his love for generic distinctions, could not rest 
 satisfied, without further ornamenting his task — by 
 constituting for them a new genus, under the title 
 of Helarctos. There is no reason whatever for this 
 inundation of generic names. It has served no 
 good purpose ; but, on the contrary, renders tht 
 study of natural history more complicated and 
 obscure ; and to no family of animals do these 
 
THE SUN BEARS. 401 
 
 remarks more pointedly apply, than to tlint of the 
 bears. So similar are all these quadrupeds to one 
 another — so perfect is the family likeness between 
 them — that to separate them into diflferent genera 
 is a mere pedantic conceit of the anatomists. 
 There are about a dozen species in all ; and the 
 systematic naturalists — who do not even admit 
 that number — have formed for the bears nearly as 
 many genera as there are species, — among whicli 
 may be mentioned the ridiculous titles of Pro- 
 ehilus, Melursm, Ilelarctos, and the like. 
 
 The Borncan bear is as much a true species of 
 arsus as either the brown bear of Europe, the 
 black bear of XT)rth America, or the black bears 
 of the Cordilleras ; and, indeed, to these last his 
 liabits assimilate him very closely — being, like 
 them, a vegetarian in his diet, and a great lover 
 of sweets. 
 
 Of his penchant for honey our young hunters 
 had proof: for, it was while actually engaged in 
 plundering a hive they first saw the Bornean bear. 
 They were at the same time successful in cffcctiug 
 bis capture — which is now to bo described. 
 
402 BBUIJf. 
 
 CHAPTEE LTI. 
 
 THE TALL TAPANO. 
 
 On their arrival at Sambos, our young hunters, 
 according to their usual custom, procured a native 
 guide to direct them to the haunts of their game. 
 In this case it was a Dyak who became their con- 
 ductor — one of those who follow the business of 
 bee-hunters; and who, from the very nature of 
 their calling, are often brought into contact with 
 the bears as well as the bees. 
 
 Under the direction' of the Dyak, our hunters 
 made an excursion to a range of wooded hills, not 
 far from Sambos, where the sun bear was known to 
 exist in great numbers ; and where one was likely 
 to be found almost at any time. 
 
 As they were passing through the woods, they 
 observed a very singular species of tree — indeed, 
 many sixjcics, that miglit bo styled singular ; but 
 one pre-eminently so, that strongly arrested their 
 attention. These trees did not grow in any groat 
 
Tin. TAI.T- TATAXO. 403 
 
 numbcra togetlicr ; but only two or thrue in one 
 place ; and more generally they stood singly — apart 
 from any of their own kind, and surrounded by 
 other trees of the forest. But though surrounded 
 by other sorts, they were overtopped by none. On 
 the contrary, their own tops rose above all the 
 others to a vast height ; and, what was most sin- 
 gular, they did not put forth a branch from their 
 trunks until the latter had shot up to some feet 
 above the " spray " of tlie surrounding forest. It 
 was this peculiarity that had drawn the attention 
 of our hunters. They might not have noticed it. 
 had they kept on under the trees ; but, on crossing 
 a slight eminence — where the ground was open — 
 they chanced to get a view of a number of these 
 tall trees, and saw that they towered to a vast 
 height, above all the others. 
 
 Even their tops had the appearance of tall trees, 
 standing thinly over the ground — the ground itself 
 being neither more nor less than the contiguous 
 licada of the other trees, that formed the forest. 
 Had this forest been a low jungle, there would 
 havo been nothing extraordinary in what they 
 saw ; but our liunters had already observed that it 
 was a true forest of grand trees — most of them a 
 
404 ERCiy. 
 
 lauudred feet iu height. As the trees which had 
 attracted their admiration rose full fifty feet above 
 the tops of the others, it may be imagined what 
 tall individuals they were. They were slender, 
 too, in proportion to their height ; and these stems 
 rising two hundred feet, without a single offshoot 
 or branch upon them, gave the trees the ap- 
 pearance of being still taller than they actually 
 were — ^just as a thin clean spar, set upright, looks 
 much taller than a hill or a house of the same 
 elevation. 
 
 "We have said that there were no branches for 
 the first hundred feet or so up the stem. Beyond 
 that there were many and large limbs ; which, 
 diverging only slightly, and in a fastigiate man- 
 ner, carried the tree nearly as much higher. 
 These branches were regularly set ; and covered 
 with small, light, green leaves, formiug a beau- 
 tiful round head. 
 
 The bark of this tree was white, and hy piercing 
 it with a knife, our hunters perceived that it was 
 soft and milky. The wood, too, for some inches 
 below the periphery was so spongy, that the blade 
 of the knife penetrated into it almost as easily as 
 into the stalk of a cabbaiie. 
 
THE TALL TATANO. 405 
 
 The wood near the bark was of a white colour. 
 Inwards it became harder; and had they been 
 able to reach the heart, they would have found it 
 very bard, and of a dark chocolate colour. On ex- 
 posure to the air, this heart-wood turns black as 
 ebony ; and is used for similar purposes by the 
 native Dyaks and Malajs, wlio manufacture from 
 it bracelets and other bijouterie. 
 
 On asking their Dyak guide the name of this 
 remarkable tree, he said it was called the tapang. 
 This, however, gave no information regarding its 
 species ; but Alexis, shortly after, in passing under 
 one, observed some flowers that had fallen from its 
 top ; and having examined one of these, pro- 
 nounced the tree a species oificus — a very common 
 genus in the islands of the Indian Archipelago. 
 
 If our young hunters were filled with admiration 
 at sight of this beautiful tree itself, they shortly 
 after observed something that changed their admi- 
 ration into wonder. On advancing towards one of 
 the tapangs, they were struck with a singular 
 serrated appearance that showed along the edge of 
 its trunk — from the ground up to the base of 
 its branching head. It looked as if a tall ladder waa 
 laid edgeways f^ong the trunk of the tree — one side 
 
406 LEU IN. 
 
 of it bidden under the bark I On drawing nearer, 
 this appearance was explained. A ladder in reality- 
 it was ; but one of rare construction ; and which 
 could not have been removed from the tree, without 
 taking it entirely to pieces. On closer examina- 
 tion, this ladder proved to be a series of bamboo 
 spikes — driven into the soft trunk in a slightly 
 slanting direction, and about two feet apart, one 
 above the other. The spikes themselves forming 
 the rounds, were each about a foot in length ; and 
 held firmly in their places by a bamboo rail — to 
 which their outer ends were attached by means of 
 thin strips of rattan. This rail extended the 
 whole way from the ground to the commencement 
 of the branches. 
 
 It was evident that this extemporised ladder had 
 been constructed for the purpose of climbing the 
 tree, but with what object ? Upon this head their 
 Dyak g-uide was the very man to enlighten tliem : 
 since it was he himself who had made the ladder. 
 The construction of such ladders, and afterwards 
 the climbing of them, were the most essential 
 branches of his calling — which, as already stated, 
 was that of a bee-hunter. His account of tlie mat- 
 ter was as follows. A large wasp-like bee, whicli is 
 
THE TALL TAP.VNG. 407 
 
 callcJ lanyeh, builds its ucsta upou theao tall 
 tapangs. The nest consists of au accumulation 
 of pale yellowish wax — which the bees attach 
 to tho under-side of the thick branches, so that 
 these may shelter the hive from the rain. To 
 reach these nests, the bamboo ladder is con- 
 structed, and tho ascent is made — not for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining the honey alone — but more on 
 account of the wax, out of which the combs are 
 formed. The lanych being as much tcasp as hee, 
 produces a very small quantity of honey ; and that, 
 too, of inferior quality ; but the wax is a valuable 
 article, and of this several dollars' worth may be 
 procured from a siugle hive. 
 
 It is dearly earned money — very dearly earned, 
 indeed ; but the poor Dyak bee-hunter follows the 
 calling from motives not easily understood — since 
 almost any other would afford him u living, with 
 less labour and certainly with less pain. Pain, 
 indeed ! lie never succeeds in plundering tho 
 store of the lanych, without being severely stung 
 by the insects ; and though their sting is quite as 
 painful as that of tho common wasp, experience 
 seems to have rendered the Dyak almost indifTerent 
 to it. lie ascends tho flimsy ladder without fear — 
 
408 liRUix. 
 
 carrying a blaziug torch in bis hand, and a cane 
 basket on his back. By means of the torch, he 
 ejects the bees from their aerial domiciles ; and, 
 then having torn their combs from the branches, he 
 deposits them in his basket — the incensed insects 
 all the while buzzing around his ears, and inflicting 
 numerous wounds over his face and throat, as well 
 as upon his naked arms ! Very often he returns to 
 the ground with his head swollen to twice the size 
 it was previous to his going up ! Isot a very plea- 
 sant profession is that of a Bornean bee-hunter ! 
 
 CHAPTEE LVII. 
 
 THE BKTJAKO. 
 
 As the party proceeded onward, they observed 
 several other tapang-trees, with ladders attached 
 to them ; and at the bottom of one of these — 
 which was the tallest they had yet seen — the guide 
 made a halt. 
 
TIIE BUUANG. 409 
 
 Takiug off bis kris, and throwing to the ground 
 fln axe, which ho had brought along, he com- 
 lienced ascending the tree. 
 
 Our hunters inquired his object. They knew 
 it could not be either honcv or wax. There had 
 been a bees' nest upon this tree — as the ladder told 
 — but that had been removed long ago ; and there 
 now appeared nothing among the branches that 
 should make it worth while to climb up to them. 
 The answer of the bee-hunter explained his purpose. 
 He was merely ascending to have a look-out over 
 the forest — which in that neighbourhood could not 
 bp obtained by any other means than by the climb- 
 ing of a tapang. 
 
 It was fearful to watch the man ascending to such 
 a dizzy height, and with such a flimsy, uncertain 
 support beneath his feet. It reminded them of 
 what they had seen at the Palombiere of the 
 Pyrenees. 
 
 The Dyak soon reached the top of the ladder; 
 and for some ten minutes or more clung there — 
 screwing his head around, and appearing to exa- 
 mine the forest on all sides. At length bis bead 
 rested steadily upon his shoulders ; and his gaze 
 appeared to bo fixed in one particular direction. 
 
410 BKUIN. 
 
 He was too distant for the party at the bottom 
 of the tree to note the expression upon his coun- 
 tenance ; but his attitude told them that he had 
 made some discovery. 
 
 Shortly after he came down ; and reported this 
 discovery in laconic phrase, simply saying : — 
 
 " Bruang — see him ! " 
 
 The hunters knew that " bruang" was the Ma- 
 layan name for bear ; and the coincidence of this 
 word with the sobriquet " Bruin " had already led 
 them to indulge in the speculation, as to whether 
 the latter might not have originally come from the 
 East? 
 
 They did not stay to think of it then : for the 
 guide, on regaining terra Jlrma, at once started 
 off — telling them to follow him. 
 
 After going rapidly about a quarter of a mile 
 through the woods, the Dyak began to advance 
 more cautiously — carefully examining each of the 
 trunks of the tapangs tliat stood thinly scattered 
 among the other trees. 
 
 At one of these he was seen to make an abrupt 
 halt, at the same iuslant turning his face upward. 
 The young hunters, who were close beliind him, 
 could SCO that there were scratches upon the soft 
 
THE nnuANO. 411 
 
 succulent bark, as if cau^cil by the claws of some 
 animal ; but, almost as soon aa they had made the 
 observation, their eyes were directed to the animal 
 itself. 
 
 Away up on the tall tapang — just where its 
 lowest limbs parted from the main stem — a black 
 body could be distinguished. At such a distance it 
 appeared not bigger than a squirrel ; but, for all 
 that, it was a Boniean bear; and the spot of 
 vivid orange upon its breast could be seen shining 
 like a coal of fire. Close by its snout a whitish mass 
 appeared attached under the branches. This was the 
 waxen domicile of the lanijeh bees ; and a slight 
 mist-like cloud, which hung over the place, was the 
 swarm itself — no doubt engaged in angry conflict 
 with the plunderer of their hive. 
 
 The little bear was too busy in the enjoyment of 
 his luscious meal — that is, if the stings of the 
 lanyehs allowed him to enjoy it — to look below ; 
 and for some minutes the hunters stood regarding 
 him, without making a movement. 
 
 Satisfied witii their inspection, they were at 
 length preparing to fire at him; wlicn they were 
 hindered by the Dyak — who, making signs to them 
 to be silent, drew them all bark from the tree. 
 
412 ERUIX. 
 
 When out of sight of the bear, he counselled 
 them to adopt a different plan. He said — what 
 ■was true enough — that at such a height they 
 might miss the bear ; or, even if they sliould 
 hit him, a bullet would scarce bring him down — 
 unless it should strike him in a vital part. In the 
 contingency of their missing, or only slightly 
 wounding him, the animal would at once ascend 
 further up into the tapang ; and, hidden behind 
 the leaves and branches, might defy them. He 
 would there remain till hunger should force him 
 down; and, since he was just in the act of having 
 his meal, and had, no doubt, been eating from 
 the time he was first espied — or longer, perhaps — 
 he would be in a condition to stay in the tree, until 
 their patience should be more than exhausted. 
 
 True, they might fell the tree : they had an axe, 
 and could soon cut tlie tree down — as the wood was 
 soft ; but the Dyak alleged that the bruang in such 
 cases usually contrives to escape. The tapang rarely 
 falls all the way, but only upon the tops of tho 
 trees that stand thickly round ; and as the l^orncan 
 bear can climb and cling like a monkey, he is never 
 shaken out of the branches, but springs from them 
 into some other tree — amon" the thick leaves of 
 
TUE DBCANO. 413 
 
 which he may conceal himself; or, by getting to 
 the ground, manage to steal off. 
 
 Ilia advice, therefore, was, that the hunters 
 should conceal tiiemselves behind the trunks of 
 the surrounding trees ; and, observing silence, 
 wait till the bruang had finished his mellifluous 
 repast, and feel inclined to come down. The 
 Dvak said he would make liis descent stern fore- 
 most ; and, if they acted cautiously, they might 
 have him at their mercy, and almost at the muzzles 
 of their guns. 
 
 There was only one of the three who was not 
 agreeable to this plan ; and that was the impatient 
 Ivan ; but, overruled by the advice of his brother, 
 he also gave his consent to it. 
 
 The three now took their respective stands 
 behind three trees — that formed a sort of triangle 
 around the tapang ; and the guide, who had no 
 gun, placed himself apart — holding his kris in 
 readiness to finish off the bear, should the animal 
 be only wounded. 
 
 There was no danger to be dreaded from the 
 encounter. The litile bear of Borneo is only dan- 
 gerous to the bees and white ants — or other 
 insects— which he is accustomed to lick up with 
 
414 Biiuix. 
 
 his long tongue. The liuuian hunter has nothing 
 to fear from him, any more than from a timid 
 deer — though he will scratch, and growl, and bite, 
 if too closely approached. 
 
 It was just as the Dvak had predicted. The 
 bruang, having finished his meal, was seen coming 
 down the tree tail foremost ; and in this way 
 would no doubt have continued on to the ground ; 
 but, before he had got half-way down the trunk, 
 Ivan's impatience got the better of him ; and the 
 loud bang of his fowling-piece filled the forest with 
 its echoes. Of course it was a bullet that Ivan had 
 fired ; and it appeared that he had missed. It was 
 of little use firing also his shot barrel, though he 
 did so immediately after. 
 
 The efiect of his shots was to frighten the 
 bruang back up the tree ; and at the first report he 
 commenced ascending. Almost as rapidly as a 
 cat he swarmed upward ; and for a moment the 
 chances of losing him appeared as two to one. But 
 Alexis, who had been watching the restless move- 
 ments of his brother, had prepared himself for 
 such an issue ; and, waiting till the bruang made 
 a pause just under the branches, he fired his riflo 
 with deadlier aim. The bear, iu clutching to one of 
 
THE BIUAXG. 415 
 
 the limbs, had extended liis body outward, and 
 this gave the rifleman the chance of aiming at his 
 head. The bullet must have told : for the bear, 
 instead of ascending higher, was seen hanging 
 down from the limb, as if ho was clinging to it 
 with enfeebled strength. 
 
 At this moment the cannon -like report of 
 Pouchskin's fusil filled the woods with its booming 
 echoes ; and Bruin, suddenly relaxing his grasp, 
 came bump down among the hunters — missing 
 Pouchskin by about the eighth part of an inch ! 
 Lucky for the old grenadier there was even this 
 much of a miss. It was as good as a mile to him. 
 Had the bear's body descended upon his shoulders, 
 falling from such a height, it would have flattened 
 him out as dead as the bear was himself; and Pouch- 
 skin, perceiving the danger from which he had so 
 narrowly escaped, looked as perplexed and miserable 
 as if some great misfortune had actually befallen 
 him t 
 
416 BEUIK. 
 
 CHAPTER LYIIL 
 
 THE CABBAGE-EATEE. 
 
 OuE heroes uow, having accomplished their mis- 
 sion to Borneo, were about to cross over to the 
 island of Sumatra ; in which — as well as in Java, 
 or upon the mainland of Malacca — they would find 
 the other sun-bear, known as the wsiis iiialcn/a}uis ; 
 but previous to their departure from Sambos, they 
 obtained information that led them to believe that 
 this species also inhabited the island of Borneo. 
 It was more rarely met with than the orange- 
 breasted variety ; but tlie natives, generally better 
 guides than the anatomists in the matter of specific 
 distinctions, stoutly maintained that there were two 
 kinds; and the Dyak bee-hunter — whose interest 
 had been secured by the ample reward already 
 bestowed upon him — promised them, that if tliey 
 R"ould go with him to a certain district of country, 
 ho would show them the larger species of bruang. 
 
Tni; CVBBAGE-EATEB. 417 
 
 From the man's description of it Alexis easily 
 recognized the ursus malai/anus — the species they 
 had killed being the ursus curt/sj}ilus. 
 
 Indeed, bad there been any doubt about this 
 matter, it would have been set at rest, by what our 
 travellers saw in the streets of Sambos. There 
 both species were exhibited by the itinerant jug- 
 glers — for both the sun-bears can be easily tamed 
 and trained — and these men stated that they had 
 procured the " big bruang," in the woods of 
 Borneo. 
 
 Since, then, be was there to be found, why go 
 to Sumatra in search of him ? They had still 
 travelling enough before them ; and tlicy were 
 beginning to get tired of it. It was natural that 
 — after so long an absence and the endurance of 
 80 many perils and hardships — they should be 
 longing for home, and the comforts of that fine 
 palace on the banks of the Neva. 
 
 They resolved, therefore, to accompany the Dyalc 
 guide on a new expedition. 
 
 They were a whole day upon the journey ; and 
 
 just before nightfall readied the place, where tho 
 
 man expected to fall in with the big bruangs. Of 
 
 course, they could not counncnce th'cir search 
 
 2 E 
 
418 BEUIN. 
 
 before morning. They halted, therefore, and formed 
 camp — their Dyak guide erecting a bamboo hut in 
 less than an hour, and thatching it over with the 
 huge leaves of the wild musacecB. 
 
 The place where they had halted was in the midst 
 of a magnificent grove, or rather a forest, of palms ; 
 of that kind called nilong by the natives, which 
 is a species of the genus arenga. It is one of the 
 ** cabbage" palms; that is, its young leaves before 
 expanding are eaten by the natives as a vegetable — 
 after the manner in which Europeans use cabbage. 
 They are of a delicate whiteness, with a swecfc 
 nutty flavour ; and, in point of excellence, are even 
 superior to those of the cocoa-nut, or even the 
 "West India cabbage palm (areca oleraced). But 
 the nibong is put by the Borneans and other 
 natives of the Indian Archipelago to a great 
 variety of uses. Its round stem is employed as 
 upriglits and rafters for their houses. Split into 
 lathes, it serves for the flooriug. Sugar can be 
 obtained from the saccharine juice of its epadix, 
 which also ferments into an intoxicating beverage ; 
 and sago exists in abundance within the trunk. 
 Pens and arrows for blow-guns are also mado from 
 ^he midriba of tho side leaves ; and, in fact, the 
 
THE CAUnACE-EATEB. 419 
 
 crenga saccJiarifera, like many other palms, serves 
 lor an endless variety of purposes. 
 
 Alexis was greatly interested by the appearance 
 of this beautiful tree; but it was too late when 
 they arrived on the ground for him to have an 
 opportunity of examining it. The half-hour before 
 darkness had been occupied in the construction of 
 the hut — in which all hands had borne part. 
 
 Early in the morning, Alexis — still curions about 
 the arenga-trees — and desirous of ascertaining to 
 what genus of palms they belonged — strayed off 
 among them, in hopes of procuring a flower. The 
 others remained by the hut, preparing breakfast. 
 
 Alexis saw none of the trees in flower, their 
 great spathes being yet unfolded ; but, hoping to 
 find some one more forward than the rest, he kept 
 on for a considerable distance through the forest. 
 
 As ho was walking leisurely along, his eyes at 
 intervals turned upward to the fronds of the 
 palms, he eaw that one of the trunks directly in 
 front of him was in motion. lie stopped and 
 listened. Ue heard a sound as of something 
 in the act of being rent, just as if some one was 
 plucking leaves from tho trees. Tho sound pro- 
 ceeded from tho ouo that was in motion ; but it 
 
 2 E '* 
 
420 ERUiy. 
 
 was only its trunk that lie sOvW ; and wliatever was 
 causing the noise and the movement appeared to 
 be up among the great fronds at its crown. 
 
 Alexis regretted that lie had left his gun behind 
 him. He had no other weapon with him but his 
 knife. Not that ho was afraid : for the animal 
 could not be an elephant in the top of a palm-tree, 
 nor a rhinoceros ; and these were the only qua- 
 drupeds that need be greatly dreaded in a Bornean 
 forest: since the royal tiger, though common enough 
 both in Java and Sumatrn, is not an inhabitant of 
 Borneo. 
 
 It was not fear that caused him to regret bavins: 
 left his gun behind him ; but simply that he should 
 lose the cliancc of shooting some animal — perhaps 
 a rare one. That it was a large one ho could tell 
 by the movement of the tree : since no squirrel or 
 small quadruped could have caused the stout trunk 
 of the palm to vibrate in such a violent manner. 
 
 I need not say how the regret of the young 
 hunter was increased, when ho approached the 
 tree, and looking up, saw what the animal really 
 was — a bear, and that bear the true ursus ma- 
 lai/anus ! Yes, there was he, witli his black body, 
 yellowish muzzle, and white half-moon upon his 
 
THE CABBAGE-EATEU. 421 
 
 breast — busy gorging himself upou the tender 
 leaflets of tl.c arcnga — whose white fragments, 
 constantly dropping from his jaws, strewed the 
 ground at the bottom of the tree. 
 
 Alexis now remembered tliat this was a well- 
 known habit of the Malayan bear — whose favourite 
 food is the "cabbage" of palm-trees, and who 
 often eitends his depredations to the cocoa plan- 
 tations, destroying hundreds of trees before he can 
 be detected and destroyed himself. Of course this 
 wild arenga wood — furnishing the bear with as 
 much "cabbage" as ho might require — was just 
 the place for him ; and Alexis now understood 
 the reason why the Dyak had conducted them 
 thither. 
 
 As the naturalist knew that this kind of bear 
 was more rare than the other species — that is, in 
 Borneo — he now more than ever felt chagrin at 
 not having his gun with him. To attempt attack- 
 ing the animal with his knife would have been 
 absurd, as well as dangerous — for the 3Ialayan bear 
 can maintain a better flight than his Borneau 
 brother. 
 
 But, indeed, even had Alexis desired it, there 
 would have been no chance to reach the animal 
 
422 BETJIlf. 
 
 ■with his knife — uuless the Imnter should himself 
 climb up the palm ; and that was more than he 
 either dared or could. 
 
 Of course the bear had long ere this perceived 
 his enemy at the foot of the tree ; and, uttering a 
 series of low querulous cries, had desisted from his 
 cabbage eating, and placed himself in an attitude 
 of defence. It was evident from the position he 
 had assumed, that he had no design of coming 
 down, so long as the hunter remained at the bottom 
 of the tree ; nor did the latter desire him to do so. 
 On the contrary, he struck the tree with a stick, and 
 made several other demonstrations, with the design 
 to hinder the bear from attempting a descent. 
 But the animal did not even meditate such a 
 thing. Though the palm was not one of the 
 highest, it was tall enough to keep him out of 
 the reach of any weapon the hunter could lay 
 hands upon; and the bear, seemingly conscious 
 of this fact, kept his perch with a confident air 
 — that showed he had no intention of changing 
 his secure position. 
 
 Alexis now began to reflect about what he 
 should do. If he could make the others hear 
 him, that woidd answer every j)urpose. Of course 
 
TnE CACnAGE-EATEn. 423 
 
 they would come up, bringing ^vith them their 
 guns. This was the most promising plan ; and 
 Alexis hastened to put it into execution, by hal- 
 looing at the top of his voice. But, after he had 
 shouted for nearly ten minutes, and waited for ten 
 more, no response was given ; nor did any one 
 make an appearance- upon the ground. 
 
 Once more Alexis raised his voice, and shouted 
 till the woods rang with eclioes. But these echoes 
 were all the reply he could get to his calls. 
 
 It was evident he had unconsciously strayed 
 far from the camp, and quite out of earshot of 
 his companions ! 
 
 "What was to be done ? If he should go back 
 to the others, to bring them and also his gun, the 
 bear would in all probability seize the opportunity 
 to descend from the tree and take himself off. In 
 that case ho would most certainly escape: since 
 there would be no chance of tracking him through 
 such a wood. On the other hand, Alexis need not 
 remain where he was. He might stay there till 
 doomsday, before Bruin would condescend to come 
 down ; and even should ho do so, what chance would 
 there bo of effecting his capture ? 
 
 "While reflecting thus, a happy idea occurred to 
 
424 BRUIN. 
 
 ilie young hunter ; and he was seen all at once to 
 step a pace or two back, and place himself behind 
 the broad leaves of a wild pisang, where he was 
 hidden from the eyes of the bear. 
 
 As the morning was a little raw he had his 
 cloak around him ; and this he instantly stripped 
 off. lie had already in his hands the stout long 
 stick — with which he had been hammering upon 
 tlie palm — and this he now sharpened at one end 
 with his knife. On the other end he placed his 
 cap, and beneath it his cloak, folding the latter 
 around the stick, and tying it on in such a fashion 
 as to make of it a rude representation of the human 
 form. 
 
 When he had got the " dummy " rigged out to 
 his satisfaction, he reached cautiously forward — 
 still keeping the fronds of the pisang between 
 himself and the bear. In this position, he held 
 the " scarecrow " out at the full length of his 
 arm ; and, giving the stick a punch, set it erect 
 in the ground. The bruang, from his elevated 
 perch on the tree, could not fail to see the object 
 — though the huutcr himself was still concealed 
 by the huge leaves that drooped over his head. 
 Alexis, now cautiously, and without making tlio 
 
THE CAEB.VGE-EA.TEn. 425 
 
 slightest noise, stole away from the spot. When 
 ho believed himself well out of hearing of the bear, 
 he quickened his pace, and retraced his steps to 
 the camp. 
 
 It was but the work of a minute lor all hands to 
 arm themselves and set out ; and in ten minutes' 
 time they arrived at the bottom of the arenga, 
 and had the gratiGcation of finding that the ruse 
 of Alexis had proved successful. 
 
 The bruang was still crouching upon the crown 
 of the palm ; but he did not stay there much 
 longer, for a volley fired at his white breast 
 toppled him over from his perch ; and he fell to 
 the bottom of the tree as dead as a stone. 
 
 The Dyak was rather chagrined that he had 
 not himself discovered the game ; but, on ascer- 
 taining that he would receive the promised 
 bounty all the same, he soon got the better of 
 his regrets. 
 
 Our hunters being on the ground, were deter- 
 mined to make a day of it; and after breakfast 
 continued their hunt — which resulted in their 
 finding and killing, not only another bruang, but 
 a rimau dahan^ or "clouded tiger" (Jclis macro- 
 cclus) : the most beautiful of all feline animals, 
 
420 BHUIN. 
 
 and whose skin tbey intended ebould be one of 
 tbe trophies to be mounted in tbe museum of 
 tbe palace Grodonoff. 
 
 This bunt ended tbeir adventures in tbe Oriental 
 Arcbipelago ; and from Sambos tbej proceeded 
 direct tbrougb tbe straits of Malacca, and up 
 tbe Bay of Bengal to tbe great city of Calcutta. 
 
 CHAPTEE LIX. 
 
 THE SLOTH BEAE, 
 
 En route for tbe grand mountains of Imaus — tbe 
 stupendous chain of tbe Himalayas ! 
 
 There our hunters expected to find no less than 
 tbree species of bears — each distinct from the others 
 in outline of form, in aspect, in certain habits, and 
 even in hahitat ; for although all three exist in tbe 
 Ilimalayas, each has its own zone of altitude, in 
 which it ranges almost exclusively. These tbrco 
 bears are, the "sloth bear" {ursus labiat us), tha 
 
THE SLOTH in:AK. 427 
 
 "Thibet bear" (iirsiis ihihrtarnis), and the "snow 
 bear" (ursus isabellinus). 
 
 The first-mentioned is the one which has received 
 most notice — both from naturalists and travellers. 
 It is that species which by certain wiseacres of the 
 closet school was for a long time regarded as a 
 sloth (hradt/pus). In redeeming it from this cha- 
 racter, other systematists were not content to leave 
 it where it really belongs — in the genus ursus — 
 but must, forsooth, create a new one for its special 
 accommodation ; and it now figures in zoological 
 catalogues as a prochilus — the procTiilua labiatus ! 
 We shall reject this absurd title, and call it by its 
 real one — ursus lahiatus, which, literally translated, 
 would mean the "lipped bear" — not a very specific 
 appellation neither. The name has been given in 
 reference to a peculiar characteristic of the animal 
 — that is, its power of protruding or extending the 
 lips to seize its food — in which peculiarity it re- 
 t^emblcs the tapir, girafit', and some other animals. 
 Its trivial name of " sloth bear " is more expressive : 
 for certainly its peculiar aspect — caused by the long 
 shaggy masses of hair which cover its nock and 
 Dody — gives it a very striking resemblance to the 
 nloth. Its long crescent-shaped claws strengthen 
 
4.28 BEuiy. 
 
 this resemblauce. A less distinctive uaaie is that 
 by ^vhich it is kuown to the French naturalists, 
 " ours de jongleurs," or "juggler's bear." Its gro- 
 tesque appearance makes it a great favourite with 
 the Indian mountebanks ; but, as many other 
 species are also trained to dancing and monkey- 
 tricks, the name is not characteristic. 
 
 This bear is not quite so large as the ttrsics arctos ; 
 though individuals are sometimes met with ap- 
 proaching the bullc of the latter. The fur is 
 longer and " shaggier." than in any other species — 
 being upon the back of the neck full twelve inches 
 in length. In this mass of long hair there is a 
 curious line of separation running transversely 
 across the back of the neck. The front division 
 falls forward over the crown, so as to overhang the 
 eyes — thus imparting to the physiognomy of the 
 animal a heavy, stupid appearance. The other 
 portion flaps back, forming a thick mane or hunch 
 upon the shoulders. In old individuals the hair 
 becomes greatly elongated ; and hanging down al- 
 most to the ground on both flanks, and along the 
 neck, imparts to the animal the strange appearance 
 of being without legs ! 
 
 The general colour of the coat is black, with 
 
Bmin and t&e Dummy. 
 
 P. 4'H. 
 
TUE SLOTU DKAU. 429 
 
 here and there a dash of brown over it. Upon the 
 breast there is a white list of a triangular shape; 
 and the muzzle is also a dirty yellowish white. 
 There is no danger of mistaking tins species for any 
 other of the black Asiatic bears, or even any black 
 bears. The long shaggy hair, hanging loosely, pre- 
 sents an appearance altogether different from the 
 uniform brush-like surface, which characterizes the 
 coats of tn'sus malayanits, eiiryspilus, americamts, 
 ornatiis, and fruf/ileyits. 
 
 Perhaps the most peculiar characteriatic of the 
 sloth bear is the capability it possesses of pro- 
 truding the lips, which it can do to a length of 
 several inches from its jaws — shooting them out in 
 the form of a tube, evidently designed for suction. 
 This, together with the long eitensile tongue — 
 which is flat shaped and square at the extremity- 
 shows a peculiar design, answering to the habits 
 of the animal. No doubt the extraordinary develop- 
 ment of tongue is given to it for the same purpose 
 as to the edentata of the ant-catiug tribe — to 
 enable it to " lick up" the termites. 
 
 Its great curved claws, which bear a very 
 Btriking resemblance to those of the ant-eaters — 
 especially the large tamanoir of South America— 
 
430 BEri>-. 
 
 are used for the same purpose : tliat of breaking up 
 the glutinous compost with which the termites 
 construct their curious dwellings. 
 
 These insects constitute a portion of the sloth 
 bear's " commissariat of subsistence ;" but he will 
 also eat fruits, and sweet succulent vegetables ; 
 and, it is scarce necessary to add, that he is " wild 
 after" houey, and a regular robber of bee-hives. 
 
 Notwithstanding the conuc role, which he is 
 often taught to play in the hands of the jugglers, 
 he not unfrequently enacts a little bit of tragedy. 
 This occurs when in his wild or natural state. lie 
 is not disposed wantonly to make an attack upon 
 human beings ; and if left unmolested, he will go 
 his way; but, when wounded or otherwise pro- 
 voked, he can show fight to about the same degree 
 as the black bear of America. The natives of 
 India hold him in dread : but chiefly on account 
 of the damage be occasioua to their crops — espe- 
 cially to the plantations of sugar-cane. 
 
 We have stated that the sloth bear ia not 
 exclusively confined to the Himalayas. On the 
 contrary, these mountains aro only tlio nortliern 
 limit of his range — which extends over the whole 
 peninsula of ITiudostan, and even bi'yond it, to 
 
TUE SLOTH BEAK. 431 
 
 the island of Coylon. He is common in the 
 Deccan, the country of the ^lalirattas, Sylhet, and 
 most probably throughout Transgangctic India. 
 In the mountains that bound the province of 
 Bengal to the east and west, and also along 
 the foot hills of the Himalayas of Nepaul on its 
 north, the slotli bear is the most common repre- 
 sentative of the Bruin family ; but up into the 
 higher ranges he does not extend his wanderings. 
 His habitat proves that he affects a hot, rather than 
 a cold climate — notwithstanding the great length 
 of the fur upon his coat. 
 
 One peculiarity remains to be mentioned. In- 
 stead of hiding himself away in solitudes, remote 
 from human habitations, he rather seeks the 
 society of man: not that he is fond of the latter; 
 but simply that ho may avail himself of the results 
 of human industry. For this purpose he always 
 seeks his haunt near to some settlement — whence 
 he may conveniently make his depredations upon 
 the crops. Ho is not, strictly speaking, a forest 
 animal. The low jungle is his abode; and his 
 lair is a hole under some overhanging bank — either 
 a natural cavity, or one which has been hollowed 
 out by some burrowing animal. 
 
432 BiiUix. 
 
 Knowing that the sloth bear might be met with 
 in any part of the country, to the northward of 
 Calcutta, ou'i' hunters determined to keep a look- 
 out for him while on their way to the Himalayas — 
 which mountains they intended ascending, either 
 through the little state of Sikkim, or the kingdom 
 of Nepaul. 
 
 Their route from Calcutta to the hills lay a little 
 to the west of north ; and at many places on their 
 journey they not only heard of the sloth bear, but 
 were witnesses of the ravages which this destruc- 
 tive creature had committed on the crops of the 
 farmers. 
 
 There were sugar plantations, on which they saw 
 tall wooden towers raised in the middle of the field, 
 and carried to a considerable height above tho 
 surrounding vegetation. On inquiring the purpose 
 of these singular structures, they were informed 
 that they were intended as watch-towers ; and that, 
 during the season, when the crops were approaching 
 to ripeness, videttcs were stationed upon theso 
 towers, both by night and by day, to keep a look- 
 out for tho bears, and frighten llicm olT whenever 
 theso plunderers made their appearance within the 
 boundaries of the fields ! 
 
THE SLOTn BEAU. 433 
 
 Xotwitbstanding the many evidences of the 
 sloth bear's presence met with throughout the 
 province of Bengal, our hunters failed in falling in 
 with this grotesque gentleman, till they were close 
 up to the foot of the Himalaya mountains, in that 
 peculiar district known as the Terdi. This is a 
 belt of jungle and forest land — of an average width 
 of about twenty miles, and stretching along the 
 southern base of the Himalaya range throughout 
 its whole length, from Affghanistan to China. In 
 all places the Teriii is of so unhealthy a character, 
 that it can scarcely be said to be inhabited — its 
 only human denizens being a few sparse tribes 
 of native people (Mechs) ; who, acclimated to its 
 miasmatic atmosphere, have nothing to fear from 
 it. "Woe to the European who makes any lengthened 
 sojourn in the Teriii ! lie who does will there lind 
 his grave. 
 
 For all its unhealthiness, it is the favourite haunt 
 of many of the largest quadrupeds : the elephant, 
 the huge Indian rliinoceros, the lion and tiger, tho 
 jungly ghau or wild ox, tlie sainbur stng, p.inthcrs, 
 leopards, and cheetahs. The sloth bear roams 
 through its thickets and glades — where his fa- 
 vourite food, the white aut?, abounds ; and it was 
 2 F 
 
434 BRUix. 
 
 upon reaching this district that our hunters more 
 particularly bent themselves to search for a speci- 
 men of this uncouth creature. 
 
 Fortunately they were not long till they found 
 one — else the climate of the Teriii would soon have 
 so enfeebled them, that they might never have been 
 able to climb the stupendous mountains beyond. 
 Almost upon entering within the confines of this 
 deadly wilderness, they encountered the sloth bear ; 
 and although the interview was purely accidental, 
 it ended in Bruin being deprived of his life and 
 his long-haired robe. 
 
 The sloth bear did not submit tamely to this 
 double robbery, for he was himself the assailant — 
 having been the first to cry " stand and deliver ! " 
 Nor was his conquest accomplished without a 
 perilous struggle — that came very near reducing 
 the number of our heroes from odd to even. But 
 we shall give the account of the affair, as we find it 
 detailed in the journal of Alexis. 
 
BBCIX TAKEX BT TtlE TOKGUE. 435 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 BRTTEK TAKEX BY THE TONGUE. 
 
 The travellers bad halted for lunch, and tied their 
 horses to the trees. AVhile Pouchskin was spread- 
 ing out the comestibles, and Alexis engaged in 
 noting down in bis journal the events of the day, 
 Ivan — attracted by a beautiful bird — had taken up 
 his fowling-piece, and followed the bird through 
 the jungle — in hopes of getting a shot at it. We 
 go along with Ivan, for it was he who started the 
 " mountebank " bear, that came near mounting 
 him on the moment of their meeting it. 
 
 Ivan was walking cautiously along a bank, tliat 
 rose to about the height of his head ; but which in 
 places was undermined, as if by the action of 
 running water — though there was no water to bo 
 seen. The ground, however, upon which he trod 
 was covered with pebbles and coarse gravel — show- 
 ing that at some period water must have flowed 
 over it ; and, indeed, it was evidently the bed of a 
 
45G BRUIN. 
 
 stream that had been full during the rainy season, 
 but was now completely dried up. 
 
 Ivan was not tbiukiiig of this ; but of the beau- 
 tiful bird which was flitting about among the trees 
 — still keeping out of the range of his gun. He 
 was in a bent attitude, crouching along under the 
 bank — which he was using as a cover, to enable 
 him to approach the tantalizing game. 
 
 All at once, a singular noise fell upon his ear. 
 It was a sort of monotonous purring, like that made 
 by a spinning-machine, or a very large tom-cat ; and 
 like the latter, it was prolonged and continuous. 
 The sound was not exactly pleasant to Ivan's ear, 
 for it denoted the proximity of some animal ; and, 
 although it was not loud, there was something 
 about the tone that told him the animal giving 
 utterance to it was a creature to be feared. In 
 fact, it fell upon Ivan's ear in tlie character of a 
 warning ; and caused him to desist from his pur- 
 suit of the bird, come suddenly to a stand, and 
 listen with great attention. 
 
 For some moments he was unable to make out 
 whence the sound proceeded. It seemed to fill the 
 space all around him — as if it came out of the air 
 itself — for the purring sound kept the atmosphcro 
 
BllUlX TAKEX BY THE TONGUE. 437 
 
 constantly vibrating ; and, as there was no dcGnite 
 ooucussiou, it was all the more difficult to trace it 
 to its source. 
 
 The thought that had entered into Ivan's mind 
 was that it might be the purriug of a tiger he 
 heard ; and yet it seemed scarcely so harsh as 
 that — for he knew the peculiar rattle which fre- 
 quently proceeds from the thorax of the royal 
 Bengalese cat. 
 
 He quickly reflected, however, that whether it 
 was tiger or not, it would neither bo safe for him 
 to raise an alarm, nor start to rush back to the 
 bivouac — though this was not twenty yards from 
 the spot. By making an attempt to retreat, he 
 might draw the animal after him, or stumble upon it 
 — not knowing its direction. It was to ascertain its 
 whereabouts that he iiad stopped and stood listen- 
 ing. That once known, ho might keep his place, 
 or take to flight — as circumstances should dictate. 
 
 Nearly a minute remained ho in this irresolute 
 attitude — looking around on every side, and over 
 the bank into the contiguous jungle ; but ho could 
 SCO no living thing of any kind— for even the 
 bird had long since taken its departure from tho 
 place. Still the purring continued ; and onco or 
 
438 ERUiN. 
 
 twice the sound increased in volume — till it almost 
 assumed the character of a " growl." 
 
 All at once, however, it came to an end ; and was 
 succeeded by a quick sharp " sniff," several times 
 repeated. This was a more definite sound ; and 
 guided Ivan's eyes in a direction in which he had 
 not before thought of looking. He had hitherto 
 been reconnoitering around him and over the bank. 
 He had not thought of looking nnder it. 
 
 In this direction were his eyes now turned ; and, 
 stooping his body, he peered into the dark sub- 
 terraneous excavation which the water had caused 
 in the alluvial earth. There, to his surprise, lie 
 beheld the author of the baritone performance that 
 had been puzzling him. 
 
 At first he saw only a countenance of a dirty- 
 whitish colour, with a pair of ugly glancing eyes ; 
 but, in looking more attentively, this countenance 
 was seen to protrude out of an immense surround- 
 ing of black shaggy hair, which could bo tho 
 covering of no other auiuial tlian a bear — and a 
 sloth bear at that ? 
 
 On making this discovery, Ivan did not know 
 whether to bo merry or sad. He would have been 
 glad enough, liad ho soon the bear at a distance ; 
 
BBUIX TAKEK BY THE TOXGUE. 430 
 
 but, situated as he was — with the great brute near 
 enough to reach him at a single spring, — in fact, 
 almost between bis legs — he had little cause to 
 congratulate himself upon the " find." Nor did he. 
 On the contrary, he was seized with a quick per- 
 ception of danger, and only thought of making his 
 escape, lie would have turned upon the instant 
 and fled ; but it occurred to him, that by doing so 
 he would draw the bear after him ; and he knew 
 that, notwithstanding the uncouth shuffle which a 
 bear makes in running, — and the sloth bear is the 
 greatest " shuffler" of the family, — he can still go 
 too fast for a man. Should he turn his face, the 
 bear might spring upon his back, and thus have 
 him at his mercy. 
 
 Instead of facing away, therefore, Ivan kept his 
 front to the bank ; and with his eyes fixed upon 
 the animal, commenced gliding backward, slowly 
 but silently. At the same time he had cautiously 
 raised his gun to the level — with no intention, how- 
 ever, of firing, but merely to be ready in case the 
 bear should become the assailant. Otherwise, Ivan 
 was perfectly agreeable to making it a " draw " 
 between them. 
 
 Bruin, however, had no idea of thus giving up 
 
410 i:riri>'. 
 
 the game ; for the fierce growl which just at that 
 moment escaped him, signified anything but assent. 
 On the contrary, it was the prelude to the play ; 
 and declared his intention of beginning it. Almost 
 simultaneous with the growl, he was seen starting 
 to his feet ; and before Ivan could pull trigger, or 
 even raise his gun to a proper elevation, a huge mass 
 of black shaggy hair, like a bundle of sooty rags, 
 came whisking through the air directly towards 
 him. Men talk of the sudden spring of the tiger, 
 and the quick, rushing charge of the lion ; but 
 strange as it may seem, neither one nor other of 
 these animals can charge forward on their intended 
 victim with more celerity than a bear — clumsy and 
 uncouth as Bruin may appear. His capacity of 
 raising himself erect gives him this advantage ; and 
 from bis great plantigrade posterior paws, com- 
 bined with his powerful muscular legs, he can pitch 
 forward with a velocity surprising as it is un- 
 expected. This the regular bcar-hunt<?r well 
 knows ; and the knowledge renders him cautious 
 about coming too close to a coucliant bear. Ivan 
 himself knew it ; and it was for this very reason he 
 was endeavouring to widen the distance between 
 himself and Bruin, before he should turn to run. 
 
TiaUIX TAKEN' DY THE TOXGUE. 441 
 
 L'utortuuatcly ho had not succeeded in gaining 
 sufficient ground, lie was still within charging 
 distance of the animal as it rose to its feet ; but 
 another step backward as the bear launched forth, 
 carried him clear of the spring ; and Bruin leaped 
 short. In another instant, however, he erected 
 himself, and again sprang forward; but this tirao 
 the impetus given to his body was not so great ; 
 and, although he succeeded in closing with the 
 young hunter, the latter was enabled to keep his 
 feet and grapple with him in an erect attitude. 
 Had ho fallen to the ground, the bear would have 
 made short work with him. 
 
 Ivan had dropped his gun •, for, not having time 
 to raise it or take aim, the weapon was of no use. 
 Hin hands were therefore free ; and as the bear 
 pvtched up against him, he stretched out his arras, 
 grasped the long hair that hung over the frontlet 
 of the animal, and with all his might held back the 
 monster's head with his threatening jaws. 
 
 The bear had thrown both his paws around tho 
 body of tho young hunter; but a broad thick belt 
 which the latter chanced to have on, protected 
 his skin from the animal's claws. So long as he 
 could bold back that open mouth, with its double 
 
412 BBrix. 
 
 rows of white sharp teeth, he had not so much to 
 fear ; but his strength could not last long against 
 such a powerful wrestler. His only hope was that 
 the cries which he was raising would bring the 
 others to his assistance ; and of this he had no 
 doubt : as he already heard both Pouchskin and 
 Alexis hurrying up towards the spot. 
 
 It was a perilous moment. The extended jaws of 
 the bear were within twelve inches of the young 
 hunter's face ; he could feel the hot breath steaming 
 against his cheeks, and the long extensile tongue 
 almost touched his forehead, vibrating about in 
 rapid sweeps, as if the animal by that means hoped 
 to bring his head within reach ! 
 
 The struggle was not protracted. It lasted till 
 Alexis and Pouchskin came upon the ground ; but 
 not six seconds longer. The first thing that 
 Pouchskin did was to grasp the protruding tongue 
 of the bear in his left hand — making a half curl of 
 it round his fingers — while with his right he 
 plunged his long knife right between the ribs of 
 the animal. Alexis, on the other side, dealt a blow 
 in similar fashion ; and, before either of them could 
 draw his blade out of its hair-covered sheath, the 
 huge^mountcbank relaxed his hold, and rolled over 
 
AX EXTRA sEiy. 443 
 
 among the pebbles. There, after a few grotesque 
 contortions his limbs lay extended and motion- 
 less, making it evident beyond a doubt, that hU 
 " dancing days were over." 
 
 CHAPTEK LXI. 
 
 AX EXTIiA SKIK. 
 
 Ottb hunters did not remain at their bivouac 
 longer than was absolutely necessary to swallow 
 a hasty meal. They had been warned of the dan- 
 gerous climate of the Terdi, and hurrying on 
 through it, reached the more elevated hill region 
 before night. 
 
 Journeying on, they entered the kingdom of 
 Nepaul, among whoso hills they expected to find 
 the Thibet bear (ursiis thibcfanu.i). This animal 
 has been usually regarded as a mere variety of the 
 urstu arctoa ; but without the slightest reason. It 
 is an animal of more gentle habits, and exclusively 
 a vegetarian in its diet: in colour it is black, but 
 
M^ BEUIX. 
 
 Iiaving a white mark on its breast shaped like a T. 
 the branches of the letter coming up in front of its 
 shoulders, while the limb extends between the fore 
 legs and half-way along the belly. The claws of 
 the animal are small and weak ; and its profile 
 forms almost a straight line, thus essentially differ- 
 ing from the ursus arctos. It is also a much smaller 
 animal — rarely attaining to more than half the size 
 of the latter species, and scarce bigger than the 
 ursus onalcajanus, to which it bears a far greater 
 resemblance. It is found in the mountains of 
 Sylhet, and throughout that portion of the Ilima- 
 layas enclosed within the great bend of the 
 Brahmapootra, in Thibet, whence it derives its 
 specific appellation. It is equally an inhabitant 
 of the hill-country of Is epaul ; and there our 
 hunters proceeded in search of their specimen. 
 By the help of a " Ghoorka " guide, which they 
 had hired, they were not long in finding one ; 
 but as there was no curious or particular incident 
 connected with its capture, the journal of Alexia is 
 eilent upon the affair : it is only recorded that tho 
 animal was started from a thicket of rhododendron 
 bushes, and shot down while endeavouring to make 
 its escape. 
 
AN EXTRA SKIN". 445 
 
 Having settled their business with the Thibet 
 bear, our hunters might have also procured another 
 species within the territory of Nepaul — that is, the 
 brown, or Isabella bear (ursus isahellinus). This 
 they could have found by ascending to tlie higher 
 ranges of the great snowy mountains that overlook 
 Nepaul ; but as they knew they should also en- 
 counter this species near the sources of the Ganges, 
 vind as they were desirous of visiting that remark- 
 iblc locality, they continued on westward through 
 Jscpaul and Delhi, arriving at the health station of 
 Mussoorie, in the beautiful valley of the Dehra 
 Doon. 
 
 After resting here for some days, they proceeded 
 to ascend the mountains, the lower and middle 
 zone of which they found covered with forests of 
 maguiGcent oaks, of several distinct species. 
 
 In these oak forests, greatly to the surprise of 
 Alexis, they heard of the existence of a large black 
 bear, altogether difTercnt from the ursus thihetanus, 
 and equally so from the ursiis isahellinus — a dis- 
 tinct species, in fact, which, though well known to 
 Anglo-Indian hunters, appears to have escaped the 
 attention of naturalists. 
 
 They ascertained, moreover, that he was far 
 
446 Bnrix. 
 
 from being a scarce animal, or an insignificant 
 member of the Bruin family ; in point of size, for- 
 midable strength, and ferocity of disposition, 
 being only inferior to m-sus ferox and maritimus, 
 and in ail these qualities quite a match for the 
 ursus arctos. Of his fierce nature, and the capa- 
 bility to do mischief, our travellers had evidence 
 in almost every village through which they passed. 
 Numerous instances were brought before their 
 notice of men who had been scratched and torn 
 by these black bears, and some most fearfully 
 mutilated. They saw men with their whole skin 
 stripped from their skulls and faces ; their fea- 
 tures presenting a most hideous aspect. 
 
 This singular habit of inflicting punishment on 
 their human enemy appears to be common to the 
 whole bear tribe — I mean, the habit of scalping 
 their victims, and endeavouring to disfigure the face. 
 Not only do both the black and brown bears of the 
 Himalayas follow this habit, but also the ursus 
 arctos, the grisly, and the white. They always 
 aim at the head, but more especially the face ; and 
 with a single "rako " of their spread claws, usually 
 strip off both skin and flesh. 
 
 Having accomplished this, a bear will often 
 
AX KXTRA. 8KIK. 447 
 
 desist from further ill-treatment of liis victims ; 
 and if the latter will but lie still and feign dead, 
 the monster will give up mauling him, and shamble 
 off from the ground, apparently satisGed with 
 having taken the scalp. 
 
 This savage habit on the part of the bears our 
 young hunters had long since noted ; and that 
 the black bear of the Himalayas followed the 
 fashion of his kindred, they had now ample evi- 
 dence. 
 
 In his other habits — which they learnt from the 
 shikkarics, or village hunters — this bear strongly 
 resembles tia -ursiis arctos of Northern Europe. 
 On ordinary occasions his food consists of fruits, 
 roots, and insects of every kind ho can catch — 
 even scorpions and beetles — and where the pri- 
 meval forest does not afford him full rations, ho 
 will enter the cultivated grounds and make havoc 
 among the crops. Strange enough, ho does not 
 meddle with the wheat ; though he will ravage the 
 fields of buckwheat and barley ! At night he 
 enters the gardens contiguous to the houses, 
 and plunders them of all kinds of fruits and vege> 
 tables. He even approaches still nearer — abstracts 
 ing their honey from the tame beca — the hives of 
 
4-iS Bnui>'. 
 
 whicb, according to a curious custom of the hill 
 people, are set in little indentations in the walls 
 of their dwelling-houses. 
 
 The black bear occasionally cools bis chops by 
 munching melons and cucumbers ; but be is par- 
 ticularly fond of a dessert of apricots — which is 
 the most common fruit cultivated throughout tlie 
 middle ranges of the Himalayas. The bear enters 
 the apricot orchard at night; and climbing the 
 trees, will make more havoc in a single visit 
 than a score of schoolboys. In all the orchards, 
 elevated crows' nests or sentry boxes are set up, 
 specially intended for watching the bears ; and at 
 this season many of them are killed in the act of 
 robbing. 
 
 The Himalayan black bear will eat flesh— either 
 fresh or putrid — and when once he has got into this 
 habit ho never forsakes it, but remains a carni- 
 vorous creature for the rest of his life. He will 
 attack the goals and sheep on the mountain pas- 
 tures ; and will even make inroads to the village 
 enclosures, and destroy the animals in their very 
 sheds! When a Hock of sheep falls in liia 
 way, unless ho is driven ofl" by the shepherds, 
 he docs not content himself by killing only one, 
 
AN EXTRA SKiy. 419 
 
 but sometimes converta a score of them into 
 muttou. 
 
 Those bears, however, that exhibit an extreme 
 carnivorous propensity, are certain to bring about 
 their own destruction : as the attention of tho 
 villagers being drawn upon them, snares and baited 
 traps arc set everywhere, and they are also fol- 
 lowed by the IShikkaries armed with their match- 
 lock guns. 
 
 These bears often attain to an immense size — 
 in this respect nearly equalling the ursus arctos, 
 of which they cannot, however, be supposed to 
 be a variety. Eight feet is the usual length of 
 a full-grown specimen ; and, when in a good con- 
 dition, it requires a whole crowd of men to raise 
 ihe carcass of one of them from the ground. 
 
 Autumn is their season of greatest fatness ; and 
 especially when the acorns are getting ripe, but 
 previous to their falling from tho tree. Then tho 
 black bears are met with in the greatest numbers, 
 coming from ail parts into tho oak forests, and 
 climbing the trees to procure their favourite food. 
 They do not nibble ort' tlie acorns one by one ; but 
 first break the branches whieh are loaded, and 
 carry them all into one place — generally into some 
 
4..50 BRUIN. 
 
 fork — where, seated like squirrels, on their great 
 hams, they can discuss tlie ineal at their leisure. 
 In passing through these oak-forests, large piles of 
 branches may be seen thus collected together on 
 the tops of the trees — resembling the nests of rooks . 
 or magpies — which have been brought together by 
 the bears for the purpose above stated. 
 
 When the forest lies in a district, where these 
 bears are much hunted, tliey usually retire by day; 
 and conceal themselves in their hiding-places in 
 the thickets ; but even in such forests the animals 
 may be seen prowling about before sunset, and 
 long after daylight in the morning. 
 
 In the higher hills and forests of the l-Jiurso 
 oak, remote from the villages, they do not even 
 take the precaution to hide themselves, but 
 remain all day " acorn - gathering " among the 
 trees. It is at this season that they can be hunted 
 with most success : since the hunter is under no 
 necessity of tracking them, but cRn find his great 
 game by simply walking quietly through the woods, 
 and keeping a look-out overhead, just as if he were 
 searching for squirrels. 
 
 It cluinced to bo the months of October when 
 our hunters arrived at this part of the Himalayas ; 
 
AX CMIAITT HOnSE. 451 
 
 and having reached the region of the larger oak- 
 lorests, they commenced their search accordingly. 
 Tlicj were extremely desirous of success ; knowing 
 liow much their father would be gratifled at ob- 
 taining the skin of this black bear, which being 
 aa undescribed variety, might bo considered an 
 " extra " one. 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 AX UNHAPPY n O B 8 E. 
 
 Our young hunters commenced their search in a 
 forest of kJiinso oaks, which, interspersed with 
 cedars and other trees, covered a high round- 
 topped ridge, that rose above the little village 
 nhere they bad made their head- quarters. 
 
 On reaching the flat summit of the ridge, they 
 found they could manage better without their 
 horses : as seated in the saddle they could not so 
 ucU reconnoitre the tops of the trees, where they 
 expected to see their game. They dismounted, 
 2 o 2 
 
452 Buuix. 
 
 therefore, and leaving their animals tied to tlie 
 branches of a large spreading cedar-tree (the deo- 
 dor), they proceeded onward on foot. 
 
 On this day the luck seemed to be against 
 them ; for although they met with plenty of 
 " sign " — where the bears had broken the branches 
 of the oaks — and also saw numbers of freshly-made 
 "rooks' nests," they could not get their eyes upon 
 Bruin himself, who had left these tokens of his 
 presence. It might be that this forest was fre- 
 quently hunted by the native Shakkaries ; and that 
 would account for the absence of the bears during 
 the day time. They had gone, no doubt, to their 
 hiding-places. 
 
 This was the conclusion at which our hunters 
 arrived — after tramping about until they were 
 tired ; and not having met with a single bear. 
 
 It was now the hour of noon ; and, as they had 
 been told that the evening would be tlic likelier 
 time to find Bruin upon tlio prowl, they resolved 
 returning to where they had loft their horses, 
 and remaining there until evening should arrive. 
 They liad grown hungry ; and, having walKod 
 many miles, were pretty well done up. A bit of 
 dinner, and a few hours' rest luulcr the great 
 
AN INHArrY UORSE. -loS 
 
 cedar, would recruit their strength; and enable 
 them to take the field again before sunset with 
 a better prospect of success. 
 
 Following their back track through the forest, 
 therefore, they proceeded towards the place wliero 
 they had left their horses. 
 
 Before coming in sight of these animals, they 
 were admonished of their proxiniitj- by hearing 
 them neighing at short intervals ; but, what sur- 
 prised them still more, thev heard a constant 
 pounding — as if the liorscs were striking the 
 ground repeatedly and continuously with their 
 hoofs ! 
 
 Arriving within view of them, their astonish- 
 ment was not diminished, on perceiving that the 
 three horses were rearing and dancing over the 
 ground, as if endeavouring to break loose from 
 their fastenings ! Each had been lied to a separate 
 branch of the tree — their bridles being .simply 
 noosed over the twigs at the extremities of the 
 branches ; and allowing them to play to the full 
 length of the rcin. Consequently, the three 
 horses were many yard.s apart from each other; 
 but all were equally in motion — all neighing and 
 pitching about, as if something had set them mad ! 
 
454 BEUIN^. 
 
 Could it be borse-flies ? thought the bunters. 
 They knew there was a species of horse-fly in the 
 Himalayas — greatly dreaded by all animals, and 
 even by man himself. They knew this : for they 
 had already sufiered from its persecuting bite. 
 But this was in the lower valleys; and it was 
 not likely it should be found at the elevation of 
 this JcTiurso forests — quite 10,000 feet above sea 
 level. 
 
 Perhaps bees ? There might be a nest of wild 
 bees somewhere near — why not in the cedar itself 
 — and if so, the horses might be attacked by them ? 
 That would account for the capers they were 
 cutting ! 
 
 They had almost settled it in their mind that 
 this was the true explanation; when an object 
 came before their eyes that gave a very different 
 solution to the mystery. 
 
 One of the horses appeared more frightened 
 than the other two — at least he was squealing and 
 curveting in a much more violent manner. As he 
 danced around, his eyes appeared to be directed 
 upwards — the great eye-balls sparkling, and pro- 
 iruded as if about to start from their sockets. 
 This guided the glances of the hunters ; and, 
 
A.y usnAPPT iioBSE. 465 
 
 looking among the branches of the cedar, they 
 now perceived a large black mass, of an oblong 
 shape — extended along one of the lower limbs, and 
 just over the spot where the horse was tied. 
 
 .They had hardly time to make out the shape of 
 this dark object, and become convinced that it was 
 the body of a bear, when the huge creature was 
 seen to launch itself down from the limb; and 
 then drop like a cat, all-fours, upon the back of 
 the horse ! 
 
 The latter uttered a scream of affright ; and as 
 if terror had added to his strength, be now suc- 
 ceeded in breaking the branch — around which the 
 rein was looped — and bounded off through the 
 forest, the bear still squatted upon bis back ! 
 
 The trees that stood around were nearly all of 
 slender growth ; but, as their stems grew thickly 
 together, the horse, with his strange rider, could 
 make but slow way among them ; and every now 
 and then the former, half blind with affright, 
 dashed his sides against the trunks, causing them 
 to crackle and shiver at each concussion. 
 
 All at ohco the horse was seen coming to a halt, 
 as if brought up by the power of a ^famcluke bit! 
 Tho spectators saw this with wondering cyoa — 
 
45 G BEUiif. 
 
 unable for the moment to explain it. As they were 
 very near the spot where the halt had been made, 
 they soon perceived the nature of the interruption. 
 The bear had thrown one of his great fore-arms 
 around a tree; while, Avith the other, he still 
 clutched the horse, holding him fast ! The design 
 of Bruin was perfectly clear : he had seized the 
 tree in order to bring the steed to a stand ! 
 
 In this for a time he was successful. "With one 
 arm he was enabled to retain the tree in his power- 
 ful hug ; while with the other he held the horse — 
 his huge paw, with its retentive claws, being firmly 
 fixed under the pommel of the saddle. 
 
 A singular struggle now ensued, which lasted 
 for some seconds of time ; the horse making the 
 most energetic efibrts to escape ; while the bear was 
 equally eager in endeavouring to retain him. 
 
 Lucky was it for the steed that his master was 
 not more particular about the girth of his saddle, 
 and that either the strap or buckle was a bad one. 
 Whichever of the two it was, one of them gave 
 way ; and the liorsc, thus freed, was not slow to 
 profit by the fortunate accident. Uttering a neigh 
 of joy, he sprang onward — leaving both bear and 
 saddle behind him. 
 
Ay uN'iiAiTY HOUSE. 457 
 
 So far a8 the horse was couccrncd, his danger 
 was over. Not so with the bear, whose troubles 
 were just now to begin. "While holding the horse in 
 his muscular arm — and clutching the pine with the 
 other — the tree had got bent until its top almost 
 touched the saddle. AVhcn the girth broke, there- 
 fore, the elastic sapling sprang back like a piece 
 of whalebone; and with such an impetus as not 
 only to shako Bruiu from his hold, but to pitcli 
 him several yards to the opposite side — where he 
 lay stunned, or at all events so astonished, as, for a 
 moment, to appear as if he had taken leave of his 
 life! 
 
 This moment of the bear's embarrassment was 
 not lost upon the hunters, who ran rapidly up — 
 till within ten paces of the prostrate animal — and 
 discharging their guns into his body, prevented 
 him from ever again getting to his feet. His hide 
 was the only part of him that afterwards attained 
 the erect attitude; and that was when it waa 
 mounted in the museum of the Palace GrodonofT. 
 
458 BiiUiN. 
 
 CHAPTEE LXIIL 
 
 THE SNOW BEAE. 
 
 Higher up the Himalayas dwells the "snow 
 bear." This species has received from naturalists 
 the very fanciful appellation of the " Isabella bear" 
 (ursus isahellinus) — a title suggested by its colour 
 being that known as " Isabella colour," — the 
 type of which was the very dirty gown worn by 
 Queen Isabella at the siege of Grenada. It is 
 doubtful whether any living man could exactly tell 
 what is an Isabella colour ; and the use of such 
 a phrase in describing the hue of an animal's 
 skin is altogether indefinite and, to say the least, 
 absurd. 
 
 The " Isabella bears," moreover, are not always 
 of the so-called Isabella colour. On tlic contrary, 
 there are some of dark brown, some of a hoary 
 brown, and others nearly white ; and to Hima- 
 layan hunters they are known by the various 
 appellations of brown, red, yellow, white, grey, 
 
TUE SNOW BEAK. 459 
 
 silver, and snow, showing the numerous varieties 
 of colour met with in the species. Some of these 
 varieties are to be attributed to the different sea- 
 sons of the year, and the age of the animal. 
 
 Of all these designations, that of "snow bear" 
 appears the most characteristic, since it avoids the 
 risk of a confusion of names— •the other titles 
 being equally bestowed upon certain varieties of 
 the ursus americanus and U7'sus ferox. It is also 
 appropriate to the Ilimahiyaii animal: since his 
 favourite liaunt is along the line of perpetual snow ; 
 or in the grassy treeless tracts that intervene be- 
 tween the snow-line and the forest-covered decli- 
 vities — to which they descend only at particular 
 times of the year. 
 
 In identifying this species, but little reliance 
 can be placed on colour. In spring their fur is 
 long and shaggy — of various shades of yellowish 
 brown, sometimes reddish brown, and not un- 
 frequently of a grey or silvery hue. In summer 
 this long yellowish fur falls off; and is replaced by 
 a shorter and darker coat, which gradually g^ows 
 longer and lighter as the winter .approaches. The 
 females are a shade lighter-coloured than the 
 males; and the cubs have a broad circle of white 
 
460 BEUIX. 
 
 around the neck, whicli gradually disappears as 
 they grow to their full size. 
 
 The 8U0W bear liylernates, hiding himself away 
 in a cave ; and he is only seen abroad when the 
 spring sun begins to melt the snow upon the 
 grass-covered tracts near the borders of the forest. 
 On these he may be found throughout the summer 
 — feeding upon grass and roots, with such reptiles 
 and insects as come in his way. In the autumn 
 he enters the forests in search of berries and nuts, 
 and at this season — like his congener, the blacfe. 
 bear — he even extends his depredations to the 
 cultivated grounds and gardens of the villagers, in 
 search of fruit and grain, buckwheat being a 
 favourite food with him. 
 
 Though naturally a vegetarian in his diet, he 
 will eat flesh-meat upon occasions ; and frequently 
 makes havoc among the flocks of sheep and goats, 
 that in summer are taken up to pasture on the 
 grassy tracts above mentioned. AVhile thus en- 
 gaged, he does not regard the presence ot man ; but 
 will attack the shepherds who may attempt to 
 drive him off. 
 
 Among the many strange items that compose 
 the larder of the snow bear, grubs and scorpions 
 
THE SNOW BEAR. 4G1 
 
 have a prominent place. He spends much of his 
 time in searching for these — scratching them out of 
 their holes, and turning over stones to get at 
 them. Great boulders of rock, that a man could 
 not move, he will roll over with his muscular arms ; 
 and large tracts of ground may be scon with the 
 stones thus displaced. 
 
 It was while engaged in this curious occupation, 
 that our hunters came upon one of the snow bears ; 
 which they succeeded in killing. lie was not the 
 first they had encountered : they had started 
 several, and wounded two ; but both had got off 
 from them. This one, however, fell to their " bag," 
 and in rather an unexpected fashion. 
 
 They were working their toilsome way up a 
 narrow ravine — which, although the season was 
 autumn, was still filled with snow, that lay in 
 the bottom of the gorge to a great depth. It was 
 snow that had lain all the year ; and although not 
 frozen, the surface was firm and stiff; and it was 
 with difficulty they could get support for their 
 feet on it. Here and there they were compelled 
 to stop and cut steps in the snow — as the surface 
 sloped upward at an angle of full 50°, and, in fact, 
 they were rather climbing than walkin". Their 
 
462 BKUIN. 
 
 object, in undertaking this toilsome ascent, was 
 simply because they had seen a bear going up the 
 same way but a few minutes before ; and the 
 scratches of his claws were visible on the snow 
 just before their faces. 
 
 Making as little noise as possible, they kept 
 onward; and at length reached the head of the 
 gorge. On peepiug cautiously over, they saw a 
 little table-like tract of level ground, several acres 
 in extent. It was quite clear of snow ; and covered 
 with green herbage. A number of large boulder 
 stones lay scattered over it — which had evidently 
 rolled down from the mountain-side that rose still 
 higher above the table. 
 
 But the sight that most gratified them was the 
 bear himself — no doubt, the same they had seen 
 going up the ravine. They now discovered him upon 
 the level ground, not twenty yards from tlie spot 
 where they stood. In a strange attitude they saw 
 him — grasping between his fore paws a huge 
 boulder stone, almost as large as his own body, 
 and evidently in the act of rolling it out of its 
 bed! 
 
 They were the less astonished at what thoy saw : 
 for, being already acquainted with this singular 
 
THE SXOW BEAB. 463 
 
 habit of the snow bear, they knew what he was 
 about. They did not stay, therefore, to watch his 
 herculean labours ; but all three, levelling their 
 guns, pulled trigger simultaneously. The bullets 
 — some of them, at least — evidently struck the 
 bear ; but, although he dropped the great boulder 
 — which at once fell back into its place — he did 
 not himself drop. On the contrary, he turned 
 suddenly round ; and, giving utterance to a savage 
 growl, rushed direct towards the hunters. 
 
 The latter, not having time to reload, had no 
 choice but to run for it. There was no other way of 
 escape open to them, except by the gorge up which 
 they had come ; as, to attempt ascending to the 
 level ground would have brought them face to face 
 with the bear. They turned, therefore ; and com- 
 menced retreating down the ravine. 
 
 But now came the difficulty. They had not made 
 three strides, before perceiving that they could not 
 keep their feet upon the hard sloping surface of tlio 
 snow. They had no time to cut fresh steps, nor 
 pick out their old ones : as by doing either they 
 would go too slowly, while the bear could scramble 
 down the enow as rapidly as on bare ground. 
 There was no alternative, therefore, but to fling 
 
404 BiiriN'. 
 
 themselves on their posteriors, and slide down the 
 slope. 
 
 Quick as came the thought, all three of them 
 dropped down upon their hams ; and using their 
 guns to prevent them from going with too great 
 velocity, they shot downward to the bottom of the 
 ravine. 
 
 On reaching the lower end of the slope, and re- 
 gaining their feet, they turned and looked back up 
 the gorge. The bear had arrived at the upper end ; 
 and was standing with his fore feet projected over 
 the edge, and resting upon the snow. He appeared 
 to be undecided, as to whether he should come down 
 after them, or give up the pursuit. He was within 
 easy range of a bullet ; and they bethought them 
 of reloading and giving him a fresh volley; when, 
 to their cliagrin, they discovered that the barrels 
 of their guns were filled with snow — which had got 
 into them during the descent. 
 
 AVhile lamenting this unfortunate accident — in 
 the full belief tliat tlicy would now lose the bear — 
 they saw the animal make a strange movement. It 
 was forward, and towards them — as if ho had mado 
 up his mind to charge down tho slope ; but they 
 soon perceived that this could not bo his intention : 
 
THE SyOW BEAD. 465 
 
 for as lie came gliding; on, sometimes his licad, 
 ind sometimes his steru was foremost ; and it was 
 evident that instead of the movement being a 
 voluntary acton his part, it was quite the contrary. 
 The fact was, that the bullets which they had fired 
 into him had drawn the life's blood out of his 
 veins ; and having stood too long on the sloping 
 edge of the snow, he had fallen through feeble- 
 ness ; and was now tumbling down the ravine, 
 without strength enough to stay his descent. 
 
 In another instant he lay stretched almost at 
 the feet of the hunters; for the impetus im- 
 parted to his huge carcass in the descent, had 
 brought it with such a " whack " against a largo 
 rock, as to deprive him of whatever either of blood 
 or breath there had been left in his body. 
 
 The hunters, however, made sure of this, by draw- 
 ing their long knives, and making an additional 
 vent or two between his ribs — thus securing them- 
 selves against all risk of his resuscitation. 
 
 They had now finished with the Himalayan 
 bears of known and unknown kinds ; but Alexis 
 learnt enough from hunters, whom they had 
 encountered during their sojourn in these moun- 
 tains, to convince him that great confusion exists 
 2 H 
 
4G0 BEUIN. 
 
 among naturalists as to the different species and 
 varieties that inhabit the Himalayan range. Of 
 the "snow bear" itself, a variety exists in the 
 mountains of Cashmere ; which, as far as Alexis 
 could learn, was very different from the kind they 
 had killed. The Cashmiriau variety is of a deep 
 reddish brown colour, much longer in the muzzle 
 than the "enow bear," and also a more dangerous 
 antagonist to man — being a brute of eminently 
 carnivorous propensity and savage disposition. 
 
 " It is quite probable," remarks Alexis, in his 
 journal, " that instead of three kinds of bears 
 inhabiting the Himalayan range, twice that 
 number of " species " — or at all events, of perma- 
 nent varieties — may be found within the extensive 
 area covered by these stupendous mountains." 
 
THE LAST CUASE. 4G1 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 TUE LAST CHASE. 
 
 OuE travellers descended once more to the 
 plains of Hindostan, and crossed the peninsula 
 by dak to Bombay. From Bombay they sailed 
 through the Indian Ocean, and up the Persian 
 Gulf to the port of Bussora, on the Euphrates. 
 Ascending the Tigris branch of this Asiatic river, 
 they reached the famed city of Bagdad. They 
 were now en route for tlio haunts of the Syrian 
 bear among the snowy summits of Mount Leba- 
 non. "With a Turkish caravan, therefore, they 
 started from Bagdad ; and after much toil aud 
 many hardships, arrived in the city of Damascus — 
 the scene of so many troubles and massacre 
 caused by the fanaticism of a false religion. 
 
 With these questions our travellers had nothing 
 
 to do ; nor did tiiey stay any length of time withiu 
 
 the walls of the unhappy city. Soon after their 
 
 arrival in the place, they obtained all the infunun- 
 
 2 ir 2 
 
4G8 BEUIN'. 
 
 tion they required of the whereabouts of the 
 Syrian bear ; and tlieir steps were now directed 
 towards the snowy summits of Libanus — better 
 known to Christians by its Scriptural name of 
 Mount Lebanon. 
 
 In these mountains the Syrian bear (ursus 
 syriacus) is found ; and it is only a few years 
 since the animal was discovered there. Every 
 naturalist had doubted the existence of bears 
 in any part of Syria — as they now deny that 
 there are any in Africa. Those who acknowledge 
 it, are inclined to regard the Syrian bear as a mere 
 variety of the ursus ordos ; but this theory is 
 altogether incorrect. In shape, colour, and many 
 of his habits, the Syrian bear differs essentially 
 from his brown congener ; and his dwelling- 
 place — instead of being in forest-covered tracts — 
 is more generally in open ground or among rocks. 
 In fact, his range upon the Syrian mountains is 
 very similar to that of the " snow bear " on the 
 Himalayas — near the line of perpetual snow. 
 
 The colour of the rirsus sp'iacus is a light ash 
 or fulvous brown, often — with a hoary or silvery 
 tinge — but the colour varies at times to lighter 
 and deeper shades. The hair lies close against tho 
 
THE LAST CHASE. 4G9 
 
 skin — in this respect dillering from most of the 
 species, iu wliich the fur stands erect or perpen- 
 dicular to the outlines of the body. This gives 
 the Syrian bear the appearance of being a thinner 
 and smaller animal, than many bears of upright 
 fur that are no bigger than he. 
 
 By one characteristic mark he may be easily 
 identified ; and that is, by his having an erect 
 ridge of fur running from his neck along the spine 
 of his back, and looking not unlike the mane of a 
 donkey. But, indeed, the Syrian bear may be 
 easily distinguished from any other member of 
 this family ; and to regard him as a mere variety 
 of the ursus arctos, is only going back to the old 
 system that considers all the bears as one and the 
 same species. 
 
 The Syrian bear docs not inhabit the whole 
 range of the mountains that pass under the 
 general name of Lebanon. Only on the loftier 
 summits is he found — particularly on that known 
 as Mount Makmel. This sumii\it is covered with 
 snow ; and it is under tho snow-lino ho usually 
 makes his haunt. Sometimes, liowever, he de- 
 scends to a lower elevation ; ami in tho village 
 gardens — just as does tlio snow bear in the I lima- 
 
470 Bfiui]S'. 
 
 layas — he makes sad havoc among fruits and vege- 
 tables. He will also kill sheep, goats, and even 
 larger animals, that come in his way ; and when 
 provoked will attack the hunter without fear. He 
 is most dreaded in the night: for it is during the 
 darkness he generally makes his plundering expe- 
 peditioDS. Both shepherds and hunters have been 
 killed by him — proving that he still retains the 
 savage character given to hun in the Scriptures ; 
 where several of his kind — she-bears they were — 
 are represented as having torn " forty and two 
 of the mockers of Elislia." 
 
 He appears to have been equally characterized 
 by a i'erocity of disposition in tlie crusading ages — 
 since it is related that the great leader Godfrey 
 slew one of these bears, whom he found assaulting 
 a poor wood-cutter of Antioch ; and the aftair was 
 considered a feat of great prowess, by those eccen- 
 tric champions of the Cross. 
 
 That the Syrian bear is still as ferocious and 
 savage, as he ever could have been, our hunters 
 proved by tlicir own experience : for althougli they 
 did not get into the power of one, they would 
 certainly have done so — some one of them at least 
 — had thov not been fortunate enough to kill the 
 
■riii: LAST cn.vsi:. 471 
 
 bear before he could lay his claw3 upon them. 
 But we shall briefljr describe the adventure; which 
 was the last our hunters were engaged in — at 
 least, the last we find recorded in the journal of 
 Alexis. 
 
 Bischerre, a little mountain village, situated near 
 the snow-line on Mount Makmel, had become 
 their temporary head-quarters. Its neighbour- 
 hood was celebrated for the great number of bears 
 that frequent it. These animals descending from 
 the higher ridges surrounding it, frequently enter 
 the gardens of the villagers, and rob them of their 
 vegetables and chick peas (cicer arietinus) — the 
 latter being a favourite food of the Syrian bear. 
 
 From Bischerre the hunters extended their ex- 
 cursions on foot : since the nature of the ground 
 would not admit of their using horses ; and they 
 had succeeded in getting several good " bear- 
 chases," and in killing a brace of these animals. 
 Both, however, were very young ones — cubs, in 
 fact — and their skins would not do. A better spe- 
 cimen must be procured. 
 
 This came into their hands in the following 
 manner: — 
 
 They had succeeded in tracing a bear up into a 
 
472 BEriy. 
 
 rocky ravine — the entrance into which was not over 
 ten or twelve feet in width. The ravine itself was 
 a steep descent leading up to the mountains ; and 
 its bottom, or bed, was covered with a conglomera- 
 tion of large rounded boulders, that looked as if 
 they had been rolled into this shape by water. 
 They resembled the round stones sometimes seen 
 in rivers ; and no doubt there was a torrent 
 there at times ; but just then the channel was 
 dry, and not a drop of water appeared anj-- 
 where. There was no snow either ; as the place 
 was below the line of snow ; and they had only 
 traced the bear into it on information given 
 them by some shepherds, who had seen the animal 
 recently enter it. 
 
 Eelying upon this information, they kept up 
 the defile, making their way with difficulty over 
 the loose pebbles. They had a hope that the bear 
 was still somewhere within the gorge ; and that they 
 might find him in some crevice or cave. On each 
 side rose high cliffs that almost met over bead; 
 and our hunters, as they scrambled up the steep, 
 examined tliese clifts carefully — expecting to per- 
 ceive the mouth of a ca\ ern. The place was likely 
 enough, for at every few yards they saw crevices 
 
THE L.VST CHASE. 473 
 
 and deep cavities ; but in none of them could they 
 "find any traces of Bruin. 
 
 They had got about halfway through the ravine — 
 and were still scrambling upward — when a loud sniff 
 drew their attention ; and, looking in the direction 
 whence it appeared to have proceeded, there, sure 
 enough, was the identical animal they were after — 
 Master Bruin himself. They saw only his snout ; 
 which was projected out from tlie face of the cliff, 
 about twenty feet above the bed of the ravine. 
 His whole head was shortly after poked forth ; 
 and seen en profile from below, it looked as if 
 there was a bear's head glued against the flat 
 surface of the rock, just as stags' heads are seen 
 ornamenting the halls of grand country mansions. 
 Our hunters, however, knew there must be a cave 
 behind — in which was the body of the bear, though 
 it waa concealed from their eyes. 
 
 The bear, after glancing at the intruders who 
 had disturbed him, drew back his head so suddenly, 
 that not a shot could be fired in time. The 
 hunters, in order to get into a better position, 
 hurried past under the cave ; and took stand several 
 paces above it — where they were able to command 
 a better view of the entrance. 
 
474 ■ BEL 15. 
 
 They were now on a level with the hole out of 
 which the head had shown itself; and without 
 speaking a word, only in whispers, they waited 
 for the reappearance of the snout. 
 
 It was not long before they had the satisfaction 
 of seeiog it. "Whether from curiosity to know if 
 they were gone — or with the design of sallying forth 
 in pursuit of them — the bear once more protruded 
 his muzzle froui the hole. Fearing that he might 
 draw it back again, and not give them another 
 chance, all three fired, and in such haste that two 
 of them quite missed the object. Only the bullet 
 of Alexis had been properly aimed ; and this was 
 seen striking the bear right in the teeth — several 
 of which were shot clean out of his jaws ! 
 
 As the smoke cleared out of their eyes, the great 
 yellow body of the bear was observed out upon the 
 little ledge that projected in front of the cave ; and 
 uttering loud screams— expressive both of rage 
 and pain — the angry animal bounded down among 
 the boulders. Instead of making down the ravine 
 — as our hunters expected — he turned upwards, 
 and rushed directly towards them. 
 
 Again there was no alternative but flight ; and 
 up the steep gorge tlioy nuist go. To make down- 
 
THE LAST CHASE. 475 
 
 ward would be to run right upon the claws of the 
 infuriated animal ; and upward was the only way 
 lefb open to them. 
 
 All three started and ran as fast as they were 
 able ; and for awhile were in hopes of distancing 
 their pursuer. But further up, the slope grew 
 steeper; and the loose stones became more difficult 
 to clamber over. Their breath, too, was by this 
 time quite gone ; and all three were panting like 
 "winded" horses. 
 
 It was impossible for them to go a step farther. 
 
 In despair, they halted ; and turned to face the 
 pursuer — all of them at the same instant drawing 
 their knives ; arid bracing their bodies for the 
 expected struggle. The bear, still growling and 
 screaming, came on — making way over the stones 
 much faster than they had done. He would have 
 been certain of overtaking thorn, had they con- 
 tinued their race: for he was scarce six paces behind 
 them when they stopped. 
 
 No doubt it would have been a dangerous con- 
 flict, had it come off" j and, indeed, breathless as they 
 were, they could never have sustained the attack. 
 Of course, they had no time to reload their guns, 
 find did not think of such a thing. Their deter- 
 
47G BEUiy, 
 
 minatioia ■n-as to defend themselves with their 
 knives ; and perhaps they might have succeeded in 
 doing so, had there been an occasion. But there 
 was not. 
 
 Before the bear could get up to them, a better 
 idea had flashed across the brain of Pouchskin ; 
 which he lost not a moment in carrying into 
 execution. Stooping suddenly, and flinging his 
 knife out of his hands, he laid hold of a large 
 boulder — big enough to weigh at least half a 
 hundred — and, raising this to the height of his 
 shoulder, he hurled it down upon the bear ! 
 
 The huge stone struck the animal right upon 
 the breast ; and what with the force by which it 
 had been launched from Pouchskin's powerful arm, 
 and the impetus it had gained in its descent, it 
 acted on Bruin like a thunderbolt — not only knock- 
 ing him over on his baclv, but carrj'ing his body 
 along with it full ten paces down the gorge ! 
 
 AVhen the hunters at length reloaded their 
 guns, and went down to where Bruin lay among 
 tlie rocks, they found him lying doubled up as 
 dead as mutton ! 
 
 Ilaviug stripped him of his fulvous skin, they 
 returned to Bischcrrc ; and next day paclcing up 
 
TUE LAST CUASE. 477 
 
 their impedimenta, they crossed through the passes 
 of Mount Libanus, and proceeded onward to the 
 shores of the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 Ilorao was now the word ; and right pleasant 
 was the sound of it in their ears. The grand bear- 
 hunt was ended. They had accomplidhed the task 
 imposed upon them^having kept every condition 
 of their covenant. 
 
 Of course they expected a grand welcome upon 
 their return ; and in this expectation they were 
 not disappointed ; for many days and nights after 
 the baronial halls of the Palace Grodouoff echoed 
 the sounds of mirth and revelry. 
 
 In the museum our young hunters met their 
 old acquaintances, from all parts of the world. 
 They encountered them standing in different atti- 
 tudes — all mounted in the most approved fashion. 
 The Syrian bear was the onlv one not among them: 
 as they had themscJves brought his skin — all 
 the others having been sent home by " Parcels 
 Delivery." In a few days, however, the ursua 
 syriacus was act upon his legs ; and the collec- 
 tion was complete. 
 
 The news of the " Grand Bear Jlunt," with its 
 curious conditions, soon got abroad ; and travelled 
 
478 BEUIN. 
 
 all round tlie social circle of St. Petersburgh. 
 Figuratively speaking, our young hunters were 
 transformed into animals themselves — they became 
 "lions," — and remained so for that season; but 
 even at this hour in the salons of the great 
 Russian capital, you may often hear introduced, 
 as a favourite topic of conversation — 
 
 "The Bakon and his Beaes.'* 
 
 THE END. 
 
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