WITH BRUTES 67

time of the spring freshets, that is, when the river is
very high and its waters turbulent, when a _ black
object was sighted some distance down, which seemed
to be going across the river. His companions were not
slow in recognizing in it an enormous bear which was
making for the opposite side. A broad smile hovered
over their lips: on the water he was powerless and
could not escape!

When but a short distance from him, they had their
first shot at him. Down went his head in the water,
which immediately changed to the colour of blood.
By this time, the canoe had floated down by the side
of the brute, which was just close to Father Morice.

“Tlhchoot! itlhchoot! au'ét thénthillelh, take him,
seize him, he is going to sink,’’ cried his companions.

The priest had never been so near a bear. For
that reason he was rather hesitating; but, on the
reiterated cries of the Indians, he stretched out his
hand to seize the animal, when, lo! in a flash the bear
directed at him a vicious snap of his jaws! He was
anything but dead, and, in the state of rage in which
he was,’ if the beast had reached but a little farther,
he would have grabbed the hand and caused priest and
crew to capsize with their craft.

There is in Northern British Columbia something
else than black bears which one is justified to fear,
nay, toavoid. A black bear no real Déné hunter fears,
and numerous are the Carriers who have had hand to
hand fights with him out of which the animal came
second best, though the man had to pay for his victory
with painful wounds, resulting in terrible scars of life-
long duration. Father Morice has seen several cases

2 So enraged was he that he attacked the canoe itself, and sank his

teeth right through the sheet iron which had been made to protect its
prow against accidents.