WITH BRUTES 71

heard his men having some kind of a friendly dis-
cussion.

“Tt is a rock, I tell you,’’ one would say.

“No; it moves. Look, it is coming towards us,”’
contended the other.

“What is it?’’ asked Father Morice.

“We do not know. Can you see yonder speck on
the water some distance from the shore?”’ queried John
Stené.

“T see nothing at all.”’

“Then you might look with your spy glass?”’

The priest took up an old field glass which had been
lent him by a kind Hudson’s Bay Company man, and
directed it towards the object in question, but because
of the oscillations of the little canoe, could not see
anything. He then handed it to one of his crew, who
immediately exclaimed:

“Great heavens! it is a grizzly bear, and it swims
towards us, making evidently for yonder mountain,
where he must have its lair. That is the season for
those brutes to prepare their winter quarters.”’

“Let us go on; let us flee, quick!’’ then cried out
Thomas Thautilh, who was not extra brave, especially
against grizzly bears.

“No, no, don’t listen to him,”’ said Father Morice.
“ For a long time I have wished to see a grizzly close at
hand. Now that I am going to have one, I am not
going to run away from him.”’

“But you don’t know the wiles of those ferocious
beasts,”’ insisted peaceful Thomas. ‘When they
sight a canoe with people in, they dive and make for
it under water, then cause it to capsize.”’

“We shall not give this one time to do that,’’
assured the missionary.

Thus even Thomas had, much against his will, to
".M.—6