100 ; THE GRIZZLY BEAR

with not a stick or stone on it, and was ideal for a short
sprint, so that she did not take long in getting over the
space between her and us. Evidently the Major mis-
judged her pace and let her come closer than I intended.
So much so that when I had whispered to him to shoot
and hold right on her neck the expected report did not
come, it flashed into my mind that, judging by the length
of her stride and the distance she was away, she would
place her left front paw square on my head and that I
had better move it to one side. However, the shot came
at last, but she was so close to us that when she turned
a double somersault, by reaching out a little I could almost
have hit her with my stick. But the story is not ended
yet; the bear was far from dead; it is doubtful if the
wound was even mortal.

To make this a real story I should now be able to tell
you of a good old rough-and-tumble fight ; how we both
expended our last cartridge without bringing her down
and then had to fight it out with knives. It is with great
regret I have to disappoint you, for such an ending was
very far from what happened. When the bear completed
her somersaults, in some extraordinary way she came to
her feet with her head pointing away from us, and, without
losing a stride, went back as hard as she had come. When
she was about half-way back the Major fired again.
This time she turned a single somersault, but never checked
her speed. Then, when she was almost back at the hole
she had dug, yet another bullet caught her. This last
one did not upset her, but caused her to spin round and
head our way once more, and perhaps she might have
managed to put her foot on my head after all if she had
had just a bit more vitality. As it was, when she had
made the last turn, her vitality was exhausted; a few
staggering steps she took and then collapsed. She died
within ten feet of where she had been digging.

There are one or two more things I have to add with
regard to this bear. It eventually transpired that the
front sight of the Major’s rifle had been displaced; hence
his bad shooting. Another thing of some interest is that