we got most upon him; but
then he buckled for it, I tell you. When they overhauled him he just
rared up on his hind legs, and he boxed the dogs 'bout at a mighty
rate. He hugged old Tiger and another, till he dropped 'em nearly
lifeless; but the others worried him, and after a while they all come
to, and they give him trouble. They are mighty apt, I tell you, to give
a bear trouble before they leave him.

"'Twas a mighty pretty fight--'twould have done any one's soul good to
see it, just to see how they all rolled about. It was as much as I
could do to keep the strangers from shooting him; but I wouldn't let
'em, for fear they would kill some of my dogs. After we got tired
seeing 'em fight, I went in among 'em, and the first time they got him
down I socked my knife in the old bear. We then hung him up, and went
on to take our elk-hunt. You never seed fellows so delighted as them
strangers was. Blow me, if they didn't cut more capers, jumping about,
than the old bear. 'Twas a mighty pretty fight, but I believe I seed
more fun looking at them than at the bear.

"By the time we got to the Harricane, we were all rested, and ripe for
a drive. My dogs were in a better humor, for the fight had just taken
off the wiry edge. So I placed the strangers at the stands through
which I thought the elk would pass, sent the driver way up ahead, and I
went down below.

"Everything was quiet, and I leaned old Betsey 'gin a tree, and laid
down. I s'pose I had been lying there nearly an hour, when I heard old
Tiger open. He opened once or twice, and old Rattler gave a long howl;
the balance joined in, and I knew the elk were up. I jumped up and
seized my rifle. I could hear nothing but one continued roar of all my
dogs, coming right towards me. Though I was an old hunter, the music
made my hair stand on end. Soon after they first started, I heard one
gun go off, and my dogs stopped, but not long, for they took a little
tack towards where I had placed the strangers. One of them fired, and
they dashed back, and circled round way to my left. I run down 'bout a
quarter of a mile, and I heard my dogs make a bend like they were
coming to me. While I was listening, I heard the bushes breaking still
lower down, and started to run there.

"As I was going 'long, I seed two elks burst out of the Harricane 'bout
one hundred and thirty or forty yards below me. There was an old buck
and a doe. I stopped, waited till they got into a clear place, and