place was partly open and partly covered with thick
bushes into which a horseman could not penetrate. The moment the bears
got wind of what was going forward they made off as fast as possible,
and then commenced a scene of firing, galloping, and yelling, that
defies description! Four out of the seven were shot before they gained
the bushes; the other three were wounded, but made good their retreat.
As their places of shelter, however, were like islands in the plain,
they had no chance of escaping.

The horsemen now dismounted and dashed recklessly into the bushes, where
they soon discovered and killed two of the bears; the third was not
found for some time. At last an Iroquois came upon it so suddenly that
he had not time to point his gun before the bear sprang upon him and
struck him to the earth, where it held him down.

Instantly the place was surrounded by eager men, but the bushes were so
thick and the fallen trees among which the bear stood were so numerous,
that they could not use their guns without running the risk of shooting
their companion. Most of them drew their knives and seemed about to
rush on the bear with these, but the monster's aspect, as it glared
round, was so terrible that they held back for a moment in hesitation.

At this moment Henri, who had been at some distance engaged in the
killing of one of the other bears, came rushing forward after his own
peculiar manner.

"Ah! fat is eet--hay? de bar no go under yit?"

Just then his eye fell on the wounded Iroquois with the bear above him,
and he uttered a yell so intense in tone that the bear himself seemed to
feel that something decisive was about to be done at last. Henri did
not pause, but with a flying dash he sprang like a spread eagle, arms
and legs extended, right into the bear's bosom. At the same moment he
sent his long hunting-knife down into its heart. But Bruin is
proverbially hard to kill, and although mortally wounded, he had
strength enough to open his jaws and close them on Henri's neck.

There was a cry of horror, and at the same moment a volley was fired at
the bear's head, for the trappers felt that it was better to risk
shooting their comrades than see them killed before their eyes.
Fortunately the bullets took effect, and tumbled him over at once
without doing damage to either of the men, although several of the balls
just grazed Henri's temple and carried off his cap.

Although uninjured by the shot, the poor Iroq