Carson had no time to reload his gun: had it been given him he would
have made short work of one of the brutes at least, but as it was, he
was deprived of even that privilege. Fortunate indeed would he be if he
could escape their fury.

The grizzly bear is the most dreaded animal found on this continent.
He does not seem to feel the slightest fear of the hunter, no matter
whether armed or not, and, while other beasts are disposed to give man
a wide berth, old "Ephraim," as the frontiersmen call him, always seems
eager to attack him. His tenacity of life is extraordinary. Unless
pierced in the head or heart, he will continue his struggles after a
dozen or score of rifle balls have been buried in his body. So terrible
is the grizzly bear, that an Indian can be given no higher honor
than the privilege of wearing a necklace made from his claws--that
distinction being permitted only to those who have slain one of the
animals in single handed combat.

No one understood the nature of these beasts better than Kit Carson and
he knew that if either of the animals once got his claws upon him, there
would not be the faintest chance of escape. The only thing therefore
that could be done was to run.

There were not wanting men who were fleeter of foot than Carson, but
few could have overtaken him when he made for the trees on which all his
hopes depended. Like the blockade runner, closely pursued by the man of
war, he threw overboard all the cargo that could impede his speed. His
long, heavy rifle was flung aside, and the short legs of the trapper
doubled under him with amazing quickness as he strove as never before to
reach the grove.

Fortunately the latter was not far off, and, though the fierce beasts
gained rapidly upon him, Carson arrived among the timber a few steps
in advance. He had no time even to select the tree, else he would
have chosen a different one, but making a flying leap, he grasped the
lowermost limb and swung upward, at the moment the foremost grizzly
was beneath him. So close in truth was his pursuer that the hunter
distinctly felt the sweeping blow of his paw aimed at the leg which
whisked beyond his reach just in the nick of time.

But the danger was not over by any means. The enthusiastic style in
which the bears entered into the proceedings proved they did not mean
that any trifles should stop them. They were able to climb the tree
which supported Carson, and he did not lose sight of the fact. Whippin