the skin of the deer their
only food. One morning they met and shot at five grizzly bears, but none
were killed. The next morning in a mountain gully eight ugly grizzlies
faced them. In desperation they determined to attack. Wood and Wilson
were to advance and fire. The others held themselves in reserve--one of
them up a tree. At fifty feet each selected a bear and fired. Wilson
killed his bear; Wood thought he had finished his. The beast fell,
biting the earth and writhing in agony. Wilson sensibly climbed a tree
and called upon Wood to do likewise. He started to first reload his
rifle and the ball stuck. When the two shots were fired five of the
bears started up the mountain, but one sat quietly on its haunches
watching proceedings. As Wood struggled with his refractory bullet it
started for him. He gained a small tree and climbed beyond reach. Unable
to load, he used his rifle to beat back the beast as it tried to claw
him. To his horror the bear he thought was killed rose to its feet and
furiously charged the tree, breaking it down at once. Wood landed on his
feet and ran down the mountain to a small buckeye, the bear after him.
He managed to hook his arm around the tree, swinging his body clear. The
wounded bear was carried by its momentum well down the mountain. Wood
ran for another tree, the other bear close after him, snapping at his
heels. Before he could climb out of reach he was grabbed by the ankle
and pulled down. The wounded bear came jumping up the mountain and
caught him by the shoulder. They pulled against each other as if to
dismember him. His hip was dislocated and he suffered some painful flesh
wounds.

His clothing was stripped from his body and he felt the end had come,
but the bears seemed disinclined to seize his flesh. They were evidently
suspicious of white meat. Finally one disappeared up the ravine, while
the other sat down a hundred yards away, and keenly watched him. As long
as he kept perfectly still the bear was quiet, but if he moved at all it
rushed upon him.

Wilson came to his aid and both finally managed to climb trees beyond
reach. The bear then sat down between the trees, watching both and
growling threateningly if either moved. It finally tired of the game and
to their great relief disappeared up the mountain. Wood, suffering
acutely, was carried down to the camp, where they remained twelve days,
subsisting on the bear Wilson had killed.

Wood grew worse instead of better, and