made a
settling amongst the Rocky Mountains, and when his hut was erected
he used to leave it for days, out on hunting expeditions. One night,
after returning from one of these enterprises, he retired to rest on
his solitary pallet. The heat was intense, and, as usual in these
countries during summer, he had left his door wide open. It was
about midnight, when he was awakened by the noise of something
tumbling in the room: he rose in a moment, and hearing a short and
heavy breathing, he asked who it was, for the darkness was such that
he could not see two yards before him. No answer being given, except
a kind of half smothered grunt, he advanced,--and, putting out his
hand, he seized the shaggy coat of a BEAR! Surprise rendered him
motionless; and the animal, giving him a blow on the chest with his
terrible paw, threw him down outside the door. Boone could have
escaped, but, maddened with the pain of his fall, he only thought of
vengeance,--and, seizing his knife and tomahawk, which were
fortunately within his reach, he darted furiously at the beast,
dealing blows at random. Great as was his strength, his tomahawk
could not penetrate through the thick coat of the animal, which,
having encircled the body of his assailant with his paws, was
pressing him in one of those deadly embraces which could only have
been resisted by a giant like Boone (who was six feet nine inches
in height and proportionably strong). Fortunately, the Black bear,
unlike the Grizzly, very seldom uses his claws and teeth in
fighting, contenting himself with smothering his victim. Boone
disentangled his left arm, and with his knife dealt a furious blow
upon the snout of the animal, which, smarting with pain, released
his hold. The snout is the only vulnerable part in an old black
bear. Even at forty yards, the ball of a rifle will flatten against
his skull, and if in any other part of the body it will scarcely
produce any serious effect. Boone, aware of this, and not daring to
risk another hug, darted away from the cabin. The bear, now quite
angry, followed and overtook him near the fence. Fortunately, the
clouds were clearing away, and the moon threw light sufficient to
enable the hunter to strike with a more certain aim: he found also
on the ground one of the rails, made of the blue ash, very heavy,
and ten feet in length; he dropped his knife and tomahawk, and,
seizing the rail, he renewed the fight with caution, for it had now
become a struggle