and see what timber was in the
little valleys leading off the main valley of the Shipshaw. On one of
these occasions, Pierre and the old Indian went off on one side of the
river, and the two others on the opposite side. They had only one rifle
between them, for they were not out hunting and had taken it along
merely from habit. Pierre had the gun, while the old Indian went ahead
with his easy stride. Though over sixty years of age, he was noted as
one of the best walkers and sturdiest paddlers in the country. He led
the way and Pierre came after, thinking hard about the displeasure of
the Great Spirit as shown by the sinking of his canoe. They broke
through a very narrow ravine and came upon a she-bear with three cubs.
The sight of the Indians angered the bear and she made a rush for them.

"Pierre was not able to fire for a moment as Montagnais was right in his
path. At Pierre's yell, the old Indian stepped back and the gun belched
forth almost in the bear's face. The ball did not take effect and did
nothing except to add fury to the mad rush of the bear. She swept Pierre
aside ripping his shoulder with her claws, and caught Montagnais fairly
in the chest. The latter went down without a cry. Fortunately, Pierre's
shoulder was not very badly hurt and he had not dropped his gun. He
slipped another cartridge into the rifle and gave the bear her quietus
by hitting her right behind the shoulder and striking her heart. Pierre
then looked at his old Indian friend and saw that he had received a very
bad wound. Several ribs were evidently broken, while the chest bone
seemed to be caved in. Pierre hastened to a nearby brook and got some
water in a hastily improvised birch bucket. The water brought Montagnais
to his senses, but a broken ankle made it impossible for him to move. He
was evidently in great pain.

"In the excitement, Pierre had done nothing for himself and did not do
so until he finally commenced to feel giddy and came near fainting. He
then tore off his shirt and found that his weakness was due to loss of
blood. He bound up his arm and sat down to rest and to think what to do.
He tried to carry the old Indian, but soon gave that up, both because he
was too weakened to do so and because the great pain caused by moving
his old friend made the latter faint. There was nothing to do except to
stay with his friend and wait for Jean and Jacques to hunt them up, or
else to get to the river and bring them back. He thought t