s to
hunt; and as such is to be principally my occupation during my sojourn
in this region, I could not desire a more happy opportunity than the
present to make a beginning. And as it is my intention to settle near
the ferry on the opposite shore, I am pleased to find that I shall not
be far from one whose acquaintance I hoped to make, above all others."

"And you may not find me reluctant to cultivate a social intercourse,
notwithstanding men think me a crabbed old misanthrope," replied
Boone, pressing the extended hand of Glenn. They then separated for
the night, retiring to the tents that had been provided for them.

It was not long before a comparative silence pervaded the scene. The
fierce yelpings of the watch-dogs gradually ceased, and the howling
wolf was but indistinctly heard in the distance. The katydid and
whippoorwill still sang at intervals, and these sounds, as well as the
occasional whirlpool that could be heard rising on the surface of the
gliding stream, had a soothing influence, and lulled to slumber the
wandering mortals who now reclined under the forest trees, far from
the homes of their childhood and the graves of their kindred. Glenn
gazed from his couch through the branches above at the calm, blue sky,
resplendent with twinkling stars; and if a sad reflection, that he
thus lay, a lonely being, a thousand miles from those who had been
most dear to him, dimmed his eye for an instant with a tear, he still
felt a consciousness of innocence within, and resolving to execute his
vow in every particular, he too was soon steeped in undisturbed
slumber.

CHAPTER II.

Boone hunts the bear--Hounds and terriers--Sneak Punk, the Hatchet-
face--Another stump--The high passes--The bear roused--The
chase--A sight--A shot--A wound--Joe--His meditations--His friend,
the bear--The bear retreats--Joe takes courage--He fires--Immense
execution--Sneak--The last struggle--Desperation of the bear--His
death--Sneak's puppies--Joe.

By the time the first streaks of gray twilight marked the eastern
horizon, Boone, at the head of the party of hunters, set out from the
encampment and proceeded down the river in the direction of the place
where Joe had been so roughly handled by Bruin. All, with the
exception of Glenn and his man, being accustomed to much walking, were
on foot. Glenn rode his white steed, and Joe was mounted on his little
black pony. The large hounds belonging to Boone, and the curs,
spaniels, a