ised itself
on its hind legs, clasping him across the shoulders with its fore-paws.
Apparently it had no intention of hugging, but merely sought to draw him
within reach of his jaws. He fought desperately against this, using the
knife freely, and striving to keep its head back; and the flow of blood
weakened the animal, so that it finally fell exhausted, before being
able dangerously to injure him. But it had bitten his left arm very
severely, and its claws had made long gashes on his shoulders.

Black bears, like grislies, vary greatly in their modes of attack.
Sometimes they rush in and bite; and again they strike with their
fore-paws. Two of my cowboys were originally from Maine, where I knew
them well. There they were fond of trapping bears and caught a good
many. The huge steel gins, attached by chains to heavy clogs, prevented
the trapped beasts from going far; and when found they were always tied
tight round some tree or bush, and usually nearly exhausted. The men
killed them either with a little 32-calibre pistol or a hatchet. But
once did they meet with any difficulty. On this occasion one of them
incautiously approached a captured bear to knock it on the head with his
hatchet, but the animal managed to partially untwist itself, and with
its free fore-arm made a rapid sweep at him; he jumped back just in
time, the bear's claws tearing his clothes--after which he shot it.
Bears are shy and have very keen noses; they are therefore hard to kill
by fair hunting, living, as they generally do, in dense forests or
thick brush. They are easy enough to trap, however. Thus, these two men,
though they trapped so many, never but once killed them in any other
way. On this occasion one of them, in the winter, found in a great
hollow log a den where a she and two well-grown cubs had taken up their
abode, and shot all three with his rifle as they burst out.

Where they are much hunted, bear become purely nocturnal; but in the
wilder forests I have seen them abroad at all hours, though they do not
much relish the intense heat of noon. They are rather comical animals to
watch feeding and going about the ordinary business of their lives. Once
I spent half an hour lying at the edge of a wood and looking at a black
bear some three hundred yards off across an open glade. It was in good
stalking country, but the wind was unfavorable and I waited for it to
shift--waited too long as it proved, for something frightened the beast
and he