t for the bears,
for it was in the moon of strawberries, when the buffaloes sharpen and
polish their horns for bloody contests among themselves.

"I advise you, my boy, never to approach a grizzly's den from the front,
but to steal up behind and throw your blanket or a stone in front of the
hole. He does not usually rush for it, but first puts his head out and
listens and then comes out very indifferently and sits on his haunches
on the mound in front of the hole before he makes any attack. While he
is exposing himself in this fashion, aim at his heart. Always be as cool
as the animal himself." Thus he armed me against the cunning of savage
beasts by teaching me how to outwit them.

"In hunting," he would resume, "you will be guided by the habits of the
animal you seek. Remember that a moose stays in swampy or low land or
between high mountains near a spring or lake, for thirty to sixty days
at a time. Most large game moves about continually, except the doe in
the spring; it is then a very easy matter to find her with the fawn.
Conceal yourself in a convenient place as soon as you observe any signs
of the presence of either, and then call with your birchen doe-caller.

"Whichever one hears you first will soon appear in your neighborhood.
But you must be very watchful, or you may be made a fawn of by a large
wild-cat. They understand the characteristic call of the doe perfectly
well.

"When you have any difficulty with a bear or a wild-cat--that is, if
the creature shows signs of attacking you--you must make him fully
understand that you have seen him and are aware of his intentions. If
you are not well equipped for a pitched battle, the only way to make him
retreat is to take a long sharp-pointed pole for a spear and rush toward
him. No wild beast will face this unless he is cornered and already
wounded, These fierce beasts are generally afraid of the common weapon
of the larger animals--the horns, and if these are very long and sharp,
they dare not risk an open fight.

"There is one exception to this rule--the grey wolf will attack fiercely
when very hungry. But their courage depends upon their numbers; in this
they are like white men. One wolf or two will never attack a man. They
will stampede a herd of buffaloes in order to get at the calves; they
will rush upon a herd of antelopes, for these are helpless; but they are
always careful about attacking man."

Of this nature were the instructions of my uncle, who w