s very comical to see the desperate efforts made by those
bears to hold on to those pigs, and also to fight the dogs and to keep
up their retreat. Experienced dogs know that the tenderest spot in a
bear is the tendon of his hind leg, and so that is where they try to
seize hold of him. Two clever dogs are all that are necessary to delay,
until the hunters come up, the largest black bears in our country. It
does not depend very much on the size of the dogs. Indeed, large dogs
are rather at a disadvantage, as it is harder for them to get out of the
range of the bear when he turns upon them. In this fight all my dogs
did was to assail each bear in front and rear. While the dog in front
kept up a vigorous barking as close to his nose as it was safe to
venture, the dog in the rear, watching his opportunity, sprang in and
gave him a severe nip in the tender spot in his hind leg. This, of
course, could not be put up with, and so the bear, still holding on to
his pig, quickly whirled around to repel this second assailant. The
instant he did so the clever dog that had been in front, but was now in
the rear, instantly sprang in and caught the bear in the same tender
spot. This, of course, brought the bear back again to him, but he was
too clever to hang on, and having done his work he quickly sprang out of
the reach of those dreaded paws. Seeing the bear once more turned from
him, the other dog again dashed in and gave him another severe bite in
the same place. Thus it was that the dogs, while not daring to close
with such large bears, were yet able to keep them from escaping until we
came up and shot them."

"What about the pigs?" said Frank.

"They were alive, and not much the worse for their queer adventure,
although for some days they seemed dull and sore," was the reply.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

A BEAR HUNT IN WINTER--MUSTAGAN A FAMOUS INDIAN GUIDE--BEARS' DEN--HOW
DISCOVERED--BOYS' PERPLEXITY--THE JOURNEY TO THE DEN--A COLD MORNING--
THE TELLTALE COLUMN OF STEAM--THE ATTEMPT TO DIG DOWN TO THE BEARS--
TOTAL FAILURE--SUCCESSFUL TUNNELLING OPERATIONS--EXCITING FIGHT IN THE
ICY CAVERN--THE BATTLES BETWEEN THE MEN AND DOGS AND THE ESCAPING BEARS.

A Bear hunt in winter! No wonder the boys were excited when they heard
of it. Yes, that was what it was, and a very interesting one at that.

Mustagan was a famous hunter, as we have already seen. In addition to
that, he was a wonderful guide, and had also been a great