se of his skill and patience.

When the first attempt was made the bear suddenly clawed at it and
tore it from the boy's hand before he could jerk it beyond his reach.
So he was compelled to make another one.

Nothing discouraged, the boy soon had this completed, and it was
dropped down more cautiously than before. When the grizzly made a
lunge at it, it was deftly twitched out of his way.

This was repeated several times, until the brute became disgusted with
the sport, and dropping down behind the tree, let the boy do all the
fishing he chose.

Now was his time, but the boy did not allow his eagerness to overcome
the steadiness of his nerves. It required no little skill, but he
finally succeeded in dropping the noose over the muzzle of the gun and
jerked it up taut.

With a heart beating high with hope, Johnny saw it lifted clear of the
ground, and he began carefully drawing it up. The grizzly looked
curiously at his maneuvers, and once made as if to move toward the
dangling rifle; but, ere his mind was settled, it was drawn beyond his
reach, and the cold muzzle was grasped in the hand of the eagerly
waiting boy.

While drawing it up, he had been debating with himself as to the best
means of killing the brute. Remembering that his first shot had done
no harm, he sensibly concluded that he had not yet learned the
vulnerable part of the monster.

His gun was loaded very carefully, and when everything was ready he
made a noise, to attract the attention of the brute. The bear looked
up instantly, when the gun was aimed straight at his right eye.

Ere the grizzly could withdraw his gaze, the piece was discharged, and
the bullet sped true, crashing into the skull of the colossal brute.
With a howling grunt, he rose upon his hind feet, clawed the air a few
moments, and then dropped dead.

Young Brainerd waited until he was certain that the last spark of life
had fled, when he cautiously descended the tree, scarcely able to
realize the truth that he had slain a grizzly bear, the monarch of the
western wilderness. But such was the fact, and he felt more pride at
the thought than if he had slain a dozen buffaloes.

'If I only had him in the wagon,' he reflected, 'I'd take him into
camp, for they will never believe I killed a grizzly bear.'

However, it occurred to him that he might secure some memento, and
accordingly he cut several claws and placed them in his pocket. This
done, he concluded that, as the afternoo