CHAPTER XXVII.

Remarks on Bear-shooting when on skidor; a good dog invaluable on those occasions; manner in which the dog conducts his attacks; danger of shooting the dog; a dog a great safeguard.-Bears killing dogs; Bears throwing sticks; Bears taking refuge in trees.-Bear-spears, guns, &c.-Danger of attacking Bears on skidor.-Anecdotes.--Return to Lappcottage.

If the snow be in good order, and a man has a good dog, the chase of the bear on skidor is a noble amusement; for, even should it prove unsuccessful, he has at least the satisfaction of enjoying an animating run. Should the dog, on the contrary, be worthless, and should the snow be in an unfavourable state, as was the case with us at this time, the pursuit of those animals becomes excessively disheartening.

For bear-shooting, a first-rate dog is invaluable; but such are rarely to be found; indeed, with the exception of Paijas, I never met with one at all deserving that character: that gal

lant hound however was, in his better days, every thing I could wish. In one instance, as I have said, I knew him to worry a large bear for nearly eight successive hours; and during a considerable part of this time, no person was with him. Sometimes he was alongside the beast; at others, a little ahead; and then hanging on his rear; and all this while making the forest ring again with his yells. Though he usually conducted his attacks with caution, in consequence of the mauling he received from a bear in his younger days, his courage at times, during this particular chase, got the better of his prudence; for, on hearing my shots, he seldom resisted the temptation of having a snap at the haunches of his rugged antagonist. In this case, the bear would swing himself round with wonderful agility, dash at the dog, and strike out with his paws in much the same manner as a cat; but Paijas, being up to these manoeuvres, always took care to beat a timely retreat.

By a dog thus incessantly harassing a bear, the sportsman is enabled to make many a short cut; his continual attacks, besides, often bring the beast to a stand-still; in which case, one can generally approach within range of him.

When a dog is dodging about a bear in the manner of which I speak, the sportsman should be careful how he fires, or the poor animal may get hit by an ill-directed ball. Indeed, on more

than one occasion, I have been much afraid of shooting Paijas, that I have taken the gun from my shoulder without discharging it.

A good dog is an immense safeguard to a person; as, should he unhappily fall into the jaws of the beast, his faithful follower might be the means of saving his life; as, on these occasions, the dog seldom hesitates to fix at once upon the bear, and, by so doing, he often succeeds in drawing the attack from his master to himself.

High-couraged dogs are not unfrequently killed by the bear during the chase; for, if the beast once gets them within his grasp, he in most cases quickly annihilates them. Several instances of the kind have come to my knowledge.

It is said, that when the bear is pursued by dogs, he at times becomes so much enraged, that he takes hold of the nearest stick or stone he can lay his paws upon, and casts it at them. According to Mr. Nilsson, indeed, when the bear is attacked by the hunter, and whilst beating a retreat, (I wish it was my luck never to find him a more formidable opponent,) he satisfies himself by throwing these missiles at his adversary. It is reported, that the beast is a bad marksman; for, instead of sending his weapon in the direction of his enemy, he not unfrequently whizzes it over his own head. As I never witnessed exploits of the kind on the part of Bruin, I am by no means inclined to vouch for the truth of such stories.

Though a young bear will occasionally take to a tree, in the event of its being attacked, it very rarely occurs that an old one will thus shelter itself from its pursuers. But this happened to Svensson on one occasion. He was chasing the beast on skidor, when, all of a sudden, he lost his tracks; but, on looking upwards, he saw the shaggy monster seated among the branches of the pine; his trusty rifle, however, soon made him bite the dust, or rather the snow: this was very deep at the time; so that when the animal fell to the ground, he was so completely enveloped with that covering, that only one of his hind-feet was visible above it.

A circumstance of the like kind once occurred to the celebrated chasseur, near to Hjerpleden, of whom I have elsewhere made mention. The bear, during the chase, took refuge in a tree; but, on the man's firing, he tumbled down; not headlong, like Svensson's, but with his hindquarters in advance, catching hold, as he fell, of the small branches of the pine; these being insufficient to support his weight, he tore them from the trunk in his descent, so that, by the time he reached the ground, he had his arms full of boughs. The beast, however, was not very desperately wounded, the ball having missed his vitals: when therefore he arrived on terra firma, he lost no time in getting on his legs and dashing at the man; but as the hunter was an admi

rable runner upon skidor, he fortunately succeeded, though with considerable difficulty, in eluding his clutches. Subsequently, the man destroyed the beast.

Though I usually carried only a simple stick in each of my hands when chasing the bear on skidor, I on one or two occasions substituted a light spear in their stead. This was constructed. of some tough wood, and was about seven feet in length; the blade was provided with a case made of ox-hide, to prevent injury to myself, or other persons. This covering, however, was affixed to the weapon in so simple a manner, that in a second or two, I could throw it on one side and be ready for action.

The Laplanders, as well as the inhabitants of the more northern Swedish provinces, are usually provided with similar spears when pursuing a bear or other animal upon their skidor; but the chasseurs of Wermeland and the adjacent parts never made use of those weapons. This was from thinking their weight an incumbrance, and that they could get on faster and better in broken ground without them; they therefore trusted to their heels alone for safety, in the event of coming into contact with these beasts.

The spears the Laplanders carry in their hands when upon skidor are usually very slight: when they purpose attacking a bear in his den with