The same
afternoon a bear-hunt was undertaken, which well-nigh cost one of the
Iroquois his life. It happened thus:--
While Cameron and Joe were away after the white wolves, Henri came
floundering into camp tossing his arms like a maniac, and shouting
that "seven bars wos be down in de bush close by!" It chanced that
this was an idle day with most of the men, so they all leaped on their
horses, and taking guns and knives sallied forth to give battle to the
bears.
Arrived at the scene of action, they found the seven bears busily
engaged in digging up roots, so the men separated in order to surround
them, and then closed in. The place was partly open and partly covered
with thick bushes into which a horseman could not penetrate.
The moment the bears got wind of what was going forward they made off
as fast as possible, and then commenced a scene of firing, galloping,
and yelling that defies description! Four out of the seven were shot
before they gained the bushes; the other three were wounded, but made
good their retreat.
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