th the paws is not likely to have much effect
either way, and the fight will have to be settled by closing, by the use
of teeth and main strength. But, as I had learned in my fight that day
when I had been stung by the bees, the moral effect of the first may be
great, and it was in that that my slight advantage in height and reach
was likely to be useful, whereas if we came to close quarters slowly the
thicker and stockier animal would have the advantage. So I determined to
force the fighting with all the fury that I could; and I did.

It was he who gave the first blow. As we sidled up close to one another,
he let out at me wickedly with his left paw, a blow which, if it had
caught me, would undoubtedly have torn off one of my ears. Most bears
would have replied to that with a similar swinging blow when they got an
opening, and the interchange of single blows at arms' length would have
gone on indefinitely until one or the other lost his temper and closed.
I did not wait for that. The instant the first blow whistled past my
head I threw myself on my hindquarters and launched myself bodily at
him, hitting as hard as I could and as fast, first with one paw and then
with the other, without giving him time to recover his wits or get in a
blow himself. I felt him giving way as the other bear had done, and
when we closed he was on his back on the ground, and I was on the top of
him.

The fight, however, had only begun. I had gained a certain moral effect
by the ferocity of my attack, but a bear, when he is fighting in
earnest, is not beaten by a single rush, nor, indeed, until he is
absolutely unable to fight longer. Altogether we must have fought for
over an hour. Two or three times we were compelled to stop and draw
apart, because neither of us had strength left to use either claws or
jaw. And each time when we closed again I followed the same tactics,
rushing in and beating him down and doing my best to cow him before we
gripped; and each time, I think, it had some effect--at least to the
extent that it gave me a feeling of confidence, as if I was fighting a
winning fight.

The deadliest grip that one bear can get on another is with his jaws
across the other's muzzle, when he can crush the whole face in. Once he
very nearly got me so, and this scar on the side of my nose is the mark
of his tooth; but he just failed to close his jaws in time. And, as it
proved then, it is a dangerous game to play, for it leaves you expose