expenditure of his powder and lead. It was evident that this mode of
proceeding could be of no service; and the firing was at once
discontinued--in order that they might take into consideration some
other plan of attack.

At first there appeared to be no way by which the bear might be ousted
from his secure quarters. They might fire away until they should empty
both their powder-horns and pouches, and all to no purpose. They might
just as well fire their shots into the air. So far as their bullets
were concerned, the bear might bid them defiance--a cannon shot alone
could have gone through his strong rampart of sticks.

What could they do to get at him? To climb up and assail him where he
lay was not to be thought of--even could they have climbed into the
nest. On the firm ground, none of them would have liked to risk an
encounter with the enemy, much less upon such insecure footing as a nest
of rotten sticks. But they could not have got into the nest, however
bent upon such a thing. Its wide rim extended far beyond the supporting
branches; and only a monkey, or the bear himself, could have clambered
over its edge. To a human being, ascent to the nest would have been not
only difficult, but impossible; and no doubt the instinct of the eagles
guided them to this while they were constructing it. Not for a moment,
then, did our hunters think of climbing up to their eyrie.

What, then, were they to do? The only thing they could think of was to
cut down the tree. It would be a great undertaking: for the trunk was
several feet in diameter; and as they had only one axe, and that not a
very sharp one, it would be a work of time. They might be days in
felling that gigantic pine; and even when down, the bear might still
escape from them--for it did not follow that the fall of the tree would
result in the consummation of his capture. It might swing over
gradually and easily, or, striking against others, let the bear down
without doing him the slightest damage; and in the confusion consequent
on its fall, he would have a good chance of getting off.

These considerations caused them to hesitate about cutting down the
tree, and reflect whether there might not be some easier and more
effective method for securing the skin of the bear.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

FIRING THE EYRIE.

After beating their brains, for some time to no purpose, an exclamation
from the izzard-hunter at length announced that some happy id