ring with eagerness to mangle his flesh, and their monstrous
forearms, hung with sharp, bony claws, ready and anxious to hug his
body in a close and most loving embrace.--PAGE 83.]

Affairs were, however, by no manner of means settled. They had the
daring trespasser on their domain treed, and almost within their
reach; and, indeed, to keep out of the way of their uncomely claws,
Kit was obliged to gather himself up in the smallest possible space
and cling to the topmost boughs. The bears now allowed themselves
a short respite for breathing, during which they gave vent to their
wrath by many shrill screeches. Then they renewed their endeavors to
force the hunter from his resting place. Mounted on their hind paws
they would reach for him; but, the blows with the stick, applied
freely to their noses, would make them desist. In vain did they
exhaust every means to force the man to descend; he was not to be
driven or coaxed. The hard knocks they had sustained upon their
noses had now aroused them almost to madness. Together they made one
desperate effort to tear Kit from the tree. As in all their previous
attempts, they were foiled, and their ardor dampened and cooled by the
drumming operations upon their noses, which this time was so freely
and strongly applied upon one of them as to make him lachrymate and
cry out with pain. One at a time they departed; but, it was not
until they had been out of sight and hearing for some time that Kit
considered it safe to venture down from the tree; when, he hastened to
regain and immediately to reload his rifle.

Thus ended an adventure in which Kit Carson considers that he failed
to lose life and limb by the narrowest miss that ever occurred to him.
Although he has killed much more than his _quantum_ of this kind of
game, and has gained what is a practical advantage to every western
hunter, to wit: a knowledge of all their abilities with which they
enforce sway, Kit Carson regards this adventure in the light of a
warning. It is a warning too which he never allows himself to forget;
consequently, whenever he has hunted since, he watches as closely
for signs of Mr. Bruin as he does for the game he seeks; it would,
therefore, be a difficult matter for the bears again to surprise him.
Some of the most desperate battles on record between hunters and wild
animals are narrated of encounters with the bear tribe.

Several years ago, a Mexican by the name of Armador Sanchez, still
well known