ad made up his mind the same way, fer w'en I run
agin him the las' time, he were riz up on his hind legs right on the
edge o' Deep Rock Gulley, and were waitin' fer me with his jaws wide
open. I unslung my gun, an' takin' aim at one o' the b'ar's forepaws,
thought I'd wing him an' make him come away from the edge o' the gulley
'fore I tackled him. The ball hit the paw, an' the b'ar throw'd 'em both
up. But he throw'd 'em up too fur, an' he fell over back'rd, an' went
head foremost inter the gulley. Deep Rock Gulley ain't an inch less'n
fifty foot from top to bottom, an' the walls is ez steep ez the side of
a house. I went up to the edge an' looked over. Ther' were the b'ar
layin' on his face at the bottom, whar them queer cracks is in the
ground, an' he were a-howlin' like a hurricane and kickin' like a mule.
Ther' he laid, and he wa'n't able to rise up. Th' wa'n't no way o'
gettin' down to him 'cept by tumblin' down ez he had, an' if ever
anybody were poppin' mad I were, ez I see my meat a-layin' at the bottom
o' that gulley, an' the crows a-getherin' to hev a picnic with it. The
more I kept my eyes on that b'ar the madder I got, an' I were jist about
to roll and tumble an' slide down the side o' that gulley ruther than go
back home an' say th't I'd let the crows steal a b'ar away from me, w'en
I see a funny change comin' over the b'ar. He didn't howl so much, and
his kicks wa'n't so vicious. Then his hind parts began to lift themse'fs
up offen the ground in a cur'ous sort o' way, and swung an' bobbed in
the air. They kep' raisin' higher an' higher, till the b'ar were
act'ally standin' on his head, an' swayin' to and fro ez if a wind were
blowin' him an' he couldn't help it. The sight was so oncommon out o'
the reg'lar way b'ars has o' actin' that it seemed skeery, an' I felt ez
if I'd ruther be home diggin' my 'taters. But I kep' on gazin' at the
b'ar a-circusin' at the bottom o' the gulley, an 't wa'n't long 'fore
the hull big carcase begun to raise right up offen the ground an' come
a-floatin' up outen the gulley, fer all the world ez if 't wa'n't more'n
a feather. The b'ar come up'ards tail foremost, an' I noticed th't he
looked consid'able puffed out like, makin' him seem lik' a bar'l
sailin' in the air. Ez the b'ar kim a-floatin' out o' the dep's I could
feel my eyes begin to bulge, an' my knees to shake like a jumpin'
jack's. But I couldn't move no more'n a stun wall kin, an' thar I stood
on the edge o' the gulley