ing from the signs. The boys had wanted to ride out in a gang
and rope him, but I said as how I was saving him for a dude hunter to
practice on, so they left him alone.

"We footed it through the brush, and finally Davy Crockett, who simply
would go ahead of me, yelled out that he had found tracks.

"I rustled over, and sure enough he had, only they wasn't made by no bear,
and I said so.

"'Then what are they?' he asked, sort of disappointed.

"'Cow tracks,' said I. 'When you see bear tracks you'll know it right
away,' and we went on a-hunting.

"We had just got down in a little hollow, where the green flies were
purty bad, when I saw tracks, and they was bear tracks this time, and
whoppers. It had rained a little during the night and the ground was
just soft enough to show them nice. I called Davy Crockett and he came
up, and when he saw them tracks he was plumb tickled, and some scairt.

"'Where is he?' he asked, looking around sort of anxious.

"'At the front end of these tracks, making more,' said I.

"'And what are we going to do now?' he asked, cocking the Sharps.

"'We're going to trail him,' said I, 'and if we finds him and has any
accidents, you wants to telegraph yourself up a tree, and be sure that
it ain't a big tree, too.'

"'"Be sure it ain't a big tree!"' he repeated, looking at me like he
thought I wanted him to get killed.

"'Exactly,' said I, and then I explained: 'The bigger the tree, the sooner
you'll be a meal, for he climbs by hugging the trunk and pushing hisself
up. A little tree'll slide through his legs, and he can't get a holt.'

"'I hope I don't forget that!' he exclaimed, looking dubious.

"'The less you forgets when bear hunting,' said I, 'the longer you'll
remember.'

"We took up the trail and purty soon we saw the bear, and he was so big he
didn't hardly know how to act. He was pawing berries into his mouth
for breakfast, and he turned his head and slowly sized us up. He dropped
on all fours and then got up again, and Davy Crockett, not listening to
me telling him where to shoot, lets drive and busted an ear. Ephraim
preferred all fours again and started coming straight at us, and Moses
and all his bullrushers couldn't have stopped him. He was due to arrive
near Davy Crockett in about four and a half seconds, and that person
dropped his gun and hot-footed it for a whopping big tree. I yelled
at him and told him to take a little one, but he was too blamed busy
hunting bear