ear was in an
angry and revengeful mood, advised him to hide himself again quickly.
Too late! The furious bear had seen his enemy, and rushed in a rolling
gallop towards his hiding-place. The hunter found it best to run, and in
a minute was with the Indian perched on the bough of an oak. Here they
loaded their guns again, while the bear, limping on three legs, made for
the tree. Hit by two bullets he fell down, tore up the earth and grass
with his claws, and at last became still."

"It is a shame," said Gunnar, "to kill these kings of the Rocky
Mountains for amusement or to gain a name as a hunter. Probably they are
fated to pass away like the bisons and Indians."

"Oh no, not yet. They will long survive in inaccessible regions of the
mountains and in the uninhabited parts of Canada. But certainly it is a
shame to destroy them unnecessarily, particularly when we hear of such a
deed of chivalry as the following.

"A traveller took a young grizzly bear with him to Europe, and on board
he was a general favourite. He drank and ate and played with the
sailors, and, curiously enough, conceived a great friendship for a small
antelope which travelled with him. When the vessel came into port and
the antelope was being led along a street, a large bulldog fell on the
defenceless animal. The bear, which was led behind the antelope by a
chain, perceived his friend's danger, tore himself away from his keeper
with a single jerk, threw himself on the bulldog, and mauled him so
badly that he ran away howling with pain."

* * * * *

"You may well declare," says Gunnar, "that everything in America is on a
large scale, but all the same lions and tigers are not found here."

"No, but there are jaguars and pumas instead. Both are more common in
South than in North America, where the jaguar only comes as far north as
the south-western States and Mexico. They are found in the outskirts of
forests and in the tall grass of the pampas, where wild horsemen track
them down, catch them in lassoes, and drag them after their horses till
they are strangled. The jaguar also frequents thickets on the
river-banks and marshes. He keeps to the ground, whereas the bold and
agile puma even pursues monkeys in the trees. With shrill screams and
cries of warning the monkeys fly from tree to tree, but the puma is
after them, crawls out along a swaying branch and jumps over to another
on the next tree. Both are bloodthirsty rob