"is this your making us laugh? Come away, and
take your horse, that we may shoot the creature." He hears me, and cries
out, "No shoot, no shoot, stand still, you get much laugh;" and as the
nimble creature ran two feet for the beast's one, he turned on a sudden,
on one side of us, and seeing a great oak tree, fit for his purpose, he
beckoned us to follow, and doubling his pace, he gets nimbly up the
tree, laying his gun down upon the ground, at about five or six yards
from the bottom of the tree.

The bear soon came to the tree, and we followed at a distance. The first
thing he did, he stopped at the gun, smelt to it, but let it lie, and up
he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat, though so monstrous
heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it, of my man, and could
not for my life see any thing to laugh at yet, till seeing the bear get
up the tree, we all rode nearer to him.

When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small of a
large limb of the tree, and the bear got about half way to him. As soon
as the bear got out to that part where the limb of the tree was weaker,
"Ha," says he to us, "now you see me teachee the bear dance;" so he
falls a-jumping, and shaking the bough, at which the bear began to
totter, but stood still, and began to look behind him, to see how he
should get back; then indeed we did laugh heartily. But Friday had not
done with him by a great deal: when he sees him stand still, he calls
out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear could speak English,
"What, you come no farther? Pray you come farther." So he left jumping
and shaking the bough; and the bear, just as if he understood what he
said, did come a little farther; then he fell a-jumping again, and the
bear stopped again.

We thought now was a good time to knock him on the head, and called to
Friday to stand still, and we would shoot the bear; but he cried out
earnestly, "O pray! O pray! no shoot, me shoot by and then;" he would
have said by and by. However, to shorten the story, Friday danced so
much, and the bear stood so ticklish, that we had laughing enough
indeed, but still could not imagine what the fellow would do; for first
we thought he depended upon shaking the bear off; and we found the bear
was too cunning for that too; for he would not get out far enough to be
thrown down, but clings fast with his great broad claws and feet, so
that we could not imagine what would be the end of it, and where t