ew less violent, and Sam
began to try and haul himself up by her leg. It was a dangerous
proceeding; there being an inclined plane at the edge, his weight
appeared to move the body of the bear on. She could not rise, but she
turned round and dug her sharp claws into the snow to save herself.
Now, instead of wishing her to die, we were anxious that she might
survive till the rest of the party could get up to her. Her growls
became more and more feeble. She could scarcely hold on another minute.
Poor Sam! We trembled for his fate. We shouted to the rest of the
party to hasten on. They had had a difficult place to cross in single
file at the head of the gully. Now they came on, hurrying over the
snow. The bear gave two or three convulsive struggles. I wished that I
could have leaped across the chasm to poor Sam's help. I thought that
the bear was slipping down again. If she had got any way on her, as
sailors say, it was evident that the united strength of the party could
not stop her. They sprang on, and just as I felt sure the bear would
have slipped over the precipice, they seized her by the fore-paws. She
was not dead, however, for in return for the act of kindness she made
some desperate attempts to bite them.

"Haul away, haul away," sang out Sam, and they did haul with all their
might. Though they could not move the bear, they prevented her from
slipping down. She gave several severe kicks with her hind foot. Sam
clung on to it, and by the most violent efforts managed to drag himself
up by her shaggy coat till two of the party caught hold of his collar
and hauled away till they got him up from the edge and placed him in
rather a safer position, but still not one free from danger. For the
first time for some minutes I breathed freely, and as we could do no
more where we were, Obed and I hurried round to help the rest. When we
arrived the bear had received her quietus, but it was astonishing how
many shot and what terrific blows she had received before she was
killed. We were congratulating ourselves on the additional supply of
hams and steaks she would afford us when a crack appeared in the snow
just below our feet, and to our horror we found that the whole mass,
carrying us and the carcase of the bear with it, was slipping off over
the precipice.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

WE FEEL AS IF WE WERE GOING OVER THE FALLS OF NIAGARA--SMOTHERED BY
SNOW--WE APPEAR BY DEGREES--OBED MISSING--WE GIVE HIM A WARM