gar or bear will destroy them one by
one. With a quarry so huge and redoubtable as the grisly, no number
of dogs, however large and fierce, could overcome him unless they all
rushed on him in a mass, the first in the charge seizing by the head or
throat. If the dogs hung back, or if there were only a few of them, or
if they did not seize around the head, they would be destroyed without
an effort. It is murder to slip merely one or two close-quarter dogs at
a grisly. Twice I have known a man take a large bulldog with his pack
when after one of these big bears, and in each case the result was the
same. In one instance the bear was trotting when the bulldog seized it
by the cheek, and without so much as altering its gait, it brushed off
the hanging dog with a blow from the fore-paw that broke the latter's
back. In the other instance the bear had come to bay, and when seized by
the ear it got the dog's body up to its jaws, and tore out the life with
one crunch.

A small number of dogs must rely on their activity, and must hamper
the bear's escape by inflicting a severe bite and avoiding the
counter-stroke. The only dog I ever heard of which, single-handed, was
really of service in stopping a grisly, was a big Mexican sheep-dog,
once owned by the hunter Tazewell Woody. It was an agile beast with
powerful jaws, and possessed both intelligence and a fierce, resolute
temper. Woody killed three grislies with its aid. It attacked with equal
caution and ferocity, rushing at the bear as the latter ran, and seizing
the outstretched hock with a grip of iron, stopping the bear short, but
letting go before the angry beast could whirl round and seize it. It was
so active and wary that it always escaped damage; and it was so strong
and bit so severely that the bear could not possibly run from it at
any speed. In consequence, if it once came to close quarters with its
quarry, Woody could always get near enough for a shot.

Hitherto, however, the mountain hunters--as distinguished from the
trappers--who have followed the grisly have relied almost solely on
their rifles. In my own case about half the bears I have killed I
stumbled across almost by accident; and probably this proportion holds
good generally. The hunter may be after bear at the time, or he may be
after blacktail deer or elk, the common game in most of the haunts
of the grisly; or he may merely be travelling through the country or
prospecting for gold. Suddenly he comes over