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Bruin: The Grand Bear Hunt

Chapter Thirty Eight.
The Northern Forests

On their arrival, the hospitable planter sent to his neighbours, and arranged a grand hunt, to come off at an early day specified in the invitation. Each was to bring with him such hounds as he was possessed of – and in this way a large pack might be got together, so that a wide extent of forest could be driven.

Among the planters of the Southern states this is a very common practice: only a few of them keeping what might be called a regular kennel of hounds, but many of them having five or six couples. In a neighbourhood favourable to the chase, by uniting a number of these little bands together, a pack may be got up large enough for any purpose.

The usual game hunted in the Southern states is the American fallow-deer (cervus virginianus), which is still found in considerable plenty in the more solitary tracts of forest all over the United States. It is the only species of deer indigenous to Louisiana: since, the noble stag or “elk,” as he is erroneously called (cervus canadensis), does not range so far to the south. On the Pacific coast this animal is found in much lower latitudes than on that of the Atlantic.

Besides the fallow-deer, the fox gives sport to the Louisiana hunter. This is the grey fox (vulpes virginianus). The bay lynx also – or wild cat, as it is called (lynx rufus) – and now and then, but more rarely, the cougar (felis concolor), give the hounds a run before taking to the tree.

Racoons, opossums, and skunks are common enough in the forests of Louisiana; but these are regarded as “vermin,” and are not permitted to lead the dogs astray.

With regard to the other animals mentioned, they all rank as noble game – especially the cougar, called “panther” by the backwoodsman – and the pack may follow whichever is first “scared up.”

The grand game, however, is the bear; and the capture of Bruin is not a feat of everyday occurrence. To find his haunts it is necessary to make an excursion into the more unfrequented and inaccessible solitudes of the forest – in places often many miles from a settlement. Not unfrequently, however, the old gentleman wanders abroad from his unknown retreat, and seeks the plantations – where in the night-time he skulks round the edges of the fields, and commits serious depredations on the young maize plants, or the succulent stalks of the sugar-cane, of which he is immoderately fond. Like his brown congener of Europe he has a sweet tooth, and is greatly given to honey. To get at it he climbs the bee-trees, and robs the hive of its stores. In all these respects he is like the brown bear; but otherwise he differs greatly from the latter species, so much indeed, that it is matter of surprise how any naturalist should have been led to regard them as the same.

Not only in colour, but in shape and other respects, are they totally unlike. While the fur of the brown bear is tossed and tufty – having that appearance usually termed shaggy– that of the American black bear is of uniform length, and all lying, or rather standing, in one direction, presenting a smooth surface corresponding to the contour of his body. In this respect he is far more akin to the bears of the Asiatic islands, than to the ursus arctos. In shape, too, he differs essentially from the latter. His body is more slender, his muzzle longer and sharper, and his profile is a curve with its convexity upward. This last characteristic, which is constant, proclaims him indubitably a distinct species from the brown bear of Europe; and he is altogether a smaller and more mild-tempered animal.

As the grand “chasse” had been arranged to come off on the third day after their arrival, our young hunters determined to employ the interval in ranging the neighbouring woods; not with any expectation of finding a bear – as their host did not believe there was any so near – but rather for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the character of the North American sylva.

That of South America Alexis had carefully observed and studied in their long journey across that continent. He had noted the grand tropical trees – the palms and pothos plants – the mimosas and musaceae– the magnificent forms of the lombax and bertholletia– the curious cecropias and fig-trees – the giant cedrelas and the gum-yielding siphonias. On the Andes he had observed the agaves, the cycads, and cactaceae – all strange to the eye of a Russian. He was now desirous of making himself familiar with the forests of North America; which, though of a sub-tropical character in Louisiana, contained forms altogether different from those of the Amazonian regions. Here he would meet with the famed magnolia, and its relative the tulip-tree; the catalpa and flowering cornel, the giant cypress and sycamore, the evergreen oak, the water-loving tupelo, and the curious fan-like palmetto. Of these, and many other beautiful trees belonging to the North American sylva, Alexis had read – in fact, knew them botanically; but he wished to cultivate a still pleasanter acquaintance with them, by visiting them in their own native home.

For this purpose he and Ivan set out alone, with only a negro for their guide; the planter being engaged, visiting his different friends, and warning them for the grand hunt.

Pouchskin remained behind. He had been left at the house – to do some necessary repairs to the travelling traps both of himself and his young masters, which, after their long South American expedition, needed looking to. At this work had Pouchskin been left, surrounded by a circle of grinning darkies, in whose company the old grenadier would find material to interest and amuse him.

It was only for a stroll that our young hunters had sallied forth, and without any design of entering upon the chase; but they had become so accustomed to carrying their guns everywhere, that these were taken along with them. Some curious bird or quadruped might be started – whose fur or feathers they might fancy to make an examination of. For that reason, both shouldered their guns.

Chapter Thirty Nine.
The Lone Lagoon

They were soon beyond the bounds of the plantation, and walking under the dark majestic woods – the darkey guiding them on their way. They had heard of a curious lake or lagoon, that lay about a mile from the plantation. There they would be likely to witness a spectacle characteristic of the swamps of Louisiana; and thither they directed their steps.

Sure enough, on arriving at the borders of the lagoon, a singular scene was presented to their eyes. The whole surface of the lake appeared alive with various forms of birds and reptiles. Hundreds of alligators were seen, lying like dead trees upon the water, their corrugated backs appearing above the surface. Most of them, however, were in motion, swimming to and fro, or darting rapidly from point to point, as if in pursuit of prey. Now and then their huge tails could be seen curling high up in air, and then striking down upon the water, causing a concussion that echoed far through the forest. At intervals a shining object, flung upward by their tails, could be seen for a moment in the air, amidst the showery spray that was raised along with it. It was easy to see that the glittering forms thus projected were fishes, and that it was the pursuit of these that was causing the commotion among the huge reptiles. Aquatic birds, of a great number of kinds, were equally busy in the pursuit of the fish. Huge pelicans stood up to their tibia in the water – now and then immersing their long mandibles and tossing their finny victims high into the air. Cranes and herons too were there – among others the tall Louisiana crane – conspicuous among the smaller species – snow-white egrets, the wood ibis, and others of white and roseate hue – the snake-darter, with long pointed beak and crouching serpent-like neck – the qua-bird, of lugubrious note and melancholy aspect – and, fairest of all, the scarlet flamingo.

Other birds besides those of aquatic habits took part in the odd spectacle. Hovering in the air were black vultures – the carrion crow and the turkey-buzzard – and upon the tops of tall dead trees could be seen the king of the feathered multitude, the great white-headed eagle. His congener, the osprey, soared craftily above – at intervals swooping down, and striking his talons into the fish, which the alligators had tossed into the air – thus robbing the reptiles of their prey, to be robbed in turn by his watchful cousin-german upon the tree. The spectacle was far from being a silent one: on the contrary, the confused chorus of sounds was deafening to the ears of the spectators. The hoarse bellowing of the alligators – the concussions made by their great tails striking the water – the croaking of the pelicans, and the clattering of their huge mandibles – the doleful screaming of the herons, cranes, and qua-birds – the shrieks of the osprey – and the shrill maniac laughter of the white-headed eagle, piercing through all other sounds – formed a medley of voices as unearthly as inharmonious.

A shot from the gun of Ivan, that brought down a splendid specimen of the white-headed eagle – together with the appearance of the hunters by the edge of the water – put a sudden termination to this grand drama of the wilderness. The birds flew up into the air, and went soaring off in different directions over the tops of the tall trees; while the huge reptiles, that had been taught by the alligator hunters to fear the presence of man, desisted for a while from their predatory prey, and retreated to the reeds upon the opposite shore.

The spectacle was one well worthy of being seen, and one that cannot be witnessed every day – even in the swamps of Louisiana. Its occurrence at that time was accounted for by the drying up of the lake, which left the fish at the mercy of their numerous enemies.

Having taken up the eagle which Ivan had shot, the young hunters continued their excursion along the edge of the lagoon.

They had not gone far when they came upon a bank of mud, that had formerly been covered with water. So recently had the water dried from it, that, in spite of the hot sun shining down upon it, the mud was still soft. They had not gone many steps further, when they perceived upon its surface, what at first they supposed to be the tracks of a man. On getting a little closer, however, they doubted this; and, now recollecting the resemblance which they had noticed in the snows of Lapland – between the footsteps of a human being and those of a bear – it occurred to them that these might also be bear-tracks – though they knew that the tracks of the American bear would be slightly different from those of his European cousin.

To satisfy themselves, they hastened forward to examine the tracks; but their negro guide had anticipated them, and now called out, with the whites of his eyes considerably enlarged —

“Golly, young mass’rs! dat be de tracks ob um ba!”

“A bear!”

“Ya, ya, mass’rs! a big ba – dis child know um track – see’d um many de time – de ole coon he be arter de fish too – all ob dem a-doin’ a bit ob fishin’ dis mornin’ – yaw, yaw, yaw!”

And the darkey laughed at what he appeared to consider an excellent joke.

On closely scrutinising the tracks, Alexis and Ivan saw that they were in reality the tracks of a bear – though much smaller than those they had followed in Lapland. They were quite fresh – in fact, so recently did they appear to have been made, that both at the same time, and by an involuntary impulse, raised their eyes from the ground and glanced around them; as if they expected to see the bear himself.

No such animal was in sight, however. It was quite probable he had been on the ground, at their first coming up to the lake; but the report of Ivan’s gun had alarmed him, and he had made off into the woods. This was quite probable.

“What a pity,” reflected Ivan, “that I didn’t leave the eagle alone! We might have got sight of Master Bruin, and given him the shot instead. And now,” added he, “what’s to be done? There’s no snow, – therefore we can’t track the brute. The mud bank ends here, and he’s gone off it, the way he came? Of course he wouldn’t be out yonder among those logs? He wouldn’t have taken shelter there, would he?”

As Ivan spoke, he pointed to a little peninsula that jutted out into the lake, some twenty or thirty yards beyond the spot where they were standing. It was joined to the mainland by a narrow neck or isthmus of mud; but at the end towards the water there was a space of several yards covered with dead trees – that had been floated thither in the floods, and now lay high and dry, piled irregularly upon one another.

Alexis looked in the direction of this pile as Ivan pointed it out.

“I’m not so sure of that,” he answered, after scrutinising the logs. “It’s a likely enough place for an animal to lurk. He might be there?”

“Let us go and see, then!” said Ivan. “If he’s there he can’t escape us, without our having a shot at him; and you say that these American bears are much easier killed than ours. The South Americans were so, certainly. I hope their northern brothers may die as easy.”

“Not all,” rejoined Alexis. “We may expect some tough struggles when we come to the great grizzly, and to him of the polar regions; but the black bears are, as you conjecture, not so difficult to deal with. If wounded, however, they will show fight; and, though their teeth and claws are less dangerous than the others, they can give a man a most uncomfortable hug, I have heard. But let us go, as you say. If not yonder, he must have taken to the woods. In that case there is no way of following him up, except by dogs; and for these we must go back to the house.”

As they continued talking, they advanced towards the narrow isthmus that connected the little peninsula with the mainland.

“What a pity,” remarked Ivan, “that that great log is there! But for it we might have seen his track in the mud crossing over.”

Ivan referred to a prostrate trunk that traversed the isthmus longitudinally – extending from the mainland to the higher ground of the peninsula, to which it formed a kind of bridge or causeway. Certainly, had it not been there, either the bear’s tracks would have been seen in the mud or not; and if not, then no bear could have passed over to the peninsula, and their exploration would have been unnecessary. But, although they saw no tracks, they had started to examine the wood pile; and they continued on, climbing up to the log, and walking along its top.

All at once, Alexis was seen to pause and bend his body forward and downward.

“What is it?” inquired Ivan, who was behind, on seeing his brother in the bent attitude, as if he looked at something on the log.

“The bear’s tracks!” answered Alexis, in a low but earnest tone.

“Ha! you think so? Where?”

Alexis pointed to the dead-wood under his eyes – upon the bark of which were visible, not the tracks of a bear, but dabs of mud, that must have been recently deposited there, either by the feet of a bear, or some other animal.

“By the Great Peter!” said Ivan, speaking cautiously, notwithstanding his innocent adjuration; “that must be his tracks? It’s the same sort of mud as that in which we’ve just been tracing him – black as ink nearly. It has come off his great paws – not a doubt of it, brother?”

“I think it is likely,” assented Alexis, at the same time that both looked to the locks of their guns, and saw that the caps were on the nipples.

A little further along the log, the bark was smoother, and there the track was still more conspicuous. The print was better denned, and answered well for the footmark of a bear. There was the naked paw, and the balls of the five toes, all complete. They no longer doubted that it was the track of a bear.

It was just a question whether the animal had gone over the log and returned again. But this was set at rest, or nearly so, by a closer scrutiny. There was no sign of a return track. True, he might have washed his paws in the interval, or cleaned them on the dead-wood; but that was scarce probable, and our hunters did not think so. They felt perfectly sure that the bear was before them; and, acting upon this belief, they cocked their guns, and continued their approach towards the wood pile.

Chapter Forty.
A Darkey on Bear-Back

Both the young hunters succeeded in passing over the log, and had set foot on the peninsula; while the negro, who was following a little behind, was still upon the prostrate trunk. Just at that moment a noise was heard – very similar to that made by a pig when suddenly started from its bed of straw – a sort of half snort, half grunt; and along with the noise a huge black body was seen springing up from under the loose pile of dead trees, causing several of them to shake and rattle under its weight. Our hunters saw at a glance that it was the bear; and levelled their guns upon it with the intention of firing.

The animal had reared itself on its hind legs – as if to reconnoitre the ground – and while in this attitude both the hunters had sighted it, and were on the eve of pulling their triggers. Before they could do so, however, the bear dropped back on all-fours. So sudden was the movement, that the aim of both was quite disconcerted, and they both lowered their guns to get a fresh one. The delay, however, proved fatal to their intention. Before either had got a satisfactory sight upon the body of the bear, the latter sprang forward with a fierce growl, and rushed right between the two, so near that it was impossible for either of them to fire otherwise than at random. Ivan did fire, but to no purpose; for his bullet went quite wide of the bear, striking the log behind it, and causing the bark to splinter out in all directions. The bear made no attempt to charge towards them, but rushed straight on – evidently with no other design than to make his escape to the woods. Alexis wheeled round to fire after him; but, as he was raising his gun, his eye fell upon the negro, who was coming on over the log, and who had just got about halfway across it. The bear had by this time leaped up on the other end, and in a hurried gallop – that had been quickened by the report of Ivan’s piece – was going right in the opposite direction. The negro, who saw the huge shaggy quadruped coming straight towards him, at once set up a loud “hulla-balloo,” and, with his eyes almost starting from their sockets, was endeavouring to retreat backwards, and get out of the way.

His efforts proved fruitless: for before he had made three steps to the rear, the bear – more frightened at the two adversaries behind him than the one in front – rushed right on, and in the next instant pushed his snout, head, and neck between the darkey’s legs!

Long before this the negro had lost his senses, but now came the loss of his legs: for as the thick body of the bear passed between them, both were lifted clear up from the log, and hung dangling in the air. For several feet along the log was the negro carried upon the bear’s back, his face turned to the tail; and no doubt, had he preserved his equilibrium, he might have continued his ride for some distance further. But as the darkey had no desire for such a feat of equestrianism, he kept struggling to clear himself from his involuntary mount. His body was at length thrown heavily to one side, and its weight acting like a lever upon the bear, caused the latter to lose his balance, and tumbling off the log, both man and bear fell “slap-dash” into the mud.

For a moment there was a confused scrambling, and spattering, and splashing, through the soft mire – a growling on the part of the bear, and the wildest screeching from the throat of the affrighted negro – all of which came to an end by Bruin – whose body was now bedaubed all over with black mud – once more regaining his feet, and shuffling off up the bank, as fast as his legs could carry him.

Alexis now fired, and hit the bear behind; but the shot, so far from staying his flight, only quickened his pace; and before the darkey had got to his feet, the shaggy brute had loped off among the trees, and disappeared from the sight of everybody upon the ground.

The grotesque appearance of the negro, as he rose out of the mire in which he had been wallowing, coated all over with black mud – which was a shade lighter than his natural hue – was too ludicrous for Ivan to resist laughing at; and even the more serious Alexis was compelled to give way to mirth. So overcome were both, that it was some minutes before they thought of reloading their guns, and giving chase to the bear.

After a time, however, they charged again; and crossing back over the log, proceeded in the direction in which Bruin had made his retreat.

They had no idea of being able to follow him without dogs; and it was their intention to send for one or two to the house, when they perceived that the bear’s trace could be made out – at least, for some distance – without them. The inky water, that had copiously saturated his long fur, had been constantly dripping as he trotted onward in his flight; and this could easily be seen upon the herbage over which he had passed.

They determined, therefore, to follow this trail as far as they could; and when it should give out, it would be time enough to send for the dogs.

They had not proceeded more than a hundred yards; when all at once the trail trended up to the bottom of a big tree. They might have examined the ground further, but there was no need; for, on looking up to the trunk, they perceived large blotches of mud, and several scratches upon the bark, evidently made by the claws of a bear. These scratches were, most of them, of old date; but there were one or two of them quite freshly done; besides, the wet mud was of itself sufficient proof that the bear had gone up the tree, and must still be somewhere in its top. The tree was a sycamore, and therefore only sparsely covered with leaves; but from its branches hung long festoons of Spanish moss (tillandsia usneoides), that grew in large bunches in the forks – in several of which it was possible even for a bear to have stowed himself away in concealment.

After going round the tree, however, and viewing it from all sides, our hunters perceived that the bear was not anywhere among the moss; but must have taken refuge in a hollow in the trunk – the mouth of which could be seen only from one particular place; since it was hidden on all other sides by two great limbs that led out from it, and between which the cavity had been formed by the decaying of the heart-wood.

There could be no doubt that Bruin had entered this tree-cave; for all around the aperture the bark was scraped and worn; and the wet mud, lately deposited there, was visible from below.