from the forest was a colossal beast which closely resembled a
bear. It was fully as large as the largest elephant and with great
forepaws armed with huge claws. Its nose, or snout, depended nearly
a foot below its lower jaw, much after the manner of a rudimentary
trunk. The giant body was covered by a coat of thick, shaggy hair.

Roaring horribly it came toward us at a ponderous, shuffling trot.
I turned to Perry to suggest that it might be wise to seek other
surroundings--the idea had evidently occurred to Perry previously,
for he was already a hundred paces away, and with each second his
prodigious bounds increased the distance. I had never guessed what
latent speed possibilities the old gentleman possessed.

I saw that he was headed toward a little point of the forest which
ran out toward the sea not far from where we had been standing,
and as the mighty creature, the sight of which had galvanized him
into such remarkable action, was forging steadily toward me. I
set off after Perry, though at a somewhat more decorous pace. It
was evident that the massive beast pursuing us was not built for
speed, so all that I considered necessary was to gain the trees
sufficiently ahead of it to enable me to climb to the safety of
some great branch before it came up.

Notwithstanding our danger I could not help but laugh at Perry's
frantic capers as he essayed to gain the safety of the lower branches
of the trees he now had reached. The stems were bare for a distance
of some fifteen feet--at least on those trees which Perry attempted
to ascend, for the suggestion of safety carried by the larger of
the forest giants had evidently attracted him to them. A dozen
times he scrambled up the trunks like a huge cat only to fall back