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 the edge of a cut bank,
or round the sharp spur of a mountain or the shoulder of a cliff
which walls in a ravine, or else the indistinct game trail he has been
following through the great trees twists sharply to one side to avoid
a rock or a mass of down timber, and behold he surprises old Ephraim