Attacking the Grizzly Bear

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Indians on horseback trying to kill a bear (Plate 19)."The preliminaries of the hunt for the Grizzly Bear having been settled in the manner described in the preceding plate, and the traces of the animal having been followed up by the party until they are in sight of the game, they are at once in action, as in the present illustration, without the trouble and fatigue of a long and desperate race, from the necessity of which they are exempted by the habits of the animals, themselves always on their hunts, and so indiscriminate as to the kind of game that may fall in their way, that they are ready to pounce upon Man as well as Beast, and are sure to meet him half way. The Grizzly Bear is often killed weighing nearly a thousand pounds; and from the great difficulty of penetrating its vital parts with the arrow, the lance is generally used, as in the present instance; and instead of running by its side, as in the case of the parts buffalo, the hunter is met, and that in an awkward position for giving the fatal blow with the lance, unless by stratagem, which is generally resorted to; exciting the animal to make its rush upon one horse, when the nearest horseman dashes by it, and driving his lance into its side, invites the animal's fury upon himself; and as it turns its exposed side, receives another and another blow, until by a succession of these stratagems and deadly thrusts, with all its huge strength and tenacity of life, it falls, though a dear-bought victim to its pursuers, as in the present illustration."