"THE BEAR TORE HIS BOOT OFF."
Bruin then turned his attention to the boy, who was manfully engaged in reloading the rifle. He seized and hugged the lad, and, being on a steep incline, the two rolled over and over till they came to the bottom of the mountain, where the bear left his victim for dead, and then returned to the man, who was still treed. Probably feeling some stiffness from the wound in his shoulder, he could no longer climb, but having amused the man in the tree by leisurely walking round and round it for three or four hours, he then quietly departed.
It fortunately turned out that the boy was not killed, but terribly shaken. He eventually recovered from the fearful ordeal he had undergone.
These bear stories may be taken as facts, and as substantial proofs that, although we luckily did not encounter any bears, there are plenty of them up in the hills just above us.
LETTER No. XIV.
Saying "Goodbye"—Departure in a heavy snowstorm—Gallatin Valley—Helena—Garrison—Butte City—Salt Lake City—Polygamy—Articles of faith—Trial of a murderer—Trial of polygamists.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, Oct., 1885.