My wife said that the death of the boa took a great weight off her mind, for she thought it would lie in wait for us near the Cave, starve us out, and then kill us as it had done the poor ass.
We slit up the snake, and took out the flesh of the ass, which the boys laid in a grave near Tent House. The boa's skin we hung up at the door of the Cave, over which Ernest wrote the words, "No ass to be found here," which we all thought to be a good joke.
One day late in the spring I went with my three sons a long way from the Cave. My wife and Frank were left at our Half Way House, to wait till we came back, but the dogs went with us. Our route lay far up the course of a small stream, which had its source some miles north of the Farm House. The ground was new to us, but we could not well lose our way, for on the right stood a hill from which we could see the whole of the plain.
Ernest had gone with one of the dogs to a cave that he had spied at the foot of the hill, but we saw him turn round and run back with Turk at his heels. As soon as he thought his voice would reach us, he cried out, "A bear! A bear! come to my help!"
We could now see that there were two great beasts at the mouth of the cave. At a word from us both the dogs, flew to fight the bear that stood in front.
Fritz took up his post at my side, while Jack and Ernest kept in the rear. Our first shot was "a miss," as Jack said; but we took a sure aim the next time, and both shots told. We would have let fly at them once more from this spot, but as we thought we might hit our brave dogs, who were now in the heat of a hard fight with their foes, we ran up close to them.
"Now, Fritz," said I, "take a straight aim at the head of the first, while I fire on the one at his back."
We both shot at once; the bears gave a loud growl, and then, with a moan, fell dead at our feet.
As it was now time to go back, we put the bears in the cave, but took care to cut off their paws, which form a dish fit to grace the feast of a king.
We had a long walk back to the place where I had left my wife. The boys told her what a hard fight the dogs had with the bears, and how Fritz and I had shot them, and then gave her the paws. With the aid of Frank she had fed our live stock and brought in wood to make up our watch fire for the night, so we sat down to sup at once, and then went to rest.