"Some of my friends were unkind enough to say that perhaps I was mistaken in the whole matter, and that the horse took fright at a thorn catching under the saddle-girth as we went through the jungle; so the next morning I invited one of them to go with me to the creek, and to the spot where I threw away my hat. The fragments of the hat were there, where the tiger had torn it in his rage, and the tracks of the beast were visible in the soft earth. From the extent of his foot-prints he was evidently of the largest size, and would have made short work of a man when once he had settled his teeth into his throat. It was the narrowest escape I ever had in my life. I have been treed by a bear, but the sensation was nothing compared to that of being chased by a tiger."
"Please tell us," said Fred, "how you happened to be treed by a bear."
"Certainly," said the gentleman; "but the story has nothing to do with Sumatra or any other island of the Malay Archipelago. It was in America that the incident happened.
"I was out hunting one afternoon, and had only a small fowling-piece loaded with bird-shot. Suddenly I came across a black bear, and very foolishly fired at him. The shot enraged him, and he ran for me.
TREED BY A BEAR.
"I ran a few yards, and knew that every moment he was gaining on me. I dropped my gun, and sprung for the nearest tree; I was young and active, and went up several feet at the first bound. It was a smooth sapling, with the lower part quite free from limbs, and I soon found that it was no easy matter to climb after the first spurt was over. The bear followed me, and had the advantage of claws; and he came on faster than was agreeable. I knew that a friend of mine was not far off, and I shouted with all the power of my lungs. He heard me, and came to my relief; and, just as the bear had taken me by the coat-tail, I heard a shot, and the beast tumbled to the ground. I don't like bear-hunting in that shape."
Fred inquired if there were any snakes in Sumatra.
"Yes, snakes in abundance," was the response; "and they sometimes grow to an enormous size. In some respects, Sumatra is the paradise of snakes, as they have a hot climate, and can always find plenty to eat."