So now for a brown bear. He, too, is found in the regions of ice and
snow, and in the North of Europe he is hunted by the peasants in a way
which we will not imitate. When they find a den or cave in the rocks
in which they think a bear is concealed, these sturdy hunters make all
sorts of noises to worry him out, and when at last the bear comes
forth to see what is the matter, he finds a man standing in front of
his den, armed with a short lance with a long sharp head, and a bar of
iron placed crosswise on the handle just below the head. Now, a
full-grown brown bear is not afraid of a man who is armed with a
little weapon like this, and so he approaches the hunter, and rearing
on his hind legs, reaches forth his arms to give the man a good hug,
if he comes any nearer.
[Illustration: HUNTING THE BROWN BEAR.]
The man does come nearer, and, to the bear's great surprise, he
thrusts forth his lance, which is longer than it looked, and drives
the head of it into the animal's breast. The iron bar prevents the
lance from entering too far into the body of the bear--a very
necessary precaution, for if it was not there, the bear would push
himself up along the handle of the lance and have his great paws on
the man in a minute or two.
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