He came into a ravine, and discovered three white bears’ lairs fresh, saw several carcasses of buffaloes lying round, more or less eaten and decayed, and smelt quite a stench from them.  One particularly was fresh killed, and partly eaten by the bears.  He passed on across a brook, and after looking farther returned to the lairs.  On returning to the brook he found several sticks in the way of his passage for the carts on the following day, which he commenced removing, having set his gun against a tree.  One stick being larger than the rest, some exertion was necessary to displace it, and while in the act of doing this he heard a noise of some animal, and saw at a distance what he took to be a buffalo, as these animals were plenty, and running in all directions.  He then took up his gun and went on, when the sounds were repeated close behind him, and looking over his shoulder he saw three white bears in full pursuit of him.

He turned, cocked his gun, and took deliberate aim at the head of the foremost, which proved to be the dam, and his gun missed fire.  He re-cocked his piece and again snapped.  At this moment the bear was so near that the muzzle nearly touched it.  He knows not exactly how the bear struck him, but at the next moment his gun flew in one direction and he was cast about ten feet in another.  He lit on his feet.  The bear then raised on her paws and took his head in her mouth, closing her jaws, not with force, but just sufficient to make the tusks enter the top of his shoulders.  He at this moment, with the impulse of fear, put up his hands and seized the bear by her head, and, making a violent exertion, threw her from her balance to one side; in the act of falling she let go his head.

At this time one of the cubs struck his right leg, being covered with metasses of their leather, and drew him down upon the ground, and he fell upon his right side, partly on his right arm.  The right arm, which was extended in falling, was now drawn under his body by another blow from one of the cubs, and his hand was by this motion brought into contact with the handle of his knife (a large couteau used for cutting up buffalo-meat), and this bringing the knife to his recollection, he drew it, and struck a back-handed blow into the right side of the dam, whom he still held by the hair with his left.  The knife went in to the hilt.  On withdrawing it, one of the cubs struck his right hand, her nails piercing right through it in several places.  He then let go of the dam and took the knife in his left hand, and made a pass at the cub, and struck it about half its length, the knife going into it, it being very bloody.  The stroke was impeded, and the knife partly slipped.  The left arm was then struck by one of the cubs, and the knife dropped from his grasp.  He was now left with his naked hand to make such resistance as he could.  The dam now struck him upon the abdomen with a force that deprived him for awhile of breath, and tore it open, so that