HierLIEGT
        HOCHWOHLGEBOREN
        Herr _____ _______

          GEFRESSEN
        Aug. 20, 1877

That explains itself.  The well-born one was eaten by a beast, and presumably by a bear,—­an animal that has a bad reputation since the days of Elisha.

The bear was coming on; he had, in fact, come on.  I judged that he could see the whites of my eyes.  All my subsequent reflections were confused.  I raised the gun, covered the bear’s breast with the sight, and let drive.  Then I turned, and ran like a deer.  I did not hear the bear pursuing.  I looked back.  The bear had stopped.  He was lying down.  I then remembered that the best thing to do after having fired your gun is to reload it.  I slipped in a charge, keeping my eyes on the bear.  He never stirred.  I walked back suspiciously.  There was a quiver in the hindlegs, but no other motion.  Still, he might be shamming:  bears often sham.  To make sure, I approached, and put a ball into his head.  He didn’t mind it now:  he minded nothing.  Death had come to him with a merciful suddenness.  He was calm in death.  In order that he might remain so, I blew his brains out, and then started for home.  I had killed a bear!

Notwithstanding my excitement, I managed to saunter into the house with an unconcerned air.  There was a chorus of voices: 

“Where are your blackberries?”
“Why were you gone so long?”
“Where’s your pail?”

“I left the pail.”

“Left the pail?  What for?”

“A bear wanted it.”

“Oh, nonsense!”

“Well, the last I saw of it, a bear had it.”

“Oh, come!  You didn’t really see a bear?”

“Yes, but I did really see a real bear.”

“Did he run?”

“Yes:  he ran after me.”

“I don’t believe a word of it.  What did you do?”

“Oh! nothing particular—­except kill the bear.”

Cries of “Gammon!” “Don’t believe it!” “Where’s the bear?”

“If you want to see the bear, you must go up into the woods.  I couldn’t bring him down alone.”

Having satisfied the household that something extraordinary had occurred, and excited the posthumous fear of some of them for my own safety, I went down into the valley to get help.  The great bear-hunter, who keeps one of the summer boarding-houses, received my story with a smile of incredulity; and the incredulity spread to the other inhabitants and to the boarders as soon as the story was known.  However, as I insisted in all soberness, and offered to lead them to the bear, a party of forty or fifty people at last started off with me to bring the bear in.  Nobody believed there was any bear in the case; but everybody who could get a gun carried one; and we went into the woods armed with guns, pistols, pitchforks, and sticks, against all contingencies or surprises,—­a crowd made up mostly of scoffers and jeerers.