it with his claws, and moving one foot at a time, very leisurely. At
this juncture, and just before he could set his hind feet upon the
ground, Friday stepped close to him, clapped the muzzle of his piece
into his ear, and shot him as dead as a stone.

Then the rogue turned about to see if we did not laugh; and when he saw
we were pleased by our looks, he falls a-laughing himself very loud; "So
we kill bear in my country," says Friday. "So you kill them?" said I;
"why, you have no guns."--"No," says he, "no guns, but shoot great much
long arrow."

This was, indeed, a good diversion to us; but we were still in a wild
place, and our guide very much hurt, and what to do we hardly knew: the
howling of wolves ran much in my head; and indeed except the noise I
once heard on the shore of Africa, of which I have said something
already, I never heard any thing that filled me with so much horror.

These things, and the approach of night, called us off, or else, as
Friday would have had us, we should certainly have taken the skin of
this monstrous creature off, which was worth saving; but we had three
leagues to go, and our guide hastened us; so we left him, and went
forward on our journey.

The ground was still covered with snow, though not so deep and dangerous
as on the mountains; and the ravenous creatures, as we heard afterwards,
were come down into the forest and plain country, pressed by hunger, to
seek for food, and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages,
where they surprised the country-people, killed a great many of their
sheep and horses, and some people too.