848 UP IN A TREF.

hears me, and cries out, “No shoot! no shoot! Stand still; von
get much laugh.” And as the nimble creature ran two feet for
the beast’s one, he turned on a sudden on one side of us, and seeing
a great oak-tree fit for his purpose, he beckoned to us to follow ;
and doubling his pace, he gets nimbly up the tree, laying his gun
down upon the ground at about five or six yards from the bottom
of the tree.

The bear soon came to the tree, and we followed at a distance.
The first thing he did he stopped at the gun, smelt it, but let it
lie; and up he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat, though
so monstrously heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it,
of my man, and could not for my life see anything to laugh at yet,
till seeing the bear get up the tree, we all rode nearer to him.

When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small
end of a large limb of the tree, and the bear got about half-way
to him. As soon as the bear got out to that part where the
limb of the tree was weaker, “ Ha,” says he to us, “now you see
me teachee the bear dance.” So he falls a jumping and shaking
the bough, at which the bear began to totter, but stood still, and
began to look behind him to see how he should get back; then,
indeed, we did laugh heartily. But Friday had not done with
him by a great deal. When he sees him stand still, he calls out to
him again, as if he had supposed the bear could speak English,
“What! you no come further? Pray you come further.” So he
left jumping and shaking the tree; and the bear, just as if he had
understood what he said, did come a little further; then he fell a
jumping again, and the bear stopped again.

We thought now was a good time to knock him on the head,
and I called to Friday to stand still and we would shoot the bear.
But he cried out earnestly, ““O pray! O pray! no shoot; me
shoot by and then.” He would have said by-and-by. However,
to shorten the story, Friday danced so much, and the bear stood
so ticklish, that we had laughing enough indeed, but still could
not imagine what the fellow would do: for first we thought he
depended upon shaking the bear off; and we found the bear was
too cunning for that too, for he would not go out far enough to
be thrown down, but clings fast with his great broad claws and