Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/97

 leaves short and bright-green, inserted, five together, in a very short sheath; of my three cones one measures fourteen inches and a half, and the two others are respectively half an inch and an inch shorter, all full of fine seed. A little before this time of year the Indians gather the cones and roast them on the embers, then quarter them and shake out the seeds, which are afterwards thoroughly dried and pounded into a sort of flour, or else eaten whole.

Friday, the 27th.—My last guide went out at midnight in search of trout, and brought me home a small one, which served for breakfast. Two hours before daylight he rushed in with great marks of terror, uttering a shriek which made me spring to my feet, as I concluded that my enemies of yesterday had tracked out my retreat. He, however, gave me to understand, by gesture, that he had been attacked by a Grisly Bear. I signed to him wait till daylight, when I would go out and look for and perhaps kill the creature. A little before sunrise Bruin had the boldness to pay us a visit, accompanied by two cubs, one of last year's brood and one of this; but as I could not, consistently with safety, receive these guests before daylight, I had all my articles deposited in the saddle-bags, and driven upon one horse to a mile distant from the camp, when I returned, mounted on the animal Mr. McLoughlin had given me, and which stands fire remarkably well, and found the bear and her two young ones feeding on acorns under the shade of a large oak. I allowed the horse to walk to within twenty yards, when all three stood up and growled at me. I levelled my gun at the heart of the old one, but as she was protecting her young by keeping them right under her, the shot entered the palate of one of these, coming out at the back of the head, when it instantly fell. A second shot hit the mother on the chest, as she stood up with the remaining cub under her belly, on which abandoning it, she fled to an adjoin-