log, and before he could draw a weapon from his belt the tremendous beast was upon him. "Now, gallant Saxon, hold thine own, No maiden's arms are round thee thrown, wary curs adroitly shunning the face of their ponderous enemy, and worrying her behind whenever the occasion offered. Henry quickly regained his feet, and unmindful of his hurts and the blood that trickled from his face and legs, ran to recover his gun. He With her fore-paws she hugged him round the found the piece entirely useless, the muzzle shoulders, pinning his arms to his sides; and, filled with snow, and the ramrod missing. Quick drawing up her hind-feet with repeated efforts, as thought he drew his pistol, and rushed to the endeavored to rip him open. Fortunately, the scene of action. Both barrels snapped. Just oiled jacket worn to keep out the water now then the bear made a savage rush at Watch; served a better purpose. The tough duck foiled the struggling animals rolled together over a the claws of the bear, which, as often as she ledge of rock and disappeared from sight. ripped, slipped over the smooth surface and spent "Gott im Himmel! Vatch will be umgebracht!" their force upon the hunter's legs and boots. screamed the half frantic hunter. Dashing the All this passed so rapidly that Henry had only uncertain pistol on the ground, he drew the time to gasp, "Ach, mein Gott-Vatch-Dick! hatchet from his belt and leaped over the ledge za hilf!" At these words the dogs rallied from into the thick of the fight. The beast again left their sudden amazement. Watch seized the the dog, and turned fiercely upon her human bear by the ear at the same moment that Dick foe. Henry seized her by the nape of the neck took hold of her hind-leg. Following that in- and struck a determined blow at her forehead. stinct which induces this animal always to assail As she turned to bite his arm, the weapon the last offender, she released the half-squeezed glanced and nearly cut off one of her ears. She Dutchman, and turned her fury upon the dogs. turned again to the side where she felt the Away they went, tumbling over the rocks, slip-wound. The next moment the vengeful hatchpery with snow, and crashing through the tough et was buried deep in her brain, and she sunk undergrowth as if it had been dried grass, the at the victor's feet without a struggle or a groan. After a brief but fervent ejaculation of thanksgiving, Henry's first movement was to embrace his faithful allies and examine their wounds. To his great relief he found these to be mere scratches, and then seating himself, had time to consider the body of his late antagonist more calmly. She was an animal of the largest size, very fat, and covered with a coat of the glossiest black in most admirable condition. The rifle-shot had passed through her muzzle about an inch below her eyes, inflicting a wound which served rather to enrage than disable her. From appearances he also concluded that she was a mother; and after a short repose, gathered up his scattered weapons and returned to the den. On approaching the spot, he heard faint cries from within, which gave assurance that he had not been mistaken in his conjectures. With a spirit untamed by the desperate encounter from which he had just escaped with his life, he did not hesitate to engage in what then seemed to him a new peril. Unsheathing his knife he held it behind him like a dog's tail, and backed himself down into the den, at the risk of meeting the he-bear on his way. In fact, it is not generally known that the male bear, brute that he is, leaves his mate during this period of domestic trouble, and finds himself a comfortable den at some distance off, where he may rest undisturbed by the cries of his infant progeny or the grumbling of his spouse. The idea is not altogether an unnatural one, yet nobody but a bear would ever act upon it. Luckily for Henry the old gentleman was absent, and he got to the bottom of the den without opposition. There he found two young ones carefully covered up with dried leaves and moss; so well concealed, that if they had kept quiet it would have been difficult to find them. The cubs were blind, like young puppies, and as their eyes were not opened for five days after, it is supposed they were not more than three or four days old at the time of their capture. They were about the size of half-grown kittens, six inches in length, and perfectly formed as the adult, except, as is the case with all young animals, the head was disproportionately large. Their coats were soft, of the glossiest black, with tawny marks about the ears, and a square white spot on the breast. Although handled with the greatest tenderness, these little wretches, whose eyes had never seen the light, with a wonderful and unerring instinct quickly dis criminated between the touch of a stranger and that of their dam. No sooner were they taken up than they uttered the most atrocious cries, and fought with surprising energy. enemy against whose ferocity neither lead nor steel are considered as sure protection. Formerly Henry was nobody but "that Dutch basket-maker," now, he is "the man that killed a she-bear in single fight," and for the nonce, the hero of Morgan County. About a month after this event I visited Henry's cabin. He was temporarily absent, but his two dogs stepped out from their comfortable kennels on either side of the door and welcomed me with friendly greeting. Within, his blooming spouse suckled the younger babe, while the elder occupied a cradle at her side, conjointly with the young bears. One of these amused himself sucking the infant's thumb, while the other seemed to prefer its big toe. Occasionally the little savages became so earnest in this sport that the heir of Herbel was fain As our hero brought these new trophies to the light, he saw a mountaineer approaching who had been attracted to the spot by the sound of the gun and the barking of the dogs. The new-comer cheerfully lent his assistance in transporting the prize to the Dutchman's cabin. Then, when his blood cooled, Henry for the first time took note of his own hurts, which were by no means trifling. His face had received some slight scratches, and his legs and knees were badly torn with wounds that cost time and trouble to heal. But what of that? The bear had fat upon his shoulders full three inches deep, and netted a hundred and sixty pounds of good meat. Besides keeping where-to express his displeasure by screams and kicks, withal to grease his own griddle, he sold enough to the neighbors to keep his family comfortable for two months. That day's work brought Henry both meat and honor. The fame of his achievement was noised abroad in the land, and none knew better how to appreciate it than the mountaineers among whom he dwelt. The fury of a she-bear with cubs is proverbial, and the boldest hunter shakes his head doubtfully when there is a question of meeting one under those circumstances. I once knew a man, one not wanting in pluck neither, who, at the sight of two cubs playing in the woods, shouldered his rifle and ran home as fast as his legs could carry him. While the unskillful undertook to make a jest of his timidity, those who knew the forest better did not severely blame his prudence. The feeblest cry from one of those uncouth little jokers would have brought upon him an and the mother would toss the offending cub out of the cradle. Without noticing the rebuke in the slightest degree, it would coolly climb back to its place and fasten upon toe or finger with renewed pertinacity. When aware of my presence, the matron laid her child upon the table, and begging me to keep the bears from it, ran out to call her husband. Presently he came in, and when we had exchanged salutations, he seated himself and addressed the cubs in the following words, "Ah! koom, guten fellers-ya-poor leetle Fritzeekoom zu papa-ya-ya-koom den." Whereupon the whelps scrambled out of the cradle and had an exciting climbing match up the basket-maker's legs. His horny thumb, as first prize, was seized by the winner, while Fritzee, as if to console himself for the loss of the race, made desperate efforts to obtain the honor of a kiss from his master. Then a pan of milk was set on the hearth and the young bruins exhibited | rocks, and the furrows made by the bear's claws an example of greediness, compared with which the behavior of a pig at a trough would be considered deliberate and polite. They leaped with their fore-paws into the pan, and thrust their noses in the milk up to the eyes. When it was gone they glued their lips to the bottom, and had to be forcibly dragged from the pan. They then seized their hairy paws, saturated with the milk, and sucked them dry. After amusing myself for some time with the antics of these young creatures, I accompanied Henry to the scene of the combat, and on the ground received from him the details given in the foregoing narrative. His torn garments, his scars, the traces of blood on the in the chestnut log, all testified to the fury of the struggle and the fidelity of the narrator. On our return to the cabin I dined with my host on boiled squirrel and sour-krout. Then the bear's skin was produced, and Henry proceeded to trace thereon further records of the fight. There was the shot-hole through the nose, which, to use Henry's expression, "only made her big mad." In one hind-leg were seventeen holes from the teeth of the intrepid Watch. Yellow Dick's incisors were credited with eleven holes in the other leg. Here the left ear was half-severed by the hatchet, and here, precisely in the centre of the forehead, was the fatal blow that spilled her life. The for the dead brute. When the little bears carelessly nosed this relic of their faithful parent, and rolled in wanton gambols over the soft fur, I was touched to the heart. Thoughtless and inconsistent man-canst thou feel no link of sympathy between the human and the brute? Lovest thou those tender babes and her that bore them, yet hast no tear for that savage mother, who met death so fearlessly in defense of her helpless young? dogs, as may be supposed, were most interested | umph of the living in sympathizing admiration listeners to this discourse, and whenever their prowess was particularly alluded to, would rap the floor emphatically with their bobtails, saying, with intelligent glances and motions of the head, as distinctly as if they had the power of speech, "True, Sir, every word of it-that happened just as master says." Nor do I believe I am drawing too much on my imagination when I tell how that Dick, when he perceived there was no mention made of certain honorable scars on his face and breast, modestly stepped forward and rubbed his face against Henry's hand in a manner to attract attention to them; or how Watch, after waiting patiently for a considerable time, got up, and smelling very signifi-TT is but a few years since practical astroncantly about the auricular tufts on the hide, seemed to say, "I think, Mass Henry, you forgot to tell the gentleman how I took the bear by the ear when she had you down." ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORIES IN omy began to be cultivated in the United States in an efficient and systematic manner. Until recently, the instruments in our possession were but few and small, and the observations which were made seldom extended beyond the notice of the time of a solar or lunar eclipse, or the measurement of a comet's distance from neighboring stars with a sextant. The skin was one of the finest I had ever seen, and I prevailed on Herbel to sell it to me. Its aistory, too, had invested it with peculiar interest. It was not only a superb bear-skin, ornamental and useful for many purposes, but in The most important astronomical enterprise my eyes it was as the robe of Cæsar, pierced by undertaken in this country, during the last centhe weapons of his slayers. I forgot the tri-tury, was the observation of the transit of Venus |