a strong fence of four or five feet in height into a wood. Having been frightened from his prey, he absconded, and the peasants, felling several trees, placed them over the dead carcass. But Bruin soon returned to the spot, and having by his enormous strength removed the trees, he had not left an ounce of flesh on the bones-and of the bones themselves but a few fragments.

Yet bears seldom-never-eat up the young children that watch the herds. Occasionally they devour a woman; but only when she foolishly attacks them, as in a case recorded by Doctor Mellerlong, who was an eye-witness to a hand, which was all that was left by a bear, of a woman who had chosen to hit him on the head with a billet of wood. Jan Finne, one of Mr Lloyd's Swedish friends, informed him that a bull was attacked by a rather small bear in the forest, when, striking his horns into his assailant, he pinned him against a tree. In this situation they were both found dead; the bull from starvation, and the bear from wounds. A bear is a match for a dozen wolves. Daniel Jansson, one of Mr Lloyd's guides, informed him that once during the chase, when he and his companions were far behind both the bear and a dog that was pursuing him, a drove of five wolves-as they knew by their tracks in the snow-attacked and devoured the dog. They had afterwards attacked the bear, but after a severe conflict, as was apparent from the state of the snow, and the quantity of hair both from the bear and the wolves that was lying about the place, the bear came off victorious, and was afterwards killed by the hunters, with his skin useless from the bites of the wolves. Finne mentioned two instances of bears having been killed by wolves -in the one case, seven wolves, and in the other, eleven, having been engaged in the combat. From the immense powers of the bear, if his hindquarters were protected, as in his den, Mr Lloyd thinks he would be a match for at least a score of wolves. He frequently attacks horses. With one of his terrible paws the ferocious brute keeps his hold of the poor horse, while with the other, he retards his progress by grasping at the trees. He thus destroys-and then devours

Jan

him. Sometimes the bear, by grasp ing with one of his paws at the surrounding trees, as he is carried along by the wounded horse, tears them up by the roots. But if the tree stands fast, so does the horse--such is the enormous power of the bear's muscular arm. That a bear should run down a horse, seems strange; but Swedish horses are often not very speedy, and doubtless lose their senses through fear. The bear never uses his teeth till he brings his victim down; but strikes him on the back and sides with his dreadful paws as if with a sledge hammer. Bears are often killed by the hunters, with their faces disfigured apparently by the kicks of horses. The wounds inflicted by bears on cattle are hideous. In the back and neck of a horse, Mr Lloyd saw holes of such a size, that he could have buried both his hands in them; and he has heard of the whole of the hind-quarters of a cow or a horse having been actually devoured, and yet the poor creatures found alive.

Such is a slight sketch of the character and common achievements of the Scandinavian bear, whom Mr Lloyd went to hunt in the forests. He thinks, both from personal experience, and from information derived from others, that these animals are exceedingly scarce now throughout Scandinavia; and that should such progressive inroads as have of late years been made in the forest continue, there is a fair chance of the breed being exterminated in the course of another century or two. Formerly they were to be found in all parts of Sweden; now, they are rarely to be heard of in the more southern provinces of that kingdom. They disappear with the great woods. Our countrymen, however, see bears whenever they choose to do so; and never more readily than in those districts where, Mr Lloyd truly says, they have ceased to exist for a century.

Let us suppose ourselves, then, to be along with our clever and spirited friend Mr Lloyd, at Malung, in Dalecarlia, ambitious of capturing and killing the lord of the Scandinavian forests. From the map, we should suppose this place must be some sixty or eighty miles from Stjernthe road, such as it is, lying for the

most part through a wild range of forest, destitute of inhabitants. Near to the hamlet of Ytter, or Lower Malung, where there is a consider able population, the party fell down upon the western branch of the river Dal, which flows almost in a line parallel with the Klar. Between these two streams, the deeply wooded country is more numerously infested with wild beasts than perhaps any other part of Sweden. The governor of the province had ordered a skall to take place on the 11th of June, 1827, in consequence of the great devastation which the bears had committed among the horses and cattle in that part of the country. One of these ferocious animals, in particular, (his tracks being known in consequence of his having lost a claw,) killed, it was said, not less than three horses in a single night. Mr Lloyd once saw a trap that had been set for this fellow a frame of timbers placed over a horse which he had recently destroyed, on the top of which large quantities of stones were laid, so that, in the event of its falling upon him, the weight of it might crush him in pieces. The bear, however, was not to be thus caught; for, instead of making his entry at the mouth of the trap, as had been anticipated, he removed the stones, and broke through the top of it, and thus gòt possession of the horse without any danger to himself. A skall is a battue, implying a number of people acting in concert, and engaged in the chase of wild animals. This one was to be conducted on a very grand scale. It was to be composed of fifteen hundred men, and to embrace, at its first setting out, a tract of country of about sixty miles in circumference. The skall-plats, or skall-place, was situated on the side of a lake (Wan) about twenty miles to the eastward of Malung. This was an area, in the form of a half circle, the diameter of which might be about two or three hundred paces, marked by a pathway cut through the forest. This pathway was called the shooting-line; and for some little distance in advance of it, the underwood, where it happened to be thick, was cleared away, so that the view of the shooter might not be obstructed. On this line, the people, after driving the country before them, were to con

verge from all points; and within this the skall was, of course, to terminate. As the eastern side of the country intended to be embraced by the skall was flanked by rivers, lakes, &c.-obstacles which, unless hardpressed, wild beasts seldom attempt to pass-a large portion of the people were left to form the remainder of the cordon; and in consequence, when first placed in position, it was calculated that they would not be at more than fifty paces apart from each other. In the great range of country to be hunted on this occasion, there were neither lakes nor rivers; the nights were short; and as bears, and other wild beasts, were known to be numerous thereabouts, vast slaughter was anticipated. But it appears that the skall, though consisting of various divisions, each with its leader, was very badly commanded and conducted. By the laws of Sweden, every house where cattle is kept is required to contribute one man as a contingent to the skall; and should a Sunday or other holiday intervene prior to the skall taking place, a little before the conclusion of divine worship, a notification is given out from the pulpit, specifying the number of people required, the districts whence they are to come, and the day, hour, and place of rendezvous. Strictly speaking, neither women nor boys ought to form a part of it, but that rule is often transgressed by the boys, and sometimes by the women. "As in most cases," quoth Mr Lloyd, "wild beasts are turned by the shouts of the people, and as the sex in Scandinavia have to the full as good use of their tongues as our fair countrywomen, I am not sure that they are not almost as useful auxiliaries in a skall as their male companions. Indeed, if it comes to real fighting, women will often keep their ground on these occasions, and I have heard of instances in which they have come into actual personal conflict with the bear, and conducted themselves in the most gallant manner." Dogs are never allowed in skalls, for were they to be at large, they would irritate and annoy the bears to that degree that they would probably break through all obstacles.

The skall moved forwards, on the morning of Monday the 11th June, and about mid-day on Wednesday,

approached the skall-plats. Very bad order, however, had been kept, and through wide gaps on the line, many animals made their escape. The line became closer and more regular towards the close of the march-and our author thus describes the result.

"In this new position I had not remained more than a minute or two, when the heavy firing to my left, evidently rapidly advancing towards me, together with the tremendous shouts of the people, gave me plainly to understand something was coming. In this I was not deceived; for, in a few seconds, a large and noble-looking bear, his head rather erect, and with the fire and spirit of a war-horse in his appearance, dashed at full speed into the small opening of which I have just made mention. His stay there, however, was but momentary; for, seeing probably that the people were too thick on the ground to give him a chance of escape, he wheeled about, and in another instant he was lost in the thicket. In the interim, however, I had time, though without taking any deliberate aim, to discharge both my barrels (a double gun made by John Manton, and a capital one of course); when one or both of my balls, as it was very evident from the growl he gave, took the desired effect he did not, however, fall at the instant, though, after he had proceeded a few paces, and in that while it was said no person fired at him, he fell to rise

no more.

"I now commenced reloading; but I had only got a ball into one of my barrels, when another bear dashed into, and was almost as instantaneously out of, my little opening; so that, by the time I had taken up my gun from the ground and placed it to my shoulder, he was all but out of sight. I fired, however, at random; but,; as he was in the thicket and went off, I had no means of ascertaining whether my bullet took effect or the contrary.

"When one considers the apparently unwieldy shape of a bear, the pace that he goes at, if the snow be not very deep upon the ground, is really extraordinary. In this instance, these animals were galloping in every direction within the skallplats, with the quickness and agility of so many rabbits. For the best of runners to escape from a bear in the open country is totally out of the question; and indeed, were the ground ever so favourable, a man, in the event of an attack, would have to thank his stars if he could manage to get out of his way.

"It was laughable, all this while, to see the peasants, or rather those with firearms; for, on the slightest alarm being

given, their guns were shouldered, and, with their fingers on the triggers, pointed towards the place whence the enemy might be expected to make his appearance. In general, however, there was an expression depicted on their countenances, which looked to me something beyond that of extreme interest; indeed, I am almost inclined to think their over anxiety' in some instances, converted hares, of which there were numbers running up and down, into bears, and that they fired at the former in consequence. Skalls, however, I should remark, were of rare occurrence in that part of Sweden; and the people were therefore less accustomed to the sight of bears than in some other districts in Scandinavia.

"After a while, and when the firing had ceased along the whole line, that part of the cordon where I was stationed had orders to move forward. At first we had to force our way through an almost impenetrably thick brake, which formed, as it were, a belt within the skall-plats. Subsequently, however, we came to some enclosures deeply intersected with ravines immediately overhanging the Wan lake, from which we might then be at about two hundred and fifty paces distance. We now heard tremendous shouting, and presently afterwards we saw a bear, at some forty or fifty paces from the land, swimming for the opposite side of the lake. Its escape, however, was next to impossible, as, to guard against a circumstance of this kind happening, several boats had been previously stationed on the water; these went in immediate pursuit, when a shot or two through the head presently put the bear hors de combat; and subsequently we observed its carcass towed to the land.

"The ground where we now stood was considerably elevated, and commanded a fine prospect of the boundless forest which surrounded us on every side, as well as of the beautiful lake Wan, which lay immediately beneath us. Added to this, the chase by the boats, and the death of the bear in the water, together with the formidable appearance of the fifteen or sixteen hundred armed men who composed the battue, and who, drawn up in the form of a crescent, and attired in as many various costumes as the number of parishes they belonged to, were now fully in view, formed a picture that was both highly interesting and animating.

"In the enclosures were still some small brakes, and these, it may be supposed, we took care to beat very closely, as nothing was more likely than that a wounded bear might have crept into them for shelter. We did not, however, meet with

any of those animals; but, from a close thicket, a lynx, a fine long-legged fellow, nearly as red, and twice as large, as a fox, went off at an awkward gallop. This animal, or at least one of the same species, I had previously seen when we were firing at the bears; but at that time I did not care to waste my powder and shot, when so much better game was on foot. When he first started, he was within about fifteen paces of me, and then I could probably have killed him; but at that time some of the people were in the line of my fire, and I was therefore obliged to let him go off unmolested. When he was at some sixty or seventy paces distance, I sent the contents of both my barrels after him, though, as far as I could judge, without any effect; his escape, however, was next to impossible, for the people at this time were eight or ten deep; so, after running the gauntlet of twenty shots at the least, he was at length slaughtered.

"Thirty or forty hares were still with in the cordon, perfectly bewildered with the noise and uproar that was going forward. When, however, we had beaten the few remaining brakes, and ascertained beyond a doubt, that neither bear nor other wild beast was remaining, a war of extermination was carried on against them. Some of these poor animals were knocked on the head as they were running among the legs of the people; whilst others, and by far the greater part, were shot; this indeed was altogether contrary to orders; for, in skalls, no one is permitted to fire, except at bears or other wild beasts. Such shooting, however, I never before witnessed; for, in more than one instance, I saw twelve or fourteen shots fired in succession at the same hare, when within only a few paces of the muzzles of the guns, without its being touched; and after all, I almost suspect more of them died from fright, than in consequence of any actual injury they received.

"By the time all the hares were killed, we had advanced close upon the edge of the water, when, nothing else presenting itself, the skall of course terminated, and the people dispersed.

It

"The game was now to be collected from the different parts of the skall-plats; this was effected by slinging it on poles, and carrying it on men's shoulders. was found to consist of a lynx and three bears. It was, however, reported that several bears had been killed during the battue, and secreted by the peasants and others for their own individual benefit. How far this story might be true I know not; though I certainly believed it the less, as I myself was numbered among the delinquents.

"One of the bears, the same that I had at least some hand in killing, was rather a large male; the other two were females. I did not very particularly examine any of them; but, from what I saw, I had reason to suppose that they had only received very few balls; this I should have been surprised at, had I not known what wretched performers the peasants usually are on these occasions, for I have no doubt but that between one and two hundred shots were fired at the bears alone during this particular battue. Their guns, however, and more particularly the locks, are commonly of a very sorry description; and in the course of the day, near to where I stood, I certainly heard as many clicks, or miss-fires, as explosions. At fixed objects, many of the Swedish peasants are capital marksmen; but in general they have little idea of hitting in rapid

motion.

"Here was but a sorry return for the loss of time occasioned to fifteen or sixteen hundred men who composed this skall, many of whom, in consequence of residing at long distances, were absent from their homes for five or six days. The expense altogether I heard estimated at about five thousand rix-dollars, or two hundred and fifty pounds of our money, which was no inconsiderable sum in Sweden. Had the skall, however, been as well conducted in the commencement as it seemed to me to be towards the conclusion, I have little doubt, from what I know of that part of the country, that in.. stead of three bears, ten or fifteen of these animals, together with many other wild beasts, might, with every facility, have been slaughtered. In this case the trouble and expense would have been well repaid.

"The bears in this instance died tamely, for I did not hear of their making an attack upon any part of the line; this however, as I have already shown, is not always the case in skalls; for those animals will occasionally dash at the people, when, if not quickly put hors de combat, they sometimes do much mischief.

"Neither elks nor wolves were seen, that I am aware of, on this occasion; the former, however, are sometimes to be met with in that part of Dalecarlia; and the latter are rather numerous.

"Some time after the battue was terminated, the game, with the exception of hares, which the peasants were allowed to keep themselves, was sold by public auction. The sale seemed to create a good deal of interest, though but little competition in regard to bidding; for, altogether, it produced the merest trifle. This was the less to be wondered at, as

"When the sale was concluded, the people dispersed, and every one made for his respective home."

In summer skalls, which are generally the most interesting, wide tracts of country, as we have now seen, are often driven, or rather hunted, and a great variety and quantity of game is frequently collected together. Yet they are not certain of success; for as at that season it is not exactly known where a bear or other wild beast is to be found, it is only the suspected part of the forest that can be beaten; and in consequence, a blank day may sometimes occur. Mr Lloyd, on his return home from the summer skall above described, came up with five or six peasants, who were returning from it to Dyngsjö, from which they had started on the preceding Sunday morning. The distance from that place to where the skall terminated, could not be less than fifty miles; and thus these poor fellows, independently of the sacrifice of their time, for five whole days, had nearly a hundred miles to travel, without any remuneration. Sometimes they had to travel a still greater distance;

and to be absent from home a week

or ten days. Yet such seems to be their stupidity and ignorance of the sport, that they do not kill one in ten that would fall a prey to more accomplished rangers. Sixteen hundred North-of-England men, or Highlanders,-witness the Tinchels of

old,

When the hunter of deer and the warrior trode

To his hills that encircle the sea,would have swept the whole forest before them of bears, and wolves, and all other wild animals. But these Dalecarlians seem, with few exceptions, to be clumsy louts, and incapable of discipline, even in an expedition in which they have all an interest, and which has been for ages a national pursuit and pastime. They are miserable marksmen- or rather no marksmen at all-missing bears sitting, and always taken by surprise.

They are all so afraid of shooting one another, that Bruin sometimes breaks through the cordon without a shot being fired; and when they do let bang, it would seem they always shut their eyes, a preliminary process often unnecessary, as the pulling of the trig ger is seldom followed either by pluff or explosion. A skall consisting of a score of English poachers, like the Westmoreland Alfonbys, would kill more bears than a cordon of a thousand Dalecarlians. In former times, the sport was somewhat better understood; though the details of a skall got up for Frederick the First are, though imposing, rather barren of blood. Many thousand persons used to form those royal skalls

but the result of the greatest we read of, was but some five or six bears, a few wolves, and an elk or two, with some score of hares and such small deer-" great cry and little wool" indeed!

For our own part, we should much prefer a winter skall. Then the extent of country embraced is very limited in comparison, and a smaller number of people-who may be picked-are required. It is ascertained by ringing (tholma) where a bear has taken up his quarters in the winter time, and the skall narrows in upon his lair, with almost a certainty of success. Ringing is thus accomplished:

When there is snow upon the ground, and the track of the animal (something resembling, in more respects than one, that of a human being) is discovered, a person follows it, until there is reason to believe that

the bear may have taken up his quarters in the vicinity. This is in dicated by his proceeding very slowly, and in a crooked direction, or rather by his doubling in the same manner as a hare; for, as long as he goes in a straight line, he has no intention of lying down. The man now leaves the track, and commences making an extended ring or circle round the suspected part of the forest: should he succeed in completing this without again meeting with the track, he of course knows to a certainty the bear is within it. If on the contrary, however, he finds the animal has proceeded beyond his intended circ he commences