him, taking very long strides, and shuffling on at a strange rate, so as would have put a
horse to a middling gallop; away reins Friday, and takes his course as if he ran towards us
for help; so we all resolved to fire at once upon the bear, and deliver my man; though I
was angry at him for bringing the bear back upon us, when he was going about his own
business another way; and especially I was angry that he had turned the bear upon us, and
then ran away; and I called out, "You dog! is this your making us laugh? Come away, and
take your horse, that we may shoot the creature." He heard me, and cried out, "No shoot,
no shoot; stand still, and you get much laugh:" and as the nimble creature ran two feet for
the bear'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 got 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 at it, but let it lie, and up he scrambles into the tree,
climbing like a cat, though so monstrous 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, till seeing the bear get up
the tree, we all rode near to him.
When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small end of a large branch,
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 began 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
seeing him stand still, he called out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear could
speak English, "What, you come no farther? pray you come farther;" so he left jumping
and shaking the tree; and the bear, just as if he understood what he said, did come a little
farther; then he began jumping again, and the bear stopped again. We thought now was a
good time to knock him in the head, and called to Friday to stand still and we should
shoot the bear: but he cried out earnestly, "Oh, pray! Oh, 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, 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 clung fast with his great broad claws and feet, so that we
could not imagine what would be the end of it, and what the jest would be at last. But
Friday put us out of doubt quickly: for seeing the bear cling fast to the bough, and that he
would not be persuaded to come any farther, "Well, well," says Friday, "you no come
farther, me go; you no come to me, me come to you;" and upon this he went out to the
smaller end, where it would bend with his weight, and gently let himself down by it,
sliding down the bough till he came near enough to jump down on his feet, and away he
ran to his gun, took it up, and stood still. "Well," said I to him, "Friday, what will you do
now? Why don't you shoot him?" "No shoot," says Friday, "no yet; me shoot now, me no
kill; me stay, give you one more laugh:" and, indeed, so he did; for when the bear saw his
enemy gone, he came back from the bough, where he stood, but did it very cautiously,
looking behind him every step, and coming backward till he got into the body of the tree,
then, with the same hinder end foremost, he came down the tree, grasping it with his
