My man Friday had delivered our guide, and when we came up to him, he was helping him off from his horse; for the man was both hurt and frighted, and indeed the last more than the first; when, on a sudden, we espied the bear come out of the wood, and a very monstrous one it was, the biggest by far that ever I saw:  we were all a little surprised when we saw him; but when Friday saw him, it was easy to see joy and courage in the fellow’s countenance:  “O!  O!  O!” says Friday, three times, pointing to him, “O master! you give me te leave, me shakee te hand with him, me makee you good laugh.”

I was surprised to see the fellow so pleased:  “You fool you,” said I, “he will eat you up.”—­“Eatee me up! eatee me up!” says Friday, twice over again; “me eatee him up; me make you good laugh; you all stay here, me shew you good laugh.”  So down he sits and gets his boots off in a moment, and put on a pair of pumps, (as we call the flat shoes they wear) and which he had in his pocket, and gives my other servant his horse, and with his gun away he flew, swift like the wind.

The bear was walking softly on, and offered to meddle with nobody, till Friday coming pretty near, calls to him, as if the bear could understand him:  “Hark ye, hark ye,” says Friday, “me speakee wit you,” We followed at a distance; for now being come down to the Gascoigne side of the mountains, we were entered a vast great forest, where the country was plain, and pretty open, though many trees in it scattered here and there.

Friday, who had, as we say, the heels of the bear, came up with him quickly, and takes up a great stone, and throws at him, and hit him just on the head; but did him no more harm than if he had thrown it against a wall; but it answered Friday’s end; for the rogue was so void of fear, that he did it purely to make the bear follow him, and shew us some laugh, as he called it.

As soon as the bear felt the stone, and saw him, he turns about, and comes after him, taking devilish long strides, and strolling along at a strange rate, so as he would put a horse to a middling gallop.  Away runs 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 heartily 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 run away; and I called out, “You dog,” said I, “is this your making us laugh?  Come away, and take your horse, that we may shoot the creature.”  He hears me, and cries out, “No shoot, no shoot, stand still, you 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 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.