dared, and yelled at the tops of their voices.  The great brute sat up on his haunches and faced them, growling and snarling.  One vaquero sent his rope flying through the air, and the loop settled over a big, hairy fore paw.  Then the bear dropped on all fours and made a jump at the pony, which got out of his reach.  Another Mexican threw a lasso and caught the bear’s hind foot; and as he sat up again a third noose dropped over the other fore paw.  Then the poor trapped creature, growling, snarling, and rolling over and over, began a tug of war with the lariats and the ponies.  Once a rope broke, and horse and rider tumbled in front of the bear.  He made a quick, savage jump, but was pulled back by the other ropes.  Then Mr. Bear sat up straight and tugged so hard that another lariat broke and sent the saddle and rider over the pony’s head.  With one sweep of his paw the bear smashed the saddle, but the cow-boy saved himself by running to an oak tree.  At last Mr. Bear was getting the best of the fight so plainly, and had pulled the frightened ponies so near him, that the man who was thrown off ended the poor animal’s struggles with a rifle-ball.

A Chinese sheep-herder tells this funny story about a bear:  “Me lun out, see what matta; me see sheep all bely much scared, bely much lun, bely much jump.  Big black bear jump over fence, come light for me.  Me so flighten me know nothin’, then me scleam e-e-e-e so loud, and lun at bear till bear get scared too and lun away.”

A few grizzlies are still found in the Sierras, and black and brown bears are often seen with their playful little cubs.  The small fellows are easily tamed and may be taught many tricks.  They will live contentedly in a bear-pit, or even if chained up, and as most of you know, they like peanuts and pop-corn well enough to beg for them.

The panther, or mountain-lion, is another large flesh-eating animal which makes his home in the thick woods conveniently neighboring the farmers’ corrals and pastures.  Not long ago a boy in Marin County, who was sent to look after some ponies, saw a big yellow dog, as he thought, “worrying” one of the colts.  When he came nearer he found it was a wicked-looking, catlike creature, and knew it must be a California lion.  He had nothing with him but a heavy whip.  The panther left the wounded colt and crouched ready to spring at the boy, but he was on the alert and struck it a terrible blow across the eyes with his whip, and then another and another.  Half-blinded and whining with pain, the panther turned tail and ran away, while the boy’s pony, trembling and snorting with fright, galloped home with his brave rider.

In one of the mountain counties a woman, hearing her chickens squawking one day at noon, ran out to find what seemed a big dog among them with a hen in his mouth.  She rushed straight at him with a broom, when the animal turned.  She found it was a great panther, who snarled and made ready to spring at her.  As she screamed and started to run away, her foot slipped on a steep and muddy place, and she slid down the little hill right into the panther’s face.  He was so frightened that he jumped the fence and hurried to the woods.