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S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 7 4 barking, which signaled the bear was being brought to bay. After a hard climb and finally reaching the top of a hill, TR tethered his horse to a tree and glassed the opposite slope where the bear was holding its own on top of a rock surrounded by the dogs. TR raised his rifle but could not fire for fear of hitting the hounds. The bear slipped out of view, while Roosevelt waited patiently. Finally, the bruin appeared beneath a tree, and TR was able to pull the trigger. The shot echoed through the gulley as the bear rolled down into the rocky ravine, fighting off the dogs as it tumbled. When the boar reached the valley floor, TR could see it still had a lot of fight in it and was retaliating savagely as the hounds closed in, yelping with excitement. TR left his mount and raced down the hill, slipping and sliding into the ravine to meet his quarry and put an end to the havoc. President Roosevelt put two more rounds into the big black bear, which rolled to its final resting place between rocks and deadfalls at the foot of the ravine. Although some of the dogs were injured, one or two seriously, TR considered it to be a good hunt and wrote about it extensively in his book: , which he dedicated to his friend, John Burroughs. ReSTing The houndS sketch