Part 28 (1/2)
When he came to the bear, Caspar was all ears
”What! a bear?” he exclaio?”
”Into the cave--it is still there”
”Still in the cave! Good! we'll have hio after hiht be dangerous to attack, hi hunter; ”Ossaroo says that these bears are great cowards, and that he would not be afraid to attack one single-handed with his spear You think so, shi+karree?”
”Yes, Sahib, he bear--big coward, me no fear him anywhere”
”You remember, Karl, how the other one ran from us--just like a deer would have done”
”But this one is a different kind,” suggested Karl; and Karl proceeded to describe the bear which he had encountered
Ossaroo, however, knew the aniiven, and declared that it was quite as timid a creature as the sloth-bear He had hunted this kind in the Sylhet Hills--where he had been upon an expedition--and where, he asserted, the Tibet bear was to be found in considerable nuerous, therefore, to attack it in the cave, or anywhere else Such was the opinion of the shi+karree
Karl at length ceased to urge his objections He began to think that the bear had not been in pursuit of him, after all,--else it would have returned out of the cave on not finding him--most likely the cave was its den, and it was to hide itself there that it had rushed so deterh, since they had been waiting a good while, and Bruin had not yet condescended to show hie
It was resolved, therefore, that they should all enter the cavern, and kill the bear if possible
This resolve, however, was not made without considerable deliberation; but two reasons were at length brought forward that not only decided the point in favour of killing the bear, but rendered it a matter of son
The first reason was that they really wanted the animal, and it was of importance to them that it should be killed
It was not for its fine skin they wanted it--though that ht be of use to them in the cold winter, now near at hand--nor did they want to kill the bearNo They had a very different object in view They wanted the carcass, or rather that portion of it that is terrease”
For what purpose? you will ask Toof the sort The hair of all three, fro as they could have wished it Caspar's curls hung over his shoulders, and Ossaroo's snaky black tresses dangled down his back like the tail of a horse Even Karl's silken locks were long enough to have satisfied the ees No They wanted the bear's fat, not for their hair, but for their kitchen They wanted it to cook with, for one thing, but a still more important use they intended to apply it to,--and that was forcandles! For both of the above purposes they had need of the bear's fat, since the other animals which they were accustomed to hunt and kill were chiefly ruminant anih of it to cook their own flesh
You who live in a land where there is plenty of lard and butter, can hardly understand what it is to be without these essential articles of the _cuisine_ In ,--supplies the desideratum of lard; and you will scarce appreciate the importance of this article until you have travelled in a country where the hog is not found a the domesticated anihly prized, for without it, good cooking is a dry and difficult business
Such considerations as these determined the fate of the bear The hunters well knew that anie quantities of the very best fat, which they then stood in want of, and would need still ht be more than one bear in the cave; so much the better; one or more, they must be attacked and killed
But there was another reason why they had deterreater consideration than the killing of the bear It was Caspar who had suggested it
”Why,” asked he, ”why et out by this very cave? What if it should prove to run upward, and have an entrance above, or on the other side of the mountain?”
Both Karl and Ossaroo were startled at the suggestion The idea put all of them into a flurry of excites,” continued Caspar; ”of great caverns that extended from one side of a mountain to the other There is one in America that has been traced for twelve ht be one of the same kind You say you saw far into it, Karl?
Let us explore it then, and see where it leads to”
It was but a slight hope, still it was a hope; and it could not cost h exploration It would be but a small matter compared with the construction of ladders to scale the cliff; besides, they were now convinced by a farther examination of the precipice that this was not practicable, and had quite abandoned all thought of it Should the cavern prove to be of vast extent, and have another opening elsewhere than in the valley, they ht escape from their terrible prison, and their troubles would be at an end
With such hopes,--that were indeed little better than fancies,--they consoled themselves for the moment