The Trapper's Journey: From High Society to Buckskins

When suddenly, the bear rears up not thirty feet to the front of us; I react instantly, brining my rifle to my shoulder and firing almost at the same instant. I hit him, because, he looks at us. I turn and yell, "Darleen up that tree" She gets the limb from her saddle while I'm still reloading and pulls her, self up. I wish that tree was bigger but, it was the nearest one to her position. I get my rifle reloaded just as the big grizzly breaks through the underbrush, spruce and aspen saplings not twenty feet in front of me. I throw the gun to my shoulder to fire. But, Pegasus starts' bucking almost, as soon as, the rifle comes to my shoulder. Consequently, I get a shot off but, it's a dead miss; because, both me and the rifle are flying through the air. I hit the ground hard, I lay all sprawled out. The next thing I feel is the bear's hot breath. The rifle is ten feet away it might as well be ten miles and I couldn't reload fast enough anyway.