Humans and bears - Wild encounters

[brotherbear]

Man Meets Grizzly by Young and Beyers.
Suddenly Clark was stunned by that awful roar once more, and he knew that the bear was in the same draw, on the farther side but very near. He knew now that he was committed to action. He set his gun and stepped boldly toward the willows where he estimated the bear to be. Almost at once he discerned a patch of gray or brown in the willows about ten yards away and fired a shot at it, the bullet twanging in the still air of early morning.
Instantly a huge shaggy back reared up above the willows, looking at least fifteen feet high, to Clark's dazzled eye's. Though bears were no strangers to him, never had he seen anything to equal this giant. The bear turned slowly, snuffled the air for the scent of his enemy, and Clark nearly froze with consternation. The night's terrible outburst was now clearly explained: on the bear's left forearm hung the big trap, its steel teeth buried in flesh; and wrapped around that arm was the heavy eleven foot chain. The bear's mouth was horribly bloodied from his efforts to bite through the chain and trap. In his agony and rage Old Ephraim looked unbelievably fearful.
He saw Clark and, still upright, crashed ruinously toward him through the willows and bushes. Clark somehow steadied himself enough to pull the trigger. The bear dropped down at once but, shaking froth from his muzzle, continued forward with lurching but powerful strides. Again and again Clark fired. Each time the bullet found the target, for the bear fell to the ground; yet each time Old Ephraim struggled to his feet and, implacably and seemingly indestructibly, narrowed the gap between himself and the man. Six times Clark shot for the heart; unbelievably , the bear fell six times, only to pull himself up and plunge forward again.
When the bear was less than two yards away, Clark turned and ran up the side of the hollow, pulling himself through the scrub growth, heading for the aspens above. Close at his heels followed the relentless bear, on all fours but hindered by the injured arm dragging the trap and chain. Clark had not traveled more than fifteen yards when he heard a familiar yet strange noise. It was Jenny, barking wildly. Clark risked a quick glance behind him and saw Old Ephraim, perhaps ten yards downslope, with Jenny, who had been silent and afraid until this moment but was now nipping recklessly at the bear's hind legs, with restored courage. The bear had paused and was striking at the dog. This distraction, however brief, detained the bear long enough for Clark to steady his gun against a tree, draw a fine bead behind the bear's ear, and fire the seventh and last shell. Old Ephraim sagged to the ground and did not rise again.

Old Ephraim was nine feet and eleven inches long, nose to tail. They found that two of Clark's bullets had actually pierced the heart, and Clark learned by experience what he had heard old-timers claim: an enraged grizzly is much more difficult to kill than an unexcited one. So powerful was Old Ephraim that only the final lucky shot in the brain felled him for good. The men buried the remains, a singular honor for a bear, perhaps. Reply