When the accident occurred he was out on a trapping trip with two companions.

They had pitched camp right on the shore of a cove in a little lake, and his comrades were off fishing in a dugout or pirogue.

He himself was sitting near the shore, by a little lean-to, watching some beaver meat which was sizzling over the dying embers.

Suddenly, and without warning, a great bear, which had crept silently up beneath the shadows of the tall evergreens, rushed at him, with a guttural roar, and seized him before he could rise to his feet.

It grasped him with its jaws at the junction of the neck and shoulder, making the teeth meet through bone, sinew, and muscle; and turning, tracked off towards the forest, dragging with it the helpless and paralyzed victim.