I was surprised to see the fellow so pleased.
“You fool you,” said I, “he will eat you up.”
“Eatee me up! eatee me up!” says Friday, twice over again; “me eatee him up; me make you good laugh; you all stay here, me show you good laugh.” So down he sits, and gets his boots off in a moment, and put on a pair of pumps, as we call the flat shoes they wear, and which he had in his pocket, and gives my other servant his horse, and, with his gun, away he flew, swift like the wind.
The bear was walking softly on, and offered to meddle with nobody, till Friday, coming pretty near, calls to him, as if the bear could understand him, “Hark ye, hark ye,” says Friday, “me speakee wit you.” We followed at a distance; for now being come down to the Gascoigne side of the mountains, we were entered a vast, great forest, where the country was plain and pretty open, though with many trees in it scattered here and there.
Friday, who had, as we say, the heels of the bear, came up with him quickly, and takes up a great stone and throws at him, and hit him just on the head, but did him no more harm than if he had thrown it against a wall; but it answered Friday’s end, for the rogue was so void of fear that he did it purely to make the bear follow him, and show us some laugh, as he called it.
As soon as the bear felt the stone, and saw him, he turns about and comes after him, taking devilish long strides, and shuffling along at a strange rate, so as he would put a horse to a middling gallop. Away runs Friday, and takes his course as if he ran towards us for help, so we all resolved to fire at once upon the bear and deliver my man, though I was angry at him heartily for bringing the bear back upon us when he was going about his own business another way, and especially I was angry that he had turned the bear upon us, and then run away, and I called out, “You dog,” said I, “is this your making us laugh? Come away, and take your horse, that we may shoot the creature.” He hears me, and cries out, “No shoot, no shoot; stand still, you get much laugh.” And as the nimble creature ran two feet for the beast’s one, he turned on a sudden on one side of us, and seeing a great oak tree fit for his purpose, he beckoned us to follow, and doubling his pace he gets nimbly up the tree, laying his gun down upon the ground at about five or six yards from the bottom of the tree.
The bear soon came to the tree, and we followed at a distance; the first thing he did he stopped at the gun, smelt to it, but let it lie, and up he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat, though so monstrous heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it, of my man, and could not for my life see anything to laugh at yet, till seeing the bear get up the tree, we all rode nearer to him.
When we came up to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small of a large limb of the tree, and the bear got about half way to him. As soon as the bear got out to that part where the limb of the tree was weaker, “Ha,” says he to us, “now you see me teachee the bear dance,” so he falls a-jumping and shaking the bough, at which the bear began to totter, but stood still, and began to look behind him to see how he should get back; then indeed we did laugh heartily. But Friday had not done with him by a great deal; when he sees him stand still, he calls out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear could speak English, “What, you come no farther? Pray you come farther.” So he left jumping and shaking the bough; and the bear, just as if he understood what he said, did come a little farther; and then he fell a-jumping again, and the bear stopped again.