The men continued to shout and beat the drum,
the bears growled, and the crowd began to file in.
First they brought out a poor, half-paralyzed bear, which seemed
considerably bored. It wore a muzzle and had a big collar with an iron
chain around its neck, a rope in its nose, to make it obey commands
promptly, and a sort of leather hood over its ears. They tied bruin to
the centre post, and the barks grew louder and fiercer. The dogs stood
up, a bristling, scratching crew, their hind-quarters elevated, their
snouts near the ground, their legs spread, while their masters stood in
opposite corners of the ring and yelled at them in order to increase
their ferocity. They let three bull-dogs go and the brutes rushed at the
bear, which began to dodge around the post. The dogs followed, crowding
and barking; sometimes the bear would upset them and trample them with
its huge paws, but they would immediately scramble to their feet and
make a dash for its head, clinging to its neck so that it was unable to
shake off their wriggling bodies. With watchful eye, the two masters
waited the moment when it looked as if the bear would be strangled; then
they rushed at the dogs, tore them away, pulled their necks and bit
their tails to make them unlock their jaws.
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