When Au-du-bon was making his great book about birds, he had to live
much in the woods. Sometimes he lived among the Indians. He once saw an
Indian go into a hollow tree. There was a bear in the tree. The Indian
had a knife in his hand. He fought with the bear in the tree, and
killed it.
Au-du-bon could shoot very well. A friend of his one day threw up his
cap in the air. He told Au-du-bon to shoot at it. When the cap came
down, it had a hole in it.
But the hunters who lived in the woods could shoot better. They would
light a candle. Then one of the hunters would take his gun, and go a
hundred steps away from the candle. He would then shoot at the candle.
He would shoot so as to snuff it. He would not put out the candle. He
would only cut off a bit of the wick with the bullet. But he would
leave the candle burning.
[Illustration: Snuffing the Candle.]
Once Audubon came near being killed by some robbers. He stopped at a
cabin where lived an old white woman. He found a young Indian in the
house. The Indian had hurt himself with an arrow. He had come to the
house to spend the night.
The old woman saw Audubon’s fine gold watch. She asked him to let her
look at it. He put it into her hands for a minute. Then the Indian
passed by Audubon, and pinched him two or three times. That was to let
him know that the woman was bad, and that she might rob him.
Audubon went and lay down with his hand on his gun. After a while two
men came in. They were the sons of the old woman. Then the old woman
sharpened a large knife. She told the young men to kill the Indian
first, and then to kill Audubon and take his watch. She thought that
Audubon was asleep. But he drew up his gun ready to fire.
Just then two hunters came to the cabin. Audubon told them what the
robbers were going to do. They took the old woman and her sons, and
tied their hands and feet. The Indian, though he was in pain from his
hurt, danced for joy when he saw that the robbers were caught. The
woman and her sons were afterward punished.