(urth) Try and Kill It

Daniel Otto Jack Petersen danielottojackpetersen at gmail.com
Fri Nov 21 08:06:50 PST 2014


Excellent.  Thank you for that quote.  I've always loved Wolfe's
wonderfully weird 'Try and Kill It'.  I'm hoping eventually to write some
pieces about bears in Wolfe, Lafferty, Vandermeer, and Cormac McCarthy.
That passage from Defoe helps.

-DOJP

On Fri, Nov 21, 2014 at 3:04 PM, Robert Pirkola <rpirkola at hotmail.com>
wrote:

> The following passage from *Robinson Crusoe* could be one of the seeds of
> this story:
>
> “As the bear is a heavy, clumsy creature, and does not gallop as the wolf
> does, who is swift
> and light, so he has two particular qualities, which generally are the
> rule of his actions; first,
> as to men, who are not his proper prey (he does not usually attempt them,
> except they first
> attack him, unless he be excessively hungry, which it is probable might
> now be the case, the ground
> being covered with snow), if you do not meddle with him, he will not
> meddle with you; but then you
> must take care to be very civil to him, and give him the road, for he is a
> very nice gentleman; he will not
> go a step out of his way for a prince; nay, if you are really afraid, your
> best way is to look another way
> and keep going on; for sometimes if you stop, and stand still, and look
> steadfastly at him, he takes it for
> an affront; but if you throw or toss anything at him, though it were but a
> bit of stick as big as your finger,
> he thinks himself abused, and sets all other business aside to pursue his
> revenge, and will have satisfaction
> in point of honour - that is his first quality: the next is, if he be once
> affronted, he will never leave you,
> night or day, till he has his revenge, but follows at a good round rate
> till he overtakes you.”
> (Defoe, Daniel. *Robinson Crusoe*, Chapter XX, FIGHT BETWEEN FRIDAY AND A
> BEAR).
>
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-- 
Daniel Otto Jack Petersen
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