Tolstoy has a narrow escape from a bear

It is December 1858, the middle of winter, and Leo Tolstoy, his brother Nicholas and others are out hunting at the invitation of the writer AA (Afanasy) Fet. When Tolstoy sees a big bear coming straight towards him he takes aim, fires and misses. The second bullet hits its target in the mouth. She roars and throws herself at him, tearing at his face. A beater comes running with a stick, shouting, and frightens the bear, which runs off into the forest. Tolstoy is left with a gash in his left check and a strip of flesh missing from his forehead. The scars from these wounds can be seen for the remainder of his life. All he says in his diary is that on December 21 he kills a bear and on December 22 a bear takes a piece out of him. Two weeks later he goes hunting again and four bears are killed, including the one that had attacked him. He receives the carcass as a trophy and has a rug made from the hide (p199, Tolstoy, Troyat).