Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1851-02-28
SMOKING 4 GRIZZLY BEAR

"W hat. you have never seen live glrlZZly ??
exclaimed an old Oregon gold digger, with
whom we were engaged in a "bar" converse.
ton one evening on jamestown bar.
"Never" said !, in all seriousness, "it has
never been nv good fortune to encounter one
of the beautiful varmlnis.
"Wel, boss, when you do. perhaps it won't
be the plcasantest mint you've ever he'd, for
thar aint no varlnini in these hills, nor any wear
else Eve ben, that kin kick wus. either round
or sideways, than a full grown grizz ~
"But you can easily get ont of the way Of a
clumsy animal like that said |, provoking the
gard to grizzlys.
"Well, when you kin git ont of thar wav,
little fear, gives you my advice to git out
quickest, for though they aint built raal bcar-
tful for runnil' they l0pe awful smart when
thur arter hnmn critter. WAS desperate
glad to get away from one myself once"
provoked him to the edge of Il baar story.
and knowing from his iaanncr, that his rea-
ton of such an occurrence AS getting away from
Il grizzly would be inieresi g, tempted hun
on
"Wherp did you say you fell in with MIN p
enqu.red !.
81 didn't say fell in with him any whar,
answered he "thc varnint fell in with me-. |
was over thar two miles toiher ,,de of the high
ridge beyond SuIlivah'-, looking arter that grey
mule of nne-and lalkip' about wicked things
just puts me thinkin' what a determinedIy VIC
ous sarpnt that grey mule was
Well, was huntin' her, and after ramhln'
over the hills, shootin down half dozen guch.
es, began to git out of wind and set down to
bless that grey critrer for The many tramps she
had gin me-no Ialat 'ud hold her, not it it
var made of bull hide an inch thick. hadn't
sot MORN mint, when ! heerd snort, aud
roar, and growI, and right sprlnkliu' of fast
travellin' all mixed up together. Lookin up
parpendeckelar hiIl right behind me, thai !
saw comm my grey mule, putin in her best
icks, and few yards behind her was grizzly
rot much bigger than 8 r(tRg "-Manv a
scrape that mule had taken Inc into afore, but
this was rather the tigheSt place sho ever did
git me into. hadn't IA weapon bout me, 'cept
one Of the mean, ono -5arre!led auction pistols;
and that hadn't consarned mite of a load in
it and hadn't nothin to load 1t with, and no
time 10 load il in eft he'd.
You he'd better believe, boys, that my kin
got moist suddnl-thar war'nt no dry diggns
under my red shirt long Azure that grizzly got
down the hill. The mule no sooner seed me
than he Jest wheeled round and pu; me atween
him and the "bar,' aud stood off 70 see eff
wouldn't lick him about easy as used to
whale her when she got stubborn. Old grizzly
drawed ny, when he seed me, and gin to roll
his old barrel head about, and grunt, as ef was
more'n he barganed for; aud Id hev Just given
him that mule easy, to hcv got offsquar.
commenced back kin out, and wanted to
make it draw game but he kept shutfin' up
TO me and any fear who had been close to his
head, would have GIN his whole pile Just to get
chance TO cut, ! considered my efltcts-lhat
pan, rocker, and crowbar-u,t as good as mn
lslered upon; and almost ielt the coroner sit
ting ON my body. | struck my hands into ny
pockets, To see # there warn't knife about me,
and pulled out half dozen boxes of Luciter
Matches, HAT had just been bought that AFTER
noon. don't know what put it into my head,
bat sot box Dazin and held 1t towards old
grizzly aud reckln you havn'l often seen two
ewes suck out Wussur than his did then. He
drew back at least ten yards, and, setting the
box down on tive earth, Just moved Off about
twenty yards IN tOlher Erection. The bar crept
To the luciters and took a smell, and et the mus
clos Of my Jaws hadn't been drawn so tight
with fear, I'd hav busted into regular snort Of
langnln', AT seeming how lie turned up his nose
and snuiiled. Tine next mint he relrealcd at
lrast fifty yards; ard then ! sut off another box
of the lu,ifiers, and--s5oys, dar you beIIve it
he gid to back oul As soon as felt had
him sk, ert didn't care for whole drove of
gizzys.
lerked out another box of lucifers. tctch-
ed it of, aud let out the mos; unearlhly yell
,al ever woke them diggius, and the way that
bar broke into canler 'ud hey dI,;accd and quaI-
ter nag in chrslendom-he eest seemed To
think Inal anything that could flare up rs easy,