The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1851-01-08
Smoking A Grizzly.
by SOLITAIRE.

Grizzly2' exclaimed an old Oregon gold
digger, with whom we were engaged in
n "bar" conversation one evening on
jamestown bar. .u -4
"Never, said 7, in all seriousness, sit
has never been my good fortune 10 en-.
counter one Of The beautiful varments.'
"Well boss, when, you do, perhaps il,
won't be the pleasantest minnit you've
ever he'd, for thar aint no varmint in
these hills, nor any whar else I've ben,
that kin kick wuss, either round or sidc.
ways, than fully grown grizzly
"But you can easily get out of the
way Of clumsy animal like that, said
provoking The old digger into yarn Of
his experience in regard TO Grizzlys.
swell, when you kin get ou, OF thur
way, little fellar, | gives you my nd.
vice to get out quicker, for tho they
uint built raal beautiful for runnin',
they bpe awful smnr. when thur arter
q humin' crilter. was desperate glad
10 get away from one myself once
had provoked him to the edge Of a
bar story, and knowing from his manner,
that his relation Of such an occurrence
as getting away from a Grizzly would
be interesting, tempted him on.
"Whcrc did you say you fell in with
hing inquired I.
81 didn't shy fell in with him any.
whar,' answered he; "cuss the varmin,,
he fell in with me, and Id lcelle ruth.
er hcv felli with the old Nick jest nt
that mint. was over Two miles lolher
side ofthe high ridge beyond Sullivun's,
lookin' nrter that gray mulc of mine
and talkin' about wicked things, Jest
puts me sthinkin' what detarminedly
vicious sarpint that gray mule was!
Well, Twas huntin' her, and artcr run.
min over the. hill, and shoo,in down
/ half.a dozen CLUTCHES, I9began to gel out
s of s:iel md dsscrd dawn % s.essss,as grey
for tho many trampss she Rad;
given me--lli swnEn9 lnrlnt 'ud hold
her no, ct it was madc'of bull hide an
inch thick. | hadn't sot more'n n
mint, when | herrd snort, and roar
and q growl, and right smart sprink.
lin Of fast travein' all mixed up togc,h.
er. Lookin' up parpendickear hill,
right behind me, thar saw comm, my
gray mule, putin in her best licks, and
a few yards behind her was grizzly,
not much bigger than ycarAng. Many
an iniarnal scrape that mule has taken
mo into atorc, but this was rather the
tighest place she ever did git me into.
! hadn', weepun about me, 'ccpt one
of those mean, one-barreled auction
pistols; and that hadn't consnrncd
mite of load in, and hadn't nuthing
10 lond it with, and no time 10 pui i, in,
ef had; and ef i, had been loaded, il
wouldn't hey been worth cuss.
"You had better believe, boys, that
my skin got moist suddint-lhar war.
en't no dry diggins under my red shirt,
long nfore ,ha, grizzly got down the hill.
The infarnal mule no sooner seed me
than she jcs. wheeled round and put me
atwcen her and the bar, and stood off 10
see ef | wouldn't lick him abou, as easy
Us used to whale her when she 70,
stubborn. Old grizzly drawed up,
when he seed me, and gin to roll his old
barrel head about, and grunt, as cf |
was MORN he bargnined for; and Id
jest given him tha, mule easy, 10 hev
got off square. AS the fellcrs say u,
monte, he was lay out didn't want
want 10 bet on.
commenced backin' out, and wanted
TO make it draw game; but he KEEP,
shufllin' up 10 me, and any fellcr who
had been close to his head, would hcv
gin his whole pile jest to get chance
to CIT. considered my ctiecls-,hat
pm, rocker and u crow.bar-jest rs
good as ministercd upon; and almost fel,
the coroner sitin' on my body. ] stuck
my hands into my pockets 10 see if there
warn't knife about me, and ! pulled
on, half dozen boxes Of Lucjfcr
Matches, that had JUS, been bought lhn,
afternoon. don't know what put it IN
my head, but | sot box blnzin, an
held j, out towards old grizzly, and |
reckin you havn't often seen two eyes
stick out wiser than his did then. He
drew back at lcas, ten yards, and sctlin'
the box down on the airlh, jest moved
off about twenty yards in tolher dircc.
lion. The bar crepl up to the luciters
and took smell, and if the muscles of
my jaws hadn't been so tight with fear,
I'D hev bursted into reg'lar snor, OF
laughin', ut sccin' how he turned up his
nose and SMILED. The next mint he
relrsu,cd at leas, fifty yards; and then
sol another box Of the lucifers, and
boys dar you b'lieve it--he gin to buck
OUT As soon as | fel, had him skecrt,
didn't kcer cl1ss for whole drove
Of grizzlys. ] jcrkcd out another box
of lucilers, tcched it oil, and let out the
most onuirlhly yell tha. ever woke those
diggins, and the way that bar broke into
n cantcr 'ud hcv dis.anccd any quarter
nag in Christendom--he jest seemed TO
think that anythin' that could fire up as
easy, and smell as bad as me, war rather
a delicate subject to kick up row with.
As he was gettin' over the hill, fairly
sqneeled out lnughin' and l'll swar ef
thatimpudent mulc--which was s,andin'
behind mc--dinn't snickcr out TOO! I