The Sierra citizen., 1854-06-03
Smoking A Grizzly.
III JOIN 8. Rops.

III johx s. RoD8.
"WHAr, you hev never seen a liue Griz-
ely p exclaimed on old Oregon gold-digger
with whom we were engaged in a "bor,,
conversation one evening on jamestown
bar.
Never" said I, in ali seriousness, ''it
has never been my good fortune to encoun-
ter one of tie beautiful varmints."
"Well, boss, when you do, perhaps it
won't be the pleasantest mint you've ever
had, for thar aint no varmint III these hills
nor any whar else I've ben, that kin kick
wuss, either round or sideways, than full
grown Grizzlies"
:" But you cum easily get ont Of the way
of a clumsy animal like that, said I, pro-
voking the digger into yarn ofhis expe-
rience in regard to Grizzlys.
"Weil when you kin get out Of thur way
little feller, gives you my advice. to get
out quick; fo- tho they aint built raal
beautiful for runnin, they lope awful smart
when thur arter humin' critter. l was
desperate glad to get away from one my
self once"
| had provoked him to the edge of bar
story. and knowing from his manner, that
his relation of such an occurrence as
getting away from a Grizzly would be
interesting, l tempted him on.
"Where did you say you fell in with
him % inquired I.
81 didn't say ! fell in with him anyvhar," !"
answered he; "cuss the varmint, he fell in
with me, and I'd leetle ruther hev fell in
with the Old Nick jest at that mint. 1
was over thar, two miles tother side of the
high ridge beyond Sullivan's, lookin' arter
that gray mule fmine-alld talkin about
wicked things jest puts me th;nkin' what
detarmnedly vicious sarpint that gray
mule was. Well, I was huntin' her. and
arter runnin over the hill, and shootn'
down half dozen gulches, began to get
out of wind; and set down to bless that
gray critter for the many tramps she had
given me. I'll swar no lariat nd hold her
not ef it was made Of buIl-hide an inch
thick. hadn't sot more'n mint, when
I hpnr1 a cnort onJ, roo, o,1 ..l
and right smart sprinklin' of fast travlin,'
all mixed up together. LoolSin' up per-
pendikelar hill right behind me; thar saw
comm my gray mule, putin in her hest
iicks, and few yards behind her was a
grizzly, not much bigger than yerlng.
Many an Internal scrape that mule has
taken me into afore, but this was rather
the tightest place she ever did get me into.
| hadn't a weepun about me, 'cept one of
those mean one-barreled auction pistols;
and that hadn't consarned mite of q load
in, and hadn't nothing to load it with,
and no time to put it in, eff had; and eff
it had been loaded, it wouldn't hey beeu
worth cuss
You had better believe. boys, that my
skin got moist suddint-thar warent no
dry diggins under my red shirt, long afore
that grizzly got down the hill. The in
farnal mule no sooner seen me than she
jest wheeled round and put me atween her
and the bar, and stood off to see eff
wouldn't lick him about as easy I used to
whale her when she got stubborn. OiG
grizzly drawed up when he seen me, and
gin to roll his old barrel head about and
grunt, as ef was MORN he bargained for;
and I'd jest given him that mule, easy. to
hev got off square. AS the fellers say at
monte, he was lay out / didn't want to
bet on.
/ commenced backin' out, and wanted to
make it draw game; but he kept shuiflin'
up to me, and any feller who had been
close to his head would hev give his whole
pile just to get chance to cut. l consid-
cred my effects-that pan, rocker and a
crow.bar-jest as good. as ministered
upon; and almost felt the coroner sittin'
on my body. Istuck my hands into my
pockets to see if there warn't knife.
about me, and / pulled out half dozed
boxes of LueJer Matches, that had just
been bought that afternoon. Idon't know
what put it in my head, but sot box
blaxin,' an held it out towards old
grizzly, and reckin you havn't ofted seen
two eyes stick out wusser than his did
then. He drew back at least ten yards,
and settin' the box down on the airth.
I lest moved off ahout fu,..rtv : var1s