Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-02-21

upon the spot, and set on fire.
We stood around the burning branches with
eager anticipation. Should the root prove q
full grown man. it would make o supper for
our whole party; and with the cheering idea of
supper, jokes were ventured upon-the first we
had heard for some tme-the hunters, tickled
with the novelty of unearthing the old man
ready roasted, and specializing whether he
would provea fat old hoss
A hollow crack sounded from above, like the
breaking of a dead tree. We looked up. A
large object-an animal-was whirling outward
and downward from ledge that projected half
way up the cliff. In an instant it struck the
earth, head foremost, with seSa bump and,
bounding to the height of several feet came
back with somersault on its legs, and stood
: firmly
An involuntary hurrah broke from the
" hunters, who all recognised, at a glance, the
Carnero Cimmaron,' or bighorn' lie had
cleared the precipice at two leaps, lighting each
time on his huge crescent-shapcd horns.
'For moment, both parties--hunters and
game-equaly taken by surprise, and stood eye.
ing each other in mute wonder. 1t was but for
moment. The men made a rush for their rifles,
and the animal recovered from his trance of as,
tonshment, tossed back his horns and bounded
across the platform In dozen springs he had
, reached selvidge of the snow, and plunged into
its yielding bank but at the same instant several
rifles cracked, and the white wreath was Grim
soned behind him. He still kept on, however,
e leaping and breaking through the drift
We struck into his track, and followed with
Il the eagelness of hungry wolves. we could tell
+ by the numerous gouts that he was shedding his
e life-hlood and about fifty PAGES farther on we
0 found him dead
d A shout apprsed our companions of our sue
y cess, and we had commenced dragging back the
t prize, when wild cries reached us from the plat
. form,-the yells of the men, the screams of
II women mingled with other and exclamatons Of
II terror
l. We ran on to the entrance On reachiug it,
% sight was before us that caused the stoutest to
trembe, Hunters, Indians, and women were
P running to and fro in frantic confusion, uttering
d their varid cries. We knew our enemey at a
:, glance-the dreaded monsters of the mountains
l. the grizzly bears!
a 'There we're five of them-fve in sight
l. there might be others in the background Five
we're enough to destroy our whole party Gagged
g as we were, and weakened by famine.
Y 'They had reached the cliff in khe chase of the
: Cmmaron, and hunger and disappointment were
t. visible in their horrid aspects Two Of them had
m already cralled close to tha drayp, and were paw
ing over and snufiing the air, as if searching for
place to descend. The other three reared
10 themselves upon their hams, and commenced
maneuvrig with their forc-arms, in human like
< and comica pantomine
h, We were in no condition to relish this amuse.
"a ment. Every man hastened to arm himself,
n those who had empted their rifles hurriedy re.
n loading them
= For your life don't = cried Carey, catching
at the gun of one of the hunters
IS, The caution came TO late haf.a-dozen bull
70 lets were already whstling upward,
e The effect was just what the trapper hac
er anticipated. The bears, maddcncd by the bull
We lets, which had harmed them no more than the
re pricking of as meny pins, dropped to their all
. fours again, and with fierce growls commenced
IN decending the cliff
"a bo nfc ,e;n 81. :.
e Several of the men, less brave than their com
RAIDS, ran off to hide themselves in the snow
IL while others commenced climbing the low pin,
h, trees
j. Cache the gals cried Carey. Hyra, ye
r. darned Spanish greasers If yer wont fight, hooI
ed on to the weemen wheen O. yer, and toat then
e. to the snow Cowardy slinks-waghI
See to them, doctor, | shouted to the Ger
man, who thought, might be best spared from
lis the fight; and the next moment the docter, asss
he ted by several Mexicans was hurrying he terri
ed girls towards the spot where he had left h
,r. Cimaron.
Ter Many of US knew that to hide uuder the cir
cumstances, would be worse than useless. Th
if fierce but sagacious brutes would have discov
e, cred us one by one, and destroyed us in detail
, They must be met and Fought that was th
,g, word and we resolved to carry it into execu
ton.
There were about dozen of US who stoo,
ed up to it all the Delawares and Shawnees
nix with Carey and the mountain men,
of We kept firing at the bears as they ran alon,
to the ledges in their zig gag descent but our rife
Ia were out of order, our fingers numbed with cold
lie and our nerves weakened by hunger. Our bul
ng let's drew blood from the hdeous brutes, yet no
fe. shot proved deadly. 1t only stung them int
ur a 6ercer rage.
red 1t was fearful moment when the last sho
his was fired, and still not an enemy the less W
flung away the guns, and, clutcbing the hatch
raj cts and hunting knives, silently awaited ou
grizzly foes.
m I'VE had taken our stand close to the rock
1t was our design to have the first blow, as tn
Ia. animals, for the most part, came stern loremos
la down the cliff. In this we were disappointed
On reaching ledge some ten feet from the pla
tho form, the fore most bear halted and seeing on
,o,- position hesitated to decend. The next momen
Of his companions, maddened with wounds, can
ON tumbling down upon the same ledge, an
ne with fierce growls, the five huge bears wei
es- precipitated into our midst.
Then came the desperate struggle, which
BON cannot describe, the shouts of the hunters Il
ay, wilder yells Of our Indian allies, the hoar
ur- worrying of the bears, the ringing of the tom
ahawks from skulls like flint the deep, du