The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1857-06-19

sand economy hadS acquired cons, ,derable
substance and good name, Which, in lhe
afAges Of some people, is n FAR more valuable
sINtrineny 10 leave tp oues children Than
all tie wealth ofthe world Without it. In
{ Shis younger days he hid been great hun
SER, spending most of his time in the woods
! il; P1rsuit Of game, and such was Ills pro-
feieney with the rifle, tlifst lie seldom fail
ed INFRINGING down the, swiftfooted adcer
Eer the heetestI winged ,denizen ofthe air.
He was relebnted for q terrible fight which
he had. on one occasion with bear, in
which he,cameso near losing his life that
his passion for hunting WAS changed TO dis
: gust, and giving up the use Of the rifle, he
turned his attention to agricuture. Tho
circumstances ofthat fight we arc about to
relate.
-, 10 He had been out one day, as usual. with
. his rifle, in pursuit Of flock of turkeys, but
had been unsuccessful, and was returning
home in a surly mood, when he came,
rather unexpectedly, upon a large black
Haafs who seemed disposed to dispute his
bis passage. Quick as thought, his piece
was at bis shoulder, and the bullet whizzed
through the air, striking the bear full in the
breast, and hsfell to the ground---as Min:
Ger supposed-dead. Carefully reloading,
his rifle, NOT to throW away aschancc, lie ap-
slIoaehed tho bear, and poked his nose with
sfe'mnzzles ,toSsee. f any spark Of life re-
manned. Bfuin~was only "playing pos
suf1, as 1t seems, for with. far moro agility
than could be anticibated ofa beast, who
bad rifle ball, througRsfiiss body, ho rear
ED Upon bis hind feet apdsmade at tie hun
ter5s Minteffred again But in his haste
and trepidation, arising, from the sudden
and unexpected attack, he failed to hit a
.Sitai part, antsa second, wound only SER
;ved:to make brute more~ savage and
desperate. L Drawing his tomahawk, he
threw that (; and al, the bear lodged it and
sprang upon him, he dubbed his rifle and
struck him violent blow across the head
with the butt, which resulted in. shivering
The stock, and, if possible, increasing his:
.yage. SpringihgsbaciSt avoid the sweep
5oEHis terribleelaw Minter drew his long,
Keen hunting Knife, and prepared for the
,Atafencounfer which 6e knew must ensue.
FoE a moment heeombatants stood gazing
gataeach others Ike two experienced due
lists measuring each the others strength.
Minter was man OF spowerful frame, and
possessed Of extraordinary muscular devel-
0pment. which, with his quick eye and ready
:handamade him a very athletic sand dan
gefous enemy. He stood six feet high, and
was: Beautifully proportioned..:a The bear
was amale oethe largest Size, and, render
eddesperate by his wounds, which were
Bleeding ,profnsely, was a., fearful ,advcrsa-
Stos csunt ter Under any circumstances
moro part bcuiarly. so to Minter, who now
had sHnplYshis knife to depend upon, to
decide theteontest between them. AS Bru-
NJ advanced to seize linn, be made a pow
erfuEb bl6wtat hisI heart, which, hadsit taken
efecs would have settled the matter at
ogces butsthasother was too quick for him,
addsWith sweep of his tremendous paw,
paffied the blow, and sent the weapon
whiffng through the air to distance of
twenty feet the next Instant the stalwart
kufter. was embodied in the embrace of
those; fearful paws,ssnd both<were rolling
.on ghe ground inaadeath,like gfapple.
The woodswere. OPEN and free from un-
derbrush to 4. R.censiderable extent, and in
Heir Struggles they rolled about in every
direstidh. So ,Ehe objects the bear was, Of
! sc1nrse, to- hug his. adversary to death,
asHhteh, the other endeavored TO avoid by pre-
spnting his body in such a position, rs
~euld best resist the vichsAke squeeze, un-
I'll he could loosen his .gfasp to accom-
splish which, he seized the bear by the
throat With both hands, and ekerted all his
elergysand muscufaf power to throttle
!, ,tftha Thisshad the two.fold effect of pre-
8 venting linn from using his teeth, and com
sspethngAim TO- release the hug, to knock
off thapfheps iiands with his ,,aws-.Ahus
ding m Affntzsasf ,nnortbnitte sfn cafSh