New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-02-04
la39Ig
SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS.
A RgHfsIscESeE tJR GsAEIEt,

LF E9us tHs fssHte 4ak5 " 5q5ffsAl
# The gsizzly bear IL tIIs largest as weII as she
most foszdabIe of his species He Ii found every
where afdng the western sfQpe oE tho Rocky
Mountans but u y III the coast range of fIn Sierra
aevadas, in California; that be attaias Nd Thu great
est sfze. II Ii said III win not taste flesh, and ID
naturally of 9 mild and pacific disposition, bnt
when aroused by wonHsling Dr. otherwise becomes
At once tlae most dangerous of animals. His
him the more 10 BE- dreaded and wounds which
would prove fatal TO other al,in1aIa
have but little effect upon him. When unia0leafed,
ne seems inclined Y avoid the presence of man,
and will generally ahy away FROM him at sight.
This II not Always the case, however, foR the
female, il accompanied BY her cuba. will attack
any living creature that happens u come ii her
One beautiful moonlight night Id fEsa early part
of September, ais was returning heyae from 4
neighboring village. 4 came sGdaeaHy upan two
large uEgrown bears. II was almost b. light as
midday, but sudden bend HI tas road. had pre-
vented me from seeing them until WAS wishina
lew yards Of where they st0od. They were i'd The
aet hs 81 wing down, and although they must have
ton of the fact. did not larry very Iong. how
ever haying bat very little curiosity Is learn
whether brnln wonid fight aay but Iefs the
paaes ~ agssn wiIa decree 81
ieading from Gesrge ID The Boss5n Tunnel, id
the Middle Ford 81 the American River. mai ,s
q e,. snoss ~ arge anamala II broad day light. We
tnls bearslnr and mysaff1 were travelling orl tIe
same road but IN different directions. ind were
perhaps within forty o. fffty yarts IN sash ntS,er
before discovered him. HI raw Hill about tEIe
safne time and stopped, and raised Hi head an1
looked towards me for second ss NH sis
walked on III the same general direction. al.yInc,
on from the road little 70 the Ieff while lid ths
same on the opposite side and iii tIsss fa,rrar
passed each other. He nlanifeataa III sSSIl N
seen, no disposition to noest me- bn ori thc eo5I
trary very politely gave me the road, lint although
Gid not avail myself of biz politenezs, fngly
record this little incident IN his praise Al
The savage disu0sti0n af the fernafa Isaa a1rafsy
been alluded 10. The first settlers of California
met with many adventures iIlusts aifge 0f shis
Will allude TO only one. and that one very briefly,
and occurring ais 1T did, In my ON ii Immediate
neighhorhood. can vouch for its correctness Il
party of miners, three III number were returning
to their camp late one evening" wIlen ill ef d sud
den large she bear came rushing uuon them
from clunp Of Manzanita bushes, which stood III
the roadside, and before they had tisa Id recover
from their first movements Of surprise, the bear
seized one Of them, and In less time than ii takes
to relate the circumstance, had 80 TnangIed fhe
poor fellow that his life was despaired os for Ieur
time. The other two took to their feels The bear
after them-one escaped, the other shared The fate
of his wounded comrade. The bear lid not leave
them for some time but kept walking 10 and I'D
between them, first giving one q bite and then the
other ever and annon turning them about with har
paws, as II to satisfy herself whether they were
really dead or not. Both ultimately recovered.
hut remained badly crippled and astsgurad faE iife
Iii the summer Of 1854, d miner 4 whose name
have forgotten, offered to wager GEe hundred dol
lars that with no other weapon slau q knife he
would attack and kill On the spot tile largest and
most vicious bear that could be procured. The
wager was taken, and the fight came off III the
presence Of large number Of persons, some ff.
teen twenty miles north Of Louis pile.s IL was
barbarnus spot at hest, and HIiIe every one was
on the tip-tae of curiosity I'd know how onr hero
would manage 80 unwieidy an animal, he, z cool
as a cucumber = stepped boldly into the arena.
The bear was now let loose. Gun hero was armed
with two kniyes-one Of which was Id his right
hand the other IN belt which lie wore around
his waist. His left hand was protected BY heavy
buekskin glove, made for the oceasinfl Ali Id
entered the ring he paused d moment then boldly
and with q firm step advanced towards the bear +
who with open mouth stood on his launches to re-
ceye him. A deathless silence nuW pervaded the
crowd Of spectators, and the boldest held their
breath for a time. y terrible combat was about
to begin, in which the life Of feaW mortal was
at stake; for unless he killed tile bear, it would
most assuredly kill him, and the chances of Victory
were largely in favor of the bear.
When onr gladiator had arrived To within nearly
an length Of his Antagonist, he again paused
the latter still upon his launches ned notion
less statue, each steadily eyeiHr tie other for
a second or two, when, as quick Dis thought Bruir
made pass at our hero with one of his paws.
which must have ended the combat had he not
adrotly avoided the blow by b quick movement to
the right, at TIE same time making thrust at the
bear with his knife. He missed his aim somewhat,
inaietIng only slight wound, which ithout dis
abing the bear IN the least, only enraged him the
more, and what was still worse, by SONG means or
other, the knife was wrenehed from his hand
Nothing daunted, however by this piece of bad
luck, lie now thrust lis gloyed hand into bruins
mouth, while with the other he drew his remaining
knife from it's place and plunged It into tile bears
side to its very ht, penetrating the heart, which
soon put an end to the conflict.
Then such wild shout as went up from that
crowd, never before listened to. The very noun
tains seemed to catch the sound and bear 1t up to
Heaven. Our hero was unframed with the exeep-
ton Of his left hand, which was pretty badly
mntiated, notwithstanding its covering.
Thus ended one of the most intensely exciting
scenes which / ever Witnessed, and the like Of
which have no desire to behold again.
PansllaT. Laeetsres In Esszis.55 80.