The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-11-22
Tho Bc.r and the Horse.

The bear was slowly crawling out Of the
ravine, and when I tirst saw him was drag
ging his huge body over the escarpnet Of
the cliff. Iu 4 moment he stood erect npon
the open plain. was filed with new
Consideration; I saw tho surely that he was
about to attack my horse ~
The latter had already observed the
bears approach. and seemed to no fully
aware Of bis danger. ] had stHked him at
the distance Of four hundred cards from the
barranca. and upon lasso ,ofaho1t twenty
fsetin length. At the sight Of the bear. he
had run out to fhs and of hi. trail rope, an
was snorting and p'unsins with alright.
This new dilemma arrested my steps,
and stood with anxious feeling to watch
the result. bad no hope Of being able to
yield the Sigh test aid to my poor horsc--at
least, none occurred to yaA 1t that moment
The bear made directly towards him, and
my heart throbbed as bcheld the fisrce
monster al.nast within clawing distance. =
The borse sprans rouni, howev, r, and gal
lopsd upon . circle Of which the la-sp was
the radins. Ikasw. from thc hard jerks he
had already given to tho rope. that there
was no chance cfies yielding, and setting
him free,. No; II was raw hide lasso of
the toughest thong. knew its power. and
remembered how firmly I had driven
homo the picket pin. This I had now
cause to rasret. What would not I have
given to drawn the blade Of my knife across
that rope tss
Tcoutinued TO watch tho struggle with
painful feeling Of suspense. The horse still
kept out af reach by galloping around the
|c,rcumfercnse Of ths circle. while the bear
made his a.tac'<s by crossing in cords. run
ming in circles Of less diameter. The whole
scene b,re re ssm5lanc, to an act At the
H:ppodrome, tho bear taking the part Of the
ring master. Is
Onee or twice, tho rops circlrg round,
and quite taut, caught upon the legs Of the
bear, and after Carrying him along with il
for some distance fans him over on his
back. This seemed to add to his rage, and
after rising each tins no ran far tho horse
with redoublsd fury. I might hare bsen
amused at the singular spectacle, but mr.
mind was too painfully asitated about the
result. Il,
The scene contiaued for some minutes
without much change in thc relative posi-
ton Of the actors. began to hope that the
bear might be bafflsd, after all, and finding
the horss too nimble for him, would give
over his attempts, particularly as I noticed
the latter administer several kicks that
might have diacomfited any other assailant,
but these only rendered the bear more saw
age and revengeful. s f4 ,f-a.
Just at this moment the scene assumed .
new phase, likely to bring about the de-
nouement The rope had oncc more press
led against the bear but this time, instead
of trying to avoid it. he seized it in his
teeth and paws. thought he was going to
cut il, and this was exactly what wished
for; but no--to my CONSERVATION, saw
that he was crawling along it by constantly
renewing his hold, and thus gradually and
surely crawling nearer to his victim. The
horse now screamed with terror. q
| could bear it no longer. 1 remembered
that had left my rife near the edge Of the
barranca. | ran forward to the cliff, and
dashed madly down its face; climbed the
opposite steep, and clutching the CUR, rush
ed towards the scene Of strife. / wss still
in time; the bear had not yet reached his
victim, though pav within less than six feet
ofhim. advanced within ten PAGES, and
fred. Az though my shot had cut the
thong. il gave way at the moment; and the
horse. with . wild neigh. sprsng OF into the
prairie. 81 sg,i sarj In x4s as,-ga4 .s
/ had hit the bear, - Afterwards ascer.
tainsd, bnt not in vital part; aud my bullet
had no more effect than ifit had been .
drop Of s1ipe shot, II Was the strength cf
despair that had broken the rops and freed
| the steed.- ~ -az ~s~-e 81.
II was my turn now; for the bear, ~ soon
- he pcrcsiyed that the horse had escaped
him, rushed forward upon me, uttering a
loudcsy. l bad no choice but fgat. had
no time to reload. I struck the brute once
with my dubbed riffs. and. fingins the gun
away, gr,sped the readier knife. With the
strong, keen blade--she knife was bowie
IL struck out before ma bat the next mo-
mont felt MYSELF grappled and held fast :
The sharp claws tore up flesh, one claw was
tgIped over my hips, another rested on my
shoulder, while tha white teeth gleatped be
fore NY eyes. Ny knife arm was fres-I
mad watched this when graphing. and with
all the energy ofdasp,ir, I plunged the keen
blade between the ribs Of my ant ogonist.--
ITAayne Rsid's ..War Trsil'
sSg 5et.Ese 90 y
WAsHIN GroN AS A DIcrAroR. oR.-The
dictatorial powers conferredup Gen.
Washington, during the war Of the
Revolution, arc. contained and emu
merated in q resolve of Congress, da.
ted 27th December, 1916, and were
limited to the term Of six MONTHS,
With a single exception they relate
exclusively to the Organization. control
aud support Of the army, and confer
no civil authority. The exception al
lnded to is OF character to deserve