Bloomsburg democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1867-1869, 1868-07-29
A Great Bear Story.

We hdNe W TeCOTu very Slus suIaI ucii'ci'
ance Of girl about three years Of age to
its parents, after being carried off by black
bear, and search of about thirty-six hours
through the forest by the excited parents
The facts as near as We can gather them,
are substantially as follows:
Mr.. Henry Flynn lives about forty miles
east Of this place, at or near the lodging
camps Of Mr.. Ludington, and, we believe,
has charge of one Of the camps. He start
ed one morning to take horse to pasture,
about two miles distant from the house,
and as he was ready to start, his little girl
appeared and seemed very anxious to 90
with her father, who, in order to please the
child, put her upon the horses back and
let her ride short distance, perhaps forty
rods from the house, but in plain view Of
it, where he put her dow and told her to
run home. lie noticed that the child was
standing where he left her, and, on looking
back after going little further, saw her
playing in the sand. He soon passed out
Of sight, and was gone about an hour, ex-
pecting, of course, that the child conld re-
turn to the house after playing few mo.
nents
On returning home he made inquiry
about the child of its mother, who said she
had not seen the child, and supposed he
had taken her along with him. On going
to the spot where he had left her, he saw
huge bear tracks in the sand, and at once
came to the conclusion that the child had
been carried off by the bear.
The family Immediately made search
through the forest, which was grown up to
almost jungle, rendering their search very
slow. All day these anxious parents search
ed for some traces of their child, nor did
they stop when darkness came on, but re.
mained in the woods, calling the child by
her name, and with aching hearts would
listen, with almost breathless fear to catch
some sound by which they could discover
their lost darling. Morning came and their
search was fruitless.
A couple Of gentlemen looking at land
came to the house, and, being Informed Of
the circumstance, Immediately set out OF
help find the child. No doubt existed as
to the fate of the little one by all, and if
they could only find where the bear had
dispatched his victim, they might then 60
home with the assurance that they were
never to see their child again, but until
some traces of her was found, there was
hope.
The gentlemen alluded to had wandered
about, and as they were passing swampy
spot where the underground was thick, they
either called the child, or else were talking
aloud, when one of them heard the child
voice. He then called the child by name,
and told her to come out Of the bushes. -
She replied that the bear would not let her.
The men then crept through the bush, and
when near the spot where the child and
bear were, they heard splash in the water,
which the child said was the bear. On
going to her they found her standing upon
a log extending about half way across the
river.
The bear had undertaken to cross the
river on the log, and being closely pursued,
left the child and swan away. She had re-
ceived some scratches upon her face, arms
and legs, and her clothes were almost torn
from her body, but the bear had not bitten
her to hurt her, only the marks Of his teeth
being found on her back, where, in taking
hold of her clothes to carry her, he had
taken the flesh also.
The little one says the bear would put
her down occasionally to rest, and would
put his nose up to her face, when she would
slap him, and then the bear would hang
his head by her side, and purr and rub
against her like cat. The men asked her
if she was cold in the night, and she told
them that the old bear lay down beside her,
and put his ''arms' around her, and hugg'
ed her to him and kept her warm, though
she did not like his long hair. She was
taken home to her parents, who could hard
! ly express their joy at her syfcty'