St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-03-10

frugal rcpaSt, Il huge black bear sudden
ly bounced in and invited himself to din
ner The proprietor politely withdrew
c'ambcring into the rafters above, Will
liruin took his place upon the log an
continued the meal. In few second
the approaching saw touched the rum
o. the bear, and he edged forward. |
again rasped him, and lie resented the in
dignity with growl. The third time Il
turned iuriously and hugged the saw
Then contest ensued that was YER
lively but exceedingly brief. At the en-,
the modest sawyer descended TO find
remnant of his dinner and consi,lcrabl
hcar-meat.
Again, we were assured that the com
mon way of killing Lcars in Hardin for
eSts was to suspend log by Il apc-vin,
to bec-trce. Bruin, who is passionate
ly fond of honey, in ascending the tree
would knock the log aside with his paw
The loo returning would hit and inluriat,
the bear, and, a contest arising between
the two, would bring the poor beast tc
grlct-ior the harder lie would strike the
more severe would be the rebound. MOI
Il bad fable is that to illustrate the evi
which comes to the individual who create:
strife in his own heart through hate, envy
malice, and all unchari,abIcncss.
This fondness Ter sweets is only equal
led by Hruin's taste for infant pig. lie
cannot resist the squeal of the young
porkcr, and will run his stupid head into
all sorts of traps baitcd with the living
animal
There is certain lumpish activity
about the bear that is extremely divert.
inS One must not count too positively,
however, on his lack of dextcrity. Tie
late witty and eccentric Judge Tappar
once had Il realizing sense of this lie,
with two or three companions, was boat.
ing on Lake Eric, near Sandusky, at an
early day, when they observed Il bear
swimming from the mainland toward an
island. The party, armed only with an
axe, rowed in pursuit. As they approach
ed their proposed prey, the Jud &c stood
with axe i'll hand, intending to hit Bruin
on the skull. But the animal, cycling
his enemy warily, was prepared, and rs
the axe descended lie turned suddenly in
the water, and with one swift stroke Of
his paw sent it flying from the grasp Of
his foe far into the lake. Then Bruin
passed from the defensive to a vigorous
attack, and began climbing into the boat.
To take such passenger aboard was cx-
cecdingly unpleasant, and, armed with
oars, the party used due diligence. 1t
proved impossible TO keep him out, but
by quick concerted action they succeeded
III passing him over into the water aglin
The bear returned to the charge, and was
again tumblcl out In the third assault
the boat was ST. filled with wafer that it
capslzed, and the adventurous pioneers
found themselves swimming for life
l}ruin was master of the situation, but
stupilly declined the advantage. As the
party, clinglng TO the oars, swan away,
they saw the bear seated upon the up
turned boat regarding their cxcrtions
with philosophical Indifference.
The common brown bear of North
America is an insignificant creature and
it remained for the grizzly bear of the
Rocky Mountains TO give dignity to the
species. What an immense, fearful an
imal it is q! We owe much TO the grizzly
bear. lie aided, in lieu of war, to lit
our money-getting people TO 4 higher
level Of manhood. Nothing but the dis
covcry of gold i'll California could drag
Us from our countng-rooms, workshops,
and fields. The hazardous crossing of
vast deserts and tracklcSs mountains. the
fight with the Indians, and, above all,
the adventures with the grizzly bear, de-
vcloped the manhood found, strange to
say, in the combative instincts of our na
turc. L never meet with Il Californian
now, but | am impressed with the pres
ence of stronger and larger man than
the ordinary American.
An encounter with a grizzly bear is
fraught with peril. The creatures
strength, courage, and strange vitality,
make the deadly contest nearly even be-
tween the armed man and the unarmed
beast. Heaven help the hunter whose
unsteady aim leaves tho bear uncripplcI.
Before he can reload, the enemy will be
upon his works. When the contest is
narrowed TO that pass, Daniel Boonc's
celebrated prayer, when the famous pio-
nccr found himself face to face with the
common brown bear, would be waste
of breath. The petition is we'll worth
putting to record as specimen of West
crn humor, if not an incident in the life
of Boone. 80 Lord" piously cried the
fighter, in the brief pause given him pre-
vious to the deadly combat between a
scalping-kniie and the claws, ''here's
agoin' to be one of the biggest bari fghts
you ever did see. o, Lord, ef you can't
help me, for Gods sake don't help the
bar"
A friend of mine, bold hunter from
England, told me once of a scrape he
found himself in, while hunting the griz-
zly bear of the Rocky Mountains He
came upon his prey quite unexpectedly,
and man and beast stared at each other
in some astonishment, not fifty yards
apart. The bear exhibited no disposi
ton of Il modest or retiring sort, and my
friend made haste to tender him a warm
reception. He fired with more quickness
than accuracy. The bullet from the
heavy rifle tore away porti1n of Bruins
ear, and, grazing the skull, stunned the
brute for an instant. The hunter hast
ened to reload, but before he could do so,
the bear rcgaincd his legs, and, although
somewhat groggy, came at his enemy.
My friend had time only to drop his ri
file and spring into tree, up which he
clambered with an activity worthy Of