The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-04-15
TOM WILSON'S SCARE.

Tom appeared staggering under the weight
of fine fat doe, which was soon dressed.
and portion of it broiling over the Goals
for our supper. This over, we threw our
selves upon our blankets, and, while en-
joying the cheerful light of our camp fire,
Tom related his experience with the first
grizzly he ever saw.
You see, when | first came to this
country, | didn't know much about il !;
but General Garland allowed | was the
man he wanted to scout for him, and so |
entered his sarvice. When he was a-trav-
elm over the country, used to make it a
pint to look round considerable when in
camp, so as to get acquainted with it like,
because in my business a Teller had TO
know it pretty middling well.
I'D heerd a good deal about grizzlies,
though I'd never seed one, for they don't
have 'em up in Kentuck'. where come
from, or in Texas either; but when |
heerd old trappers talkin' about 'em, and
tellin' how savage and strong they was, /
always allowed that they war MT no kind
of a bar that Il was afeerd of, and didn't
know there was either. You see, did
MT s'em know that I'd never ID seed
os.e OF the critters, for | made up my
mind that If ever come acrost one, I'd
have tussle with him, and he should MT
get away from me neither, though must
confess that felt little skeery of crit
ter that could crunch man or kill a buff
falo as easy as could break an egg. Still,
I talked big, cause talk is cheap, you
know. ~ t
swell, ore day we was to the north of
this-camped on San Juan River. The
valley was eight or ten miles long, and
perhaps couple wide, with the biggest
oak-trees CROWN in it that / ever seed
growin' anywhere; some of 'em would
measured twenty feet round the butts, and
the General said he reckoned they was
more n hundred years old.
81 got tired of stayin' round camp and
doin' nothin' so walked down to where
the animals was feedin', and talked to the
herder awhile, and then went on down the
valley, lookin' at the rocks and mountains
and trees, till L got long ways from
camp, and calculated it would take me a
good hour to git back. After startin' on
the back trail, | happened to notice one
tree, which stood little to one side of my
track, that looked so much larger than the
others, that the idea came into my head TO
| Just examine it. had stout stick in my
hand, and as l came up to the tree hit
| the trunk two or three blows. to see ii 1t
was sound, you know. Then | thought
I'd see how big round it was, so that |
| could tell the General how many steps 1t
| took to circumnavigate it. So stuck my
| stick in the ground for mark, and started.
"When got about halfway round, !
happened to- look up, and III be blest il
there wasn'ea grizzly as big as an OK,
within two feet of me, a-settin' on his
launches, and watchin' me out of hole
| in the stump of that tree.
II brought up pretty sudden, l tell you,
and took one good look at him. lie
looked meek enough at first glance, but5n
| iiffy he fixed his eyes on me, and his
| great mouth, which was halfopen, with
| his white teeth, looked waterish like, as
though it was just achin' to git hold ofme
[ see him kind er half raise one of his BIG
paws, and then l started. | heerd hin
give low, wheeZy kind er growl, as he
! started after me, and | didn't wait to heal
any more. If ever feller run, that tellel
was Tom Wilson.
81 reckon 1 thought of every story II
ever heerd about grizzlies; how savage
| they was how they could beat hos
runnin' any time. The more l thought
the faster run, and the palmer | coulC
hear the bar a-comin' after me.
s. | declare | never knowed it was in mt
to run so. | threwed off pretty nigh al
the clothes had on, and was doin' les
nv level best, when suddenly | trippe
on somethin' or other, and went down
Then knowed It was all up with me fol
sartin, and | expected every minute tofee
that bars paw on to lie.
81 remembered how I'd heered Ma
Beal say, that if grizzly thought mar
was dead, he'd dig a hole and bury him
without hurtin' him any, and after day
or two would come back and dig him up
So laid still and held my breath, waitin
for the bar to bury me.
l. Icould hear him diegin' the hole, and
though my eyes was shet, could see les
how he looked, as he handled them paw
of his.
cit seemed to me that laid there ant
/ held my breath for nigh an hour, expect
ing every minute to have the bar roll m'
into the hole. After awhile | ventured Il
peek out. and, would you believe it, ther'
want no bar there!
81 lest picked myself up mighty sud
i den. and made tracks for camp, and
reckon if ever feller felt beat that felle
was me, then and there.
ssIt was long time before | said an.
thing about my scare in camp; but, a
last. / told the General, and thought he'C
split a-laughin'."
6 Well, Tom" said +, "you must hav
been pretty badly frightened"
enlightened ! jest tell you, sir, wa
the worst scarf man this side of the San
{. Juan, and didn't git over it neither in
hurry, sure's you're born"
"What had become of the bear?" aske'
|.
"Why, you see, he was asleep in tha
hole. and when thumped on the tree witt
nv stick it woke him up. AS nat ra
consequence, his curiosity was riz, and h
/, poked his head out to see who wa
1 a'knockin'; but" added Tom, with
! Iauoh. "before he could say come in
was gone. I've always owed grizzlies
grudge since that scare. ."-''As AdUs't''''
with a Grizzly" by Samuel Woodl0ort
Cozzs,,s, in st. Nicholas for April.