American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-10-23
A Bear Story.

A CORRESPONDENT of the Chico (Cal)
Enterprise relates the following:
"Tell us a bear story, Uncle john" l
said one night lately while sitting around
the campfire near Lassen Peak. There
had come over the northern divide'' quite
a number of bear and were troubling the
sheep that are every summer quartered in
and around Hot Spring Valley, and hear
ing of this party of us arranged to go
and have hunt, and while on our way
we met "old Uncle john" the hero of
many bear-fight, as his numerous scars
amply testify to- and persuaded him to ac-
company us. We had had supper, there
was blazing log fire, and, all being in
readiness, the old man said:
oval, I've hearn tell o. bar scrimmages
being putty lively like at times, but seed
one last week that capped all hunts ever
see. l come down from Big Squaw Val
ley, and was camped above here about
mile, when one day l run across some big
bugs from Frisco, fellows with billed
shirts, you know; and would you believe
me, they sed, odd man, have you seed
any bar tracks, OF course, sed YES
and they engaged me to go with them and
hunt up some for them. Wal, to make a
long story short and not to tell how one
of them fired thirteen shots at log,
thinkin' it was bar, and finally how one
near it, th;nkin' it was wildcat, but Just
tell how old Hayward, him as got his
soap outen Crown Point, sat up all night
and watched a dead bar: You see I'd bin
across the fork jest at dark, an ole Dick,
thar, he nosed fresh track, and in two
minutes or thereabout he had a cinnamon
cub up tamarack. Wal, of course, one
shot from ole Betsey here land the grim
hunter patted his rifle affectionately), and
T ha,-
hold on the limb, and then kinder settle
back; but he stuck onto the tree, and
knowed l had him plum in the heart.
Wal, Gen. Chapman, he came first, an
Alvinsey' jest behind, am pinted out
the bar and never thought to say he was
gone the way of all flesh. But Alvin
sey' he sed he was going to get his blank
cts and watch till mornin', for now it was
so dark you could hardly see the sights on
our guns. Wal, the whole party crossed
the fork and camped under that ar tam
arack all night so that the bear could not
get away. Wal, boys, if you hear me,
enjoyed it. l once seed a circus, but the
show warent anything to that crowd
around the tamarack. One ole Teller, Doc.
Pratt, they called him, blowed consider
able bout bein' able to fetch him down
the first shot he had. Hayward allowed
no one he'd any percentage on him with a
Henry, ana the General shot his mouth
off some too bout what he could do with
gun, and in fact they all talked so loud
and long that rolled my blankets about
me and took a nap jest to pass time till
morning broke. l woke at the first sign
of dawn, an thar they all sat around the
| fire, shivering with the cold, for tell you,
boys, the nights hereaway are different
from the nights in the valley. Wal, thar
they sit, their teeth chattering and all
looking mighty blue under the eyes. We
could now jest see the outlines of the bar,
but every minute it was getting lighter,
| and was afeared they'd smell mice, so l
got them all ready and commenced firing
away at that 'ar carcass for all possessed.
When about fifty shots had been fired AL
vinsey' wanted to know why the bar didn't
move. 1 could keep in no longer; l
busted right out, an you should have seen
them fellers stare; it was rich, tell you.
Said l, Last ght when you two men came
across the fork you asked me what the
matter was, an told you had bar up
a tree, but if you he'd asked me any more
l would have told you as how 1 he'd
fetched him the first shot he'd Wal
boys, you never see a more sheepish-look-
ing lot o. men in your days. They agreed
among themselves to say nothing about it,
an l suppose they thought l never saw
anybody in the world, for they didn't
make me promise, an it's too good to
keep. Wal, let's turn in, boys, if you
perpose following that grizzly in the
mornin'. Goodnight, and don't never sit
watchin' ded barr