The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-09-02
MRS. POPE AND THE BEAR.
by FRANKLIN 3. CAGE.


You must look out for the sheep,
wife. These warm days will bring the
bears out of their dens. They will be raw
enous, and like as not they will break into
the yard and carry off some of the sheep.
| saw bear-tracks up the mountain this
morning"
Well" said Mrs. Pope, they needn't
expect to get any of our sheep. If they
come prowling round here I'll drive them
off in some way. We need the sheep too
much to have them carried off by bears. s"
Il wish you understood using the gun,
wife When l am gone l worry about
leaving you and the baby all day alone.
The woods are so near can't help think
ing some wild animals may come down
from the mountains and attack you"
"You needn't fear about that answered
Mrs. Pope. ITO be sure, it is lonesome
with neither man nor dog about. | pre-
sumo | should feel safer if I understood
handling "A gun but don't believe any
thing will come near us in the daytime.
So don't worry about us, only be sure to
get home before dusk"
Well, good-by, then. Don't expose
the baby or yourself to any danger, and
| I'll be back before night"
So saying, Mr. Pope, with a bag OF
grain on his horse, started off to MILL lcav-
ing his wife and baby alone in their sol-
tary log cabin in the wilderness.
This conversation occurred in the town
Of Kirby, Vt, in the spring Of the year
| 1911, when that region was but little set
tied, when even women understood they
Were in constant peril from wild beasts
Jesse Pope's cabin stood close to the foot
Of the Kirby Mountains, in whose rocky
Businesses bears, catamounts and wolves
had their inaccessible dens. Bears,
especially, were 50 thick as to be a source
of constant dread to those who had tloCks
or were compelled to leave their homes
unprotected while they went to the larger
settlements on necessary business.
Mrs. Pope fully understood the peril
that surrounded her during her husbands
absence Her cheerful talk with her hus-
band was not mere bravadO. She said
what she did as much to keep her own
spirits up as to dispel her husbands
anxiety. She knew that he must go to the
mill, and there was no way for her but to
stay at home and be as brave as possible.
| She was brave woman. Nature had en-
dowed her with courage, and the sur
roundings of her early life had all tended
to foster and strengthen it. She fully
understood her situation, and when her
husband passed out of sight she knew
she and her baby were alone in the
great wilderness, beyond the reach of help,
should anything serious occur. But she
had always lived in the wilderness. The
howl of the wolf and the grOwl of the bear
were familiar sounds to her, and she had
| become accustomed to a lonely life in the
woods. So, instead of shutting herself in
the house, she went on with her work as
usual.
After the breakfast dishes were washed
and put away she brought out her little
linen wheel" and went to spinning flax.
| They must have clothes for summer wear,
and that was the season to spin and weave
before the summer fully set in. | can re
member my mother and her spinning
wheel, and | can imagine Just how Mrs.
Pope looked, sitting with one foot on the
treadle. l can hear the buzz of the wheel
| as it flew round; | can see just how often
she dipped her fingers in the little cup of
water, as she drew out the fibers of flax.
and dexterously shaped the strong SYM
mctrical thread in a manner that would
astonish modern housewives.
All the long forenoon her musical
wheel kept humming its pleasant tune,
stopping only now and then as its mis-
tress either crowed to the baby in the
cradle or looked out to see that no wild
animals were prowling about. Noon
came and went, and nothing disturbed
them. The baby in the cradle went off to
sleep and she kept on with her work.
After time she rose and looked out again.
This time she saw an astounding sight!
Coming down the mountain-side from the
woods she beheld a full grown bear, not
hundred yards distant He was on his
way to the yard where the sheep were in
fold, and she knew he was after the sheep.
She had gun, but that would not avail
ANYTHING, for she had never learned to
use it. She had an ak, but she knew an
AK to be poor weapon to fight bear
with. The next thing she thought of was
pitchfork. Their few sheep were a
treasure to the family. All their winter
clothing was to come from the sheep, and
now that they were in peril she was
aroused to instant action The one alb
sorbing thought of saving the sheep ban
ished all sense of personal danger. In
stead of shutting herself up in the house
she darted out and closed the door after
her, lest anything should modest the
baby. Then, running into the log
barn, she snatched up the pitch
fork, ran around the barn, and
planted herself directly in the bears path.
Brandishing her pitchfork and screaming
at him, she attempted to scare him back
to the woods But the bear was ravenous
with hunger, and he came straight down
the hill at her, showing his teeth and
growing iercely. As he approached and
sprang toward her Mrs Pope lodged and
dealt HIM blow, the iron ring of the
fork striking him exactly on the end of
the nose. The shock stunned the bear