The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-01-01
FAREWELL TO THE OLD YEAR.

50 gather here, with song and cheer
: We bid the dear, the gray Old year.
! Our friend so long, goOd-by
} he leaves us soon, he must not stay,
Ere dawn he needs must go;
He hath been with us on the way
For many months, know.
When skies were clear, when storms
were near,
Through hope and fear, the brave Old
Year.
In rain and wind and snow.
He brought such gently dropping showers
To glad the silent plain.
Such precious wealth of fruit and fiower
Such harvest fields Of grain;
The gay Old Year, grown sad and drear,
We hold him dear who leaves US here
Never to return again.
His form is bent, his face is white.
He hath seen many 3 day,
Soon will b pass into the night
| To go upon his way
The fond Old Year we hold so dear,
For him what cheer who fingers here
Where he Is wont to stay:
What though he touched some hearts with
grief
III others he made strong:
Bid him farewell, the night grows brief,
He must be gone ere long,
The hale Old Year, now blanched and sere,
Whose hour draws near; forgive him here
Whatever is of wrong.
Hark heavy across the frozen snow
The belfry's pealing bell;
o sexton, toll it soft and slow,
1t is his funeral knell;
Good-by, Old Year, to memory dear,
God rest thy bier! with many a tear
We give thee our farewell.
%
A Michigan Bear IHant.
On Saturday afternoon two men
named James Marshall and John
Ebbitts, the former a drummer for
New York house, and the latter
a resident of Detroit, started from
North Branch on bear-huDting ex-
petition. Proceeding six miles east
and from thence five miles north,
they came upon bear tracks of I'M
usual size. They had with them a
gun each of approved pattern, an
uncommonly large bull dog, who
w % AONCA INV" ~ OdCA u
anything and of q savage species,
and a Siberian bloodhound who
weighed not less than 250 pounds.
The dogs were the first to scent the
game, and with tails and bristles
erect they eagerly started on the
war-path, Marshall and Ebbitts fol-
lowing in the rear as fast as posi-
Bile. About five miles further on
fhnU yNnnynnnfn6AU 90 hn
bear, who was quietly slumbering
in cavity made by the upheaval of
an immense beech tree. The dogs |
gave a growl aud bark as they dis |
covered the monster, and without |
another sign sprang with ferocity
on the bear before he had fairly time |
to recover his consciousness. He
was not long in doing it, however,
for he Immediately rose to stand
ing position, gave fierce growl,
elevated the corners of his lips, dis
closing as ugly set of molars as |
ever adorned a Michigan bear, faced |
the dogs, and raising his right paw
he hit the bull dog in the ribs,
knocking him about twenty feet and |
landing him on the top of q pine |
stump three feet in hight. In the |
meantime the bloodhound had not |
been idle. The bear had no sooner
dealt his companion blow than he
seized him by the flank with a fero-
city which caused him to whirl |
around with such force as to break |
loose. The bear elevated himself /
on his hind legs and opened his
mouth, prepared for an embrace.
The bloodhound did not decline the
prottered hug, and quick as fash
of lightning sPrang at the bear, seiZ-
ed him by the throat, and the battle
was begun in deadly earnest. The
bear was oVerthroWn by the sudden
onset made by the bloodhound, and
fell on his back, the bloodhound
still clinging to his throat. Dog
and bear were mixed up in such a
manner that the hunters were afraid
to fire for fear they would kill the
dog, and as the dog up to that mo-
ment seemed to have the best of the |
fight they determined to let the bat
tie rage without interruption. The |
bear recovered himself in a seconds |
time, and drew up his hind paws |
with the evident intention of disem-
boweling his antagonist. But the |
dog saw the movement, jumped |
aside, and unfortunately loosened |
his hold. The bear quickly rose,
maddened with pain, and seeing the |
hunters, started for them with the |
dog at his heels. They emptied |
their guns into his carcass, but he |
didn't seem to mind that and kept |
on. He was so close that they did |
not have time to reload, and they |
turned and ran toward large beech |
tree about fifteen rods distant, the
bear in close pursuit, and the dog
close at the heels of the bear. Just
as the latter had cleared the gap be-
tween himself and the hunters to
within about three feet, the dog
again seized him by the flank and
hung on with such force that the
bear could not extricate himself.
He again whirled the dog loose and
they met face to face and came to-
gether with terrific fury. The hun
tiers hastily loaded their pieces,
walked up within six PAGES of the
bear, took aim and fired just as the
bear, with q well and powerfully
directed blow with his right arm hit
the dog between the eyes, splitting
his head open as neatly as if struck
with an ak. The bear, when fired
at, fell, and after struggling q few
moments in mortal agony, was
dead. On examination it was found
that the bloodhound and bull dog
were also dead, the latter having all
his ribs smashed in. A farmer was
hired to carry the bear to the near
est station, and when put upon the
scales he tipped the beam at $50
pounds. One of his paws, when
cut of, weighed just five pounds. It
took copious draughts of brandy for
three days in succession before the
nerves of the hunters became any
way steady, SO great had been their
excitement over the contest. Of
course they were not frightened
any of the time; they deny that
charge with the scorn and indigna-
ton that the imputation deserves.
I-Lapeer Democrat.