The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1876-06-16
Desperate Fight with . Bear.


The head waters of the Delaware river aic
about thirty miles northwest Of Delhi, in g
wild and unfrequcnted portion OF the Cat;,
kill mountains. in Schoharie county, New
York. There are few settlements in the re-
gon, but about year ago man named Jo'
mas Butler put up a cabin on one OF the
mountain tributaries Of the stream, hsving
contract to peel bark and cut railroad ties.
His wife and two children, one girl about
sixteen and the other an infant, occupy the
cabin with him. Butler goes into the woods
sometimes several miles away from his home
and often does not return for three days.
q, On Sunday last he went out to his work,
leaving his family in their cabin. The sec
ton is noted for its wild game, deer and
bears being plentiful, but the present season
bears have been unusually numerous and
bold, and the pig-pen Of the Buffers has been
twice depopulated. la.I 4Y $40
About o'clock Sunday afternoon Mrs.
Butler and her daughter were preparing to
feed the pigs, when an immense black bear
was discovered trying to get out of the in
closure with fine fat shoat in its embrace.
Mrs. Butler seized a heavy wooden mallet
used for driving wedges and her daughter
took up an axe. They ran and jumped into
the pen, followed by the dog, and commenced
an attack on the bear. 1t held on TO the pig
however, until the blows of the women aud
bites of the dog became too much for him,
when it turned on its assailants. It seized
the dog and crushed it to death. The girl
rained in blows with the ak on the head of
the bear, when bruin made rush for her.
With one sweep of his great paw he sent
her ak flying out of the inclosure, and press
ed her into one corner. The mother, seeing
her daughters danger, increased the fury of
her assault with the mallet, and although the
bear got the girl in his embrace, it dropped
her before doing material injury to ward off
the attacks of the mother. ad n 1oi n..h
The floor of the pen was now slippery with
blood that was flowing from the wounds Of
the bear, for the girl had struck with the
| edge of the ak and buried it somewhere In
the animal every time. fer 1lsdl na1i is.
When the bear turned on the mother she
shouted to her daughter to run to the house
and get the rife. While she was gone her
mother succeeded in keeping the bear from
getting too close to her, but when the daugh-
ter returned with the rife she was about ex-
hausted, and was fighting from corner into
which the bear was pressing her closely. hay
ing disarmed her. Jennie put the barrel of
the gun through chink in the logs and fir.
ed. The ball entered behind the bears fore
shoulder, and he fell to the floor and died
in short time.
1t was a long time before Mrs. Butler
could summon strength enough to climb out
of the enclosure and as soon as the excite
ment that had sustained the daughter was
over the latter fell fainting to the ground,
and it was two hours before she could get
about again. Her clothing was nearly all
torn from her by the claws of the bear, but
neither Of the women sustained any serious
injury Monday Jennie walked out to where
her father was at work and told him of their
adventure, when he returned home with her
and skinned and dressed the bear. 1t weigh
eb over three hundred pounds.