The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-08-03
AN ADVENTURE WITH
BEAR.


BEAR.
A YOUNG man, whose boyhood was
passed in Oregon, gives us the follow
ing amusing adventure:
six or seven miles from where we
first settled on the east fork of the
Umpqua, there lived an Indian trader
named Huelder
He dealt in old Government mus
ketS, powder, lead, etc, and used to
keep overwhelmingly poor ones. |
suppose they may have been defective
ones, cheaply purchased at the facto-
| rieS.
"Often the temper would be so high,
that on striking into Il hard, dry log,
the bit would break and fly like glass
But in those days there was not anOth-
er place where an AK could be bought
within sixty miles of us. SO it was
'HobSOn'S choice, those or nothing.
"We bought not less than a dozen
of these axes of Uuelder during the
first four Years. | remember that his
price for an aX, without the handle,
was three dollars and fifty cents.
Father could generally pick out
those blades which We're the best tenn
pered; but the traders Indian custom
ers could not tell good TX from apoor
one. And 50 he went on SwindIing
them year after ycar-SellnG whisky
only fit to poison coyotes, axes as brit
tie us glass, and guns all rusted out at
the breeCh.
But the Indians took deadly re-
venge on him at last. Another Illus
tration of the fact that if Il man sows
wickedness, a bitter harvest follows.
"Toward the last days Of October of
the third fall, my brother Samuel,
father and |, set off one morning to 90
up to IIueldcr's to get couple Of his
axes and lay in stock Of powder for
the winter.
"The road OF trail, ran along the
fork least branch of Umpqua). We
went horseback, or rather muleback; !;
for we kept three mules to work on the
farm. One of them, old Tige, was the
most vicious beast and the worst kicker
| ever saw. Everybody i'll Oregon
used to ride mule in those days.
About four miles above our place,
the river runs through rocky raVine,
such as the lower country folks call Il
canyon, a fearfully craggy, rough hol-
low, the sides of which were fifty or
sixty feet in height. Great rocks, as
| large aS a car, had rolled down, and
! here and there trees, which had top
pied over from above, lay across the
! ledges.
"The stream filled the most of the
| bed of the ravine. The trail was on
| the north side. 1t wound III and out
amongst the rocks, sometimes running
close to the water, and then back
among the powders and drift-logs,
which lay piled up on the rocks ten
and twenty feet high, where the fresh
cts had lodged them. 1t was a terri
bic hole.
Gas we had started early, it was
scarcely sunrise when we reached the
canyon, father riding the mule Tige,
in advance of my brother and me some
forty or fifty yards. At turn among
| the rocks, he all at once came face to
face with big grizzly bear.
"It was probably surprise on both
sides. But the old bear was the first
| to recover his wits. With a growl
and roar, he sprang at the mule.
"Tige whirled about, fairly pirouett-
! ing on his hind heels, deposited father
fiat in the path, and took the back
track like fox.
"Sam and were in sight, and
| caught glimpse Of this maneuver.
Then Tige tore past us, squealing like
a pig.
"Our two mules had heard the
bea s roar, and perhaps smelled him.
They squealed, whirled about, and ran
away with us after Tige.
''Sam had only a halter on his mule.
| We could do nothing with them. We
could neither hold them nor turn them
about. 1t was regular stampede.
E.'Down the canyon they went at a
full gallop, over and among the great
rough rocks and logs, Sam and hold
ing on for life.x
.'As soon as we could master them
we pIiflectup, and, jumping off, tied
them to the dry branches. of a fallen
pine.
"Then, although we had not a sign
of d weapon, we ran back to see what
! had become of father. We thought
the bear certainly had caught him.
/ lie had the rifle, and we had not heard
| him fire.
'It would be impossible to describe
what we two boys suffered in our feel
ings during those few moments Back
we went, all in tremble. a.Ss
"On coming within hundred yards
or-so of the place, Sam said that we
had better call out, for we did not
care TO run upon the bear. SO we
called Softly at first, then h little
louder.