St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-03-31
flor THE Children.
Obed's Story.

-
ter Truckee, a-minin' was pretty mig IN
played out but the woods waz full of
bars, SO | took to huntin' EN-. It's
il mighty onsartin' bizness. but I've
been pretty lucky haint lost no bars
yit, non haint got .chawed up ez most
'ar-hunters do atOre they've ben at it
az long eZ me.
Il got me Il couple of bull purps to
start with, but soon found out tibet
hlooded dorgs warn't no account in Il
b'ar-hunt. You see they close right in
with bar, and the konsiquens is, they
don't last no time. Mongrel is what yer
want in II b'ar-hunt no account dorgs
is the ones to worry bar powerful !;
snappin' and snarln' and btin' in the
lear is more'n bar can stan by con-
siderable. You see it cOmfuses 'em so,
that they naturally takO to a tree, and
then you hev got 'em. Why, Squire,
the hardest fight ever had with black
bar was right here, and the biggest one
| ever killed shot on the crotch er
that beech, thar (pOinting to large
tree close at hand). 'I'll tell yer about
it eff yer like, ez soon ez l light my
pipe"
The pipe being lighted, Ohed COM
menced us follows:
1T waz IL mornin' in November;
hadn't slep' much all night, and jest
atore daylight heerd Pete yelp.
Il knowed from the sound he waz on
the track % somethin', 50 got up and
dressed and went out ter see what it
waz. Putty soon | hecrd him ag'in'
down in these woods. 50 took old Kahn
tuck and started.
Jest after daylight, | struck bars
trail i'll tibet same corm-tield We came
through this afternoon | see plenty of
places, too, where he'd helped himself
to Their corn. | follard the tracks till |
got well inter these woods. and then
waited for Pete ter speak again. In Il
little while | heerd him y-lp, and |
know'd by the sound he'd got the bar
freed. an he'd stay by it till got thar
| stepped along putty lively, theugh |
didn't kecr to hurry much. and | got
ter jest about where you're sittin aforc
| seed the dorg>. There old Pete waz
a->tahdin' straight up on his hind legs,
with his forc-paws braced agin' the tree
loo>in' ut the bar, and cv'ry few min
uteS yellin' 'Ohed y ez plain cz any body
could say it.
''Nell, Squire, that waZ the crossest-
lookIn bar | ever seed, an | knewed
tibet should hey trouble with him ez
soon ez sot eyes on him; cause. Yer
see. Their dorgS had got him riled cfar
through. He waz so mad, he didn't
seem ter take no notice % me. 81 | creep
round ter whar could git fair shot.
Yer see. in shootin' il bar. eff yer can
,,n l,ull.t ri,rl,t I,.,I a..
shoulder. ten ter one one shots 'nutf
SO creep round till | got jest the posi-
ton | wanted. aud then drew old
kaintuck on him.
He kinder looked round at me when
| fired. and then settled down on ter
that big limb thar. so | fired once
more; the critter jest give IL low growl,
and Rugged it all the closer.
II he'd to fire ag'in afore he dropped,
and ez quick eZ he struck the ground
the dorgs made for him but, bless We,
quicker'n hev took to tell Yer, three q
them dorgs was dead. Pete waz the
only live one left. never seed IL bar
tibet could handle his paws us that one
did they made me think a. that wind
mill down in the MERGED Valley. murc'n
ennything ever seed aferr.
Pete knowed hettel FERN ter tackle
tibet rrittcr; he jest sot aud watched
cv'ry mOtion-ez KNOWN eZ cnny man
would Il done; and IF he seed the bar
look toward where he was IL Sittin'. he'd
'kI-yl like all pOSscst, and put inter the
woods. Wal, seed couldn't do moth
IN with thcl d"rg, so | made up my
mind To go for the critter myself.
drawed my knife and started toward
him; but atore got within six feet of
hlm. he riz up an hit me il lick with
one of his paws, tibet knocked me morc'n
ten feet. and sent my knife whar hey
never seed it ter this day. Nor haint
never found ont how he done it either.
for I was did so awful quick When
come to, the bar lay thar dead. |
hunted for my knife awhile, an then
went back ter Their settlement, an got
some of the boys ter come out an help
me carry the eritter home, for t WAS the
biggest black bar ever killed in
lruckce. My head didn't get over akin
tor Il month arttr tibet. though | never
should hey got him ennyway, eff it
hadn't IL ben for Pete an ter think
that Il dor. that knowcd ez much eZ
Pete should hey been an gone an got
kicked to dc'th by mule ut last I,
Thet> what beats me; it do sure and
Obed shook his head us though he in
deed failed to comprehend how it could
possibly he. After some further con-
rcrSation upon bears, Obed replenished
our campfire for the night and we both
turned in. Samuel ". COecens, 81.
Nicholas for april.