The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1876-12-22
Mrs. Pope ana the Bear.

Mrs. Pope and Lhe Bear.
"You must look out for the sheep,
wife. These warm days will bring the
bears out OF their dens. They will be
ravenous, and like as not they will break
into the yard and carry off some of the
sheep. l saw bear tracts up the noun
tain this morning.
tWell'' 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 car
RED off by bears.''
81 wish you understood using the
gun, wife. When ! am gone, worry
about leaving you and the baby all day
help thinking some wild animal may
come down from the mountains and at
tack YOU"
"You needn't fear about that" an
swered Mrs. Pope. '''To be sure it is
Lonesome with neither man nor dog
about. presume / should feel safer it
understood handling a gun, but !
don't believe anything will come near
in the daytime. So don't worry about
us, only be sure to get home before
dark.''
'SDon't expose yourself or the baby to
any danger, and I'll be back before
night"
So saying, Mr.. Pope, with bag of
grain on his horse, started off to mill,
leaving his wife and baby alone in their
solitary log cabin i'll the wilderness.
This conversation occurred III the
town of Kirby, Vermont, in the spring
of the wear 1911, when that region was
but little settled, and when even wo-
men understood that they were III con-
slant peril from wild beasts. Jesse
Pope's cabin stood close to the front of
Kirby mountains, III whose ro. Ky tast-
nesses bears, catamountS and wolves
had their inaccessible dens. Bears, es-
pecially, were so thick as to be source
of constant dread to those who had
homes unprotected, while they went to
the larger settlements on necessary bus
iness.
} Mrs. Pope fully understood the peril
} that surrounded her during her hus-
bands absence. Her cheerful talk with
J her husband was not mere bravado.
J She said what she did, as much to keep
her own spirits up as to dispel her hus-
! bands 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 a brave
woman. Nature had endowed her with
courage, and the surroundings of ner
early life had all rendered to foster and
! strengthen. it. She fully understood
; her situation, and when her husband
passed out OF sight she knew that she
and her baby were alone i'll 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 tie house, she went
on with her work as usual.
r After the breakfast dishes were wash
ed and put away, she brought out her
s s'linen wheeF' and went to spinning
3 fax. They must have clothes for sum.
; mer wear, and that was the season to
spin and weave, before the summer bad
fully set in. | can remember my moth.
er and her spinning wheel, and I car
/ imagine just how Mrs. Pope looked, sit
i ting with one foot on the treadle.
{ can see just how often she dipped hel
! fingers in the little cup of water, as she
/ drew out the fbres of flax, and dexter
/ ously shaped the strong, symmetrica
, thread, in manner that would aston
: ish modern housewives.
All the long forenoon her musica
wheel kept humming its pleasant tune
stopping only now and then as its mis-
S tress either crowed to the baby in tn,
; cradle, or looked out to see that no wilf
!, animals were prowling about. Moor
: came and went, and nothing disturbed
r them. The baby in the cradle went of
s to sleep, and she kept on with her work
e After a time she arose and looked ou
z again. This time she saw an astonish
9 ing sight Coming down the mountain
t side from the woods, she beheld full
s grown bear, not a hundred yards dis
8 tant. He was on his way to the yarC
: where the sheep were in fold, and sh,
i knew be was after them. She bad /;
: gun. but that would not avail anything
:, for she had never learned to use it
: She had an axe, but she knew an axe tt
< be poor weapon to fight bear With
: The next thing she thought of was th,
q pitchfork. Their few sheep were /
2 treasure to the family. All their win
y ter clothing was to come from the sheep
and now they were in peril she wal
aroused to instant action. The one alb
sorbing thought of saving the sheer
i banished all thought of personal dan
4 ger. Instead Of shutting herself up ii
! The house she darted out and closed tht
door after her, lest anything should mo
q lest the baby. Then running into ths
j, log barn, she snatehed up the pitchtork
- !. .a.4,,,..d 4lr, i,sas.,, .,1 .,lnr,As,l he,.