Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-10-23

| CLERICAL NIMRoD.
A California Preachers vaoatton..-l
Surprising, Exaspsrating Xuls--An
other Bear Story.
Rev. w. J. Smith, writing from "
salia, Cal, to the Pittsburg Penn Pre-
bytc.s0n Banner, communicates these pei
sonal experiences:
"From my earliest boyhood / hav
loved to hunt. When too unwell
work al home, it was a delight to me
work all day in the woods for fev
squirrels. OF course, I did it for m,
health. My father said it was runninI
30 much that kept me ailing, but, o
course he was wrong. What father va
ever right, or what boy ever agreed will
him? But nimrodism has q strang,
fascination for me yet; and, oh what i
feast l have had, but it is not easy t
work. We killed five deer upon thu
side OF that high, rugged mountain
Next morning we start bright and early
to bring them into camp. We take oul
pack-mule and try to lead him up the
slippery sleeps. He is such q funny
mule; he can turn round on eight feet
of rope and kick you twice with both
feet, turn round and 60 to browsing on
blue brush with more ease and COM
p0sure than any mule l ever saw. Our
stock of patience is very nearly exhaust
ed. We reach great belt of slippery
rock where We can hardly stand, and
We have almost an old Adam desire to
see this mule jump of the ledge and COM
NIT suicide to satisfy our vengeance,
but he merely took little seam Of rock,
walked down like tight-rope performer,
and when at last he came to an almost
perpendicular descent he stiffened his
legs, and skated to the bottom in Q man.
ner that would have done credit to q
Greenlander on snow-shoeA But here
we can 60 no further, and on foot We 90
with our game on our backs for two
miles. 1t is far in the night ere our re-
turn. Panthers follow US along the
cliff with their hideous screams, attract
ed by the fresh meat, but do mot come
within range of our guns. The bright
moon looks down, and we wrap ourselves
in our blankets with feet to the FIRE, and
how soundly we sleep.
Saturday l killed my first bear; he
was q noble fellow. He came round the
point of hill, sprang up on a great log,
took q good look at me, and started
shutting of, when l sent ball in the
region Of the heart. That started him
rolling down the hill, growing and
bawling in the agonies Of death. It
created quite q stir in the camp - itwas
the first one killed. Deer are very
plenty and fat, and our camp has the ap-
pearance of q small drying and packing
establishment. We killed II in six days
hunting. l had the good fortune to kill
nine of them.
1t was the last evening in camp. I
picked up my rife and walked down to-
ward the yiver. As l reached high
point l looked down the ravine and saw
a monster bear quietly browsing on the
growing clover. / crawled down as noise
lessly as possible on my hands and knees,
got within about 100 yards of him, and
interrupted his evening repast by put
ting ball behind his fore-shoulder. He
was a ponderous fellow, and he raised his
head and looked at his side and began
turning round and round, as though he
didn't know what in the world was the
matter with him. Finally he lifted his
head and saw me. There was steep,
rocky gulch of 40 or so feet between US.
He could not cross opposite, but about
hundred yards below there was break
in the gorge with old logs fallen across,
down which led the bear trail. saw in
a moment he was making for that-to
run was impossible, the brush was 90
thick behind me. There was nothing
but my nerve and my rife to depend on,
60 I walked to the edge of the gulch and
put another bullet full in his side. At
this he howled and beloved with
rage. l flung in another cartridge, and
planted the third ball near his shoul
der. At this he stopped, and roaring
fearfully, tore ur the ground in his rage,
sat down on his great launches, took up
his hind foot with his fore paws, and with
his tusks tore and gashed it like knife.
He had reached the edge of the gulch,
and was clambering the last ledge Of
rock to descend. As he Strengthened up
his neck aimed full at it and gave him
my fourth round. In . moment he loos-
ened his clutch, and came tumbling like
q young avalanche to the bottom Of the
gulch, believing seemingly in the
agonies of death. l thought I had
broken his neck, and after . while walk
ed down near him, but when within 8
or 10 feet, to my utter conformation /
saw him raise to his feet, and l think
Providence guided the bullet that went
crashing through his brain and he drop
ped dead at my very feet. He was .
giant of the forest in sire, over eight
feet in length, of the big brown species,
as large and ferocious q the gri4slieA
He would weigh about 800 poundA His
hind feet were 10 inches in length by s
in width. To our astonishment, when
he skinned him, We found none Of the
balls had gone an inch beneath the thick
skin. The one in the neck had only
paralyzed the nerves OF course it was
! trophy, bn: do mot believe I care
about being present when there's another
scrape like that br,eiH, where your
bullets f1atten out like waters, for it cor
tainly was bear escape from fate sim
liar to that of the h0oodiums in Eliiah's
day, who cried, Go up, thou bald
Smoking Q 0eerschaum.
Admitting very probable supposition
that every one who has purchased good
meerschaum desires to have It nicely
colored. It may b well TO know that,
II the pipe ID : good one, and proper
precautions are taken, nothing y sasieF
than to obtain good color The 6rst
difficulty among Americans b that u
smoking, ~ in most elss they do, they
put ON too much steam-that b to say
they smoke too fast. The e6ect il the
too sudden application Of hest, the wax
il driven Of, and than the oil levaporaAso.