Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1879-06-18
a Bear story.

Wal, twas nearly fifty years ago when
Elial Parmelee built his one-story log house
right out here by the corner of the road that
leads to Cornish. Elial was as curious Il
SORT of Teller as ever lived. He was shoe
maker, harness-maker, carpenter, mason
and tailor. \ regular ''Jack-of-all-trades;
and what was little remarkable, he was
good at all of 'em. His wife was as true a
helpmeet as ever a man had in this world.
She was a spinner and weaver, and mas
ter haId to knit; and when you come to
make bean pOrridge she hadn't her equal IN
Claremont. She used to pick berries OF
all kinds in their season, and always took
the baby-as they called the youngest of a
brood-with her.
One time she got interested in picking
raspbe rries, they were so thick, and had
strayed leetle further away from the boy
than she expected. All at once she thought
of her darling, and leaving the bushes fair
" red with berries, she hurried back to
where she left the baby, and, horrible to
tell, he was gonei Wild with anxiety, she
ran hither and yon, screaming for her child.
She looked in every place where it seemed
possible for him to go; she crawled under
bushes, around stocks and stumps, and pale
and faint. staggered home with the awful
news. Elial started, and his wife followed
as fast as she could, but no boy or traces OF
him could they find, save the little white
can his mother had made for him few
days before.
Nobody can tell the feelings of that father
and mother unless they have been placed IN
similar circumstances. After they had tired
themselves all out in their search they sal
down, broken hearted, in the place where
the baby was left, and tired of every posi-
BILE chance that could befall the child Al
at once Elial started up with:
'I1l bet my life bear has carried of
that boy
''Oh. no;' says the mother, ''dont say
that -
"Yes: believe it. have heard of sucl
things; and probably she-bear found thu
baby asleep, and has carried 1t to her den
OF course you heard no outcryl"
'sNone; and it may be that she will no
harm the boy. In heavens name what car
be donef"
..Well," said Elial, after thinking for {
little, s'it may be that we can save linn, 4
we can find the bears whereabout.
No sooner came they to this conclusion
than they ran to notify their neighbors
The news that bear had carried off one o.
the Par,nelee children went like wild-fir'
among the inhabitants, and within an houl
fifty men and half that number of boys
with rifles, shot-guns, axes, iron bars, any
thing they could lay their hands on tha
would kill, or help kill bear. were mus
tered and ready for the hunt and fight. II
had got well along into the afternoon, anC
il was nigh four O'Clock beforet they started
Mrs. Parmelee went to the place where thu
darling was left, and we began TO hunt To-
tracks. Between the bushes the grass wa
soft and mighty poor for tracking anything
but Elial found a broken twig, and w
iudged from the way it was leaning tina
She had started toward the place known thei
and now as 'sBarnes' Swamp" 1t has beei
cleared ever so much since then, and thou
sands of great pines cut of all around 1t
but YOU know to-day it is the ugliest hol
in town, about She had taken round
about course, and struck in on the nortl
side of the swamp; but we had surrounde'
il. and nv brother Bill was the first to fin
her tracks as she left spring where she ha'
probably stopped to drink. They were bi
ones-nearly as long as mans footprints
and two rods from the muddy spring not
sight of them was to be found. No on
had seen the bear No one had seen any
thing that looked like den. The sun wa
almost down, but tried to help us by light
ing up the dense thickets as it threw slant
ing rays among them. Hope had almos
died out of Elial's face, when scream
s'There she is" came from one of the party
All eyes turned aloft; and there on the linn
of a tall pine at least twenty feet from tn
ground sat Bruin with the unharmed baby
Her back was leaning against the body OF
tree, while with her right fore leg she hel
the boy as tenderly and carefully as woul
, its mother. We had cut her of from hi
retreat; and the rough bark Of the tree ha