The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-10-14
THE DAILY STAR
THE K0STLER'S STORY.


He was fastened to pole by chain,
which gave him range of a dozen or
fifteen feet. IL was not very safe for
visitors to come within that circle, unless
they were prepared for rough handling
He had a way of suddenly catching
you to his bosom and picking your pock-
cts of peanuts and candy-if you carried
any about you-in manner which took
your breath away. He stood up to his
work on his hind legs in a quite human
fashion, and used to paw and tongue
with amazing skill and vivacity. He
was friendly, and didn't mean any harm,
but he was a rude playfellow.
L shall never forget the ludicrous ad-
venture of dandifed New Yorker, who
came out into the yard to feed bruin on
seed-cakes and did not feed him fast
enough.
He had approached a trifle too near,
when all at once the bear whipped an
arm about him, took him to his embrace,
andr, "went through" his pockets in a
hurry. The terrified face of the strag-
Cling and screaming fop and the good
natured, business-like expression of the
fumbling and munching beast, offered
the funniest sort of contrast.
The one-eyed hostler, who was the
bears especial guardian, lounged quite
leisurely to the spot.
keep STILL and he won't hurt ye," he
said, turning his quid. "Thats one OF
his tricks. Throw out what you've got
and he'll leave ye."
The dandy made haste to help bruin tC
the last of the seed cakes and escaped
without injury but in ridiculous plight
his hat smashed, his necktie and linen
rumpled and his watch dangling; but hi>
fright WAS the most laughable part of all
The one-eyed hostler then made a mo
ton to the beast, who Immediately
climbed the pole and looked at LIS from
the cross-piece at the top.
"a bear," said the one-eyed hostler
turning his quid again, lis the best
hearted, knowin'est critter that goes OF
all fo,us. Pm speakin' of our native
black bear, you understand. The brown
bear amt half so respect BILE, and the
grizzly bear is one of the ugliest brutes
in creation. Come down here, Pomp."
Pomp slipped down the pole and ad-
vanced toward the one-eyed hoAter, walk
ing on his hind legs and rattling his
chain. ''Playful as kittenW said the
one-eyed hostler fondly. 'Tll show ye. F."
He took wooden bar from a clothes.
horse near by, and made a lunge with it
at Pomp's breast
No pugilist or fencingmaster could
nave parried blow more neatly Then
the one-eyed hostler began to thrust and
strike with the bar as if in downright
earnest.
"Rather savage play" / remarked
And a friend by my side, who never
misses chance to make pun, added
eyes, a decided act of bar-bearity."
ooh, he likes itv said the one-eyed
hostler. eye can't hit him."
And indeed it was SO. No matter
how or where the blow was aimed, q
movement Of Pomps paw, as quick as a
fash of lightning, knocked it aside, and
he stood good-humoredly wait 'ng fol
more. 'Once in a while" said the one
eyed hostler, resting from the exercise
and leaning on the bar, while Pomp re
tired to his pole, "there's bear of thi
specimen that's vicious and bloodthirstv
Generally, you let them alone and they'll
let you alone. They won't run from
you, maybe, but they won't go out o
their way to pick a quarrel. They don
swagger around with a chip on thei.
shoulder looking for some fool to knocl
it off,"
"Will they eat your" some one in
quired; for there was a ring of spectator
around the performers by this time.
"As likely as not, if they are sharp
set, and you lay yourself out to be eaten
but it amt their habit to go for humal
flesh. Roots, nuts, berries, bugs and an,
small game they can pick up, satisfe
their humble appetites as genera
thing"
The one-eyed host1er leaned agains
the post, stroked Po,np's fur affection
ately, and continued somewhat in thi
style:
''Bears are particularly fond of fat
juicy pigs; and once give 'em taste o
human fesh-why, I shouldn't want m,
children to be playin' in the woods with
in good many miles of their den!
(Which reminds meo of old Two Claws
as they used to call hin. a bear tina
plagued the folks over i'm Ridgetowr
where 1 was brought up-wall, as muc
as forty year ago.
"He got his name from the peculia
shape Of his foot, and he got that fror
trifing with gun-trap. You kno1
what that is--a loaded gun set in such
way that bear Or any game that's cur
Gus about it must come up to it the wa
it p'ints; a bait is hung before the mu'
zie, and string runs from that to tn
trigger.
"He was a cunning fellow, and he pr
out an invcstigatin' paw at the piece q
pork before trying his jaws on it; SO il
Stead of gettin' bullet in the head. h
merely had bit of his paw shot oi
There was bat two claws left on that foo
as his bloody tracks showed.
"He got off; but this experience SCENE
to have soured his disposition. He owe