The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1880-01-08
"GRIZZLY BEAR"
a Story for the Young Folks.


ting into scrapes and having strange ad-
ventures rs Griswold Burr. (Of course
all the boys, and most of the girls, called
him % Grizzly Bear.'O The very first
time he climbed a tree-he was only z
years old, and Frank Fowler and Vim
Maher, both three years older, had been
up the same tree trying to get ut
branch which was loaded down with
delicious black cherries, and hadn't sue
ceeded-he tumbled from the very top;
but he brought the heavily-laden bough
with him-with a shock, it is true, but
not shock enough to prevent his scram-
bling to his feet, with a wild halloo, and
eating cherries enough in the next ten
minutes ia have made at least half
dozen deep-dish cherry-pies.
The autumn following the cherry
branch affair, he fell out of the second
story window while trying to reach a
birds nest that dear little brown
winged bird had made in the old apple
tree that stood by the back porch.
g Obi dear, Oh! DEAR" cried his moth
er, who was sitting in the room sewing,
and who looked up just as his heels
were disappearing, ''my child! my
child" And while she was quietly
fainting away, poor thing, not being
very strong, Grizzly was rolling about
on the top of a load of hay that had
been passing below the window on its
way to the barn, as he fell out, and
shouting - H-a-a-yl amt this fun?''
And one winter morning, when all the
boys were Shedding down hill-a very
steep hill it was, and, if their fathers
had known they were there, l am afraid
some of them would have gone to bed
supperless, and the rest had their jackets
dusted- -Griswoldis sled shot out from
uuder him, and away he went, turning
summersets (though | think, in this case,
they might more appropriately be called
wintersets) until out of sight of his
frightened chums. And when they-his
chums, l mean-had slid, hoped, sled
ded and scrambled down to the foot of
the hill, to pick up what was left of him,
there sat Grizzly Bear, his sleeves torn
open to the elbow, and holes where the
knees of his trousers should have been,
and lump about the size of a walnut
on his forehead, looking with delight
ed grin at an old-fashioned silver dollar
which he had spied, the moment he had
found himself right side up, in a wide
crevice of the tree-stump which had stop
ped him in his wild career.
But all these things are nothing to
what happened to GriswOld Burr, one
Christmas Eve, when he was about 12
years old. At that time his mother
she was a widOw-liyed in a very small
cottage on the extreme bank of Wild
duck Bay. Well, this Christmas Eve,
there was a terrible storm. 1t had been
very mild weather so far, and the bay
had not been frozen over, as it always
had been by Christmas time preceding
winters-when, after a bright sunny
day and starlight evening, along came
the wind from over the water, and
shook the small wooden cottage,
first this way and then that. The Burr
family were in bed and fast asleep. The
children's stOckings-there were three
children, two small girls and Griswold-
hung by the chimney, and the Christ
mas pies-twO mince and pumpkin
were nicely baked and locked up in the
big tea-chest that Griswold's father-he
had been a sailOr-had brought home
years before, and the key hidden away
Mrs Burr said Ion account of the
rats but we boys know all about that
when the wind came along, as 1 said
before, and nearly knocked the little
house over.
Out of the bed sprang Mrs. Burr, only
half awake, dragging her two small
daughters with her, and fortunately a
blanket trailed after them; and as the
house righted itself she flew to the door
and out into the road, calling loudly
she was wide awake by this time-tO
her only son, who slept in the garnet,
to come down; but no % Griswold -
appeared, and in another instant the
distracted mother saw the wind, which
now seemed to come from all directions
instead of one, lift the cottage from the
ground, fling il upon. the waters, and
send it sailing away. Nearly wild with
fright and grief, half carrying, half
dragging the poor little scared, shiver-
ing girls-stOpping every now and then
to wrap the blanket about them-she
reached the house of her nearest neigh
Dor, half mile away, and finding the
family all up and listening to the storm,
with many tears she told her sOrTOwful
story.
Nothing could be done until morning
came; but as soon as the first streak of
light showed in the east, dozen men
started in their boats to find, if possible,
the drowned boy. 81 must 90, tOo,"
said the pale mother. g must be the
first to take my poor darling in my arms.
His pretty brown curls must be smOothed
by his mothers fngers-his dear head
laid on his mothers BOSOM" "And
we must 90 with mamma,'' cried the
little ones. And 50 the kind men wrap
ped them up warmly and put them in
the largest boat, and away they started,
lust as the sun burst over the hills,
bright and beautiful, and the early Christ
mas chimes rang out upon the air.
They lowed about hither and thither
for an hour or two, when the mother
ahi whose eyes as keen as a mothers
when she is looking for her child?-
caught sight of something prOpped
against the bank which they were near
ing. "There! therei'' she cried, point
ing with trembling hand.
1t was the house. The wind had SET
il afioat, and it had drifted across the
bay, until, the storm ceasing, it had been
landed on the beach, and the tide reced-
ing, had remained, looking like a house
that had taken entirely too much to
drink-as no doubt it had-leaning
against the high bank
Could that be smoke coming slowly
out Of the chimney? Good heaVensi
There must have been a remnant of fire
in the stove, that all the water had failed
to put out, and the poor little cottage
had only escaped one element to be inn
mediately threatened by another. They
silently ran the boat on land, and the
men drew back softly, with grave faces,
that the mother and children might go
first. The little girls clinging to her
skirts, she plunged knee-deep through
the sand, and opened the door.
There was a fire, made of chair-backs
and rounds, on the hearth. and kettle
of coffee swinging over it, hung in some
mysterious manner from the poker; the
clock, in which the key of the tea-chest
had been hidden, lay broken on the
floor; and in chair, tipped back
against the wall, on account Of the slant
ing position of the house, with half Of a