Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1880-06-17
GRIZZLY AND TERRIER.
A Central Pacific Bear Yarn-The Bear
Gets Hurt.

grizzly bear was vanquished by man
and a terrier:
The train was delayed several hours.
There were but dozen passengers all
told, and they all got out on the little
station platform. Unlocking down the
valley from the station (Truckee is away
up in the mountains on the main line
of the Central Pacific railroad) we
could see some kind of an animal COM
ing down out of the timber and making
its way over the top of the snow to-
ward the river. 1t looked like a steer
or mule, and none of the travellers
thought it was anything else. The
snow was about four feet deep and
frozen so hard that one could walk over
the topof it without breaking through.
Captain Vincent Yore, of st. Louis, a
man well-known in steamboat circles
both in St. Louis and Pittsburg, and in
fact, all along the river, was ore of the
passengers. There is considerable
of the daredevil underneath his
quiet demeanor, having run
the upper Missouri in his early
days and attended many an Indian
council along with General Sherman
when the general lived in St. Louis.
Yore was returning from San Francisco,
|
road business for St. Louis parties. and
was fixed up neat and bright as a new
pin. He spied the animal and said hi
thought it was a bear, and that if he
had a gun he would go down and shoot
it. We all laughed at him, for he did
not look much like bear hunter, and
the station agent, burly fellow with q
red flannel shirt and boots outside of his
pants-a regular picture of a forty miner
| Joined in, saving he would give him a
gun if he wanted to shoot the grizzly
Captain Yore was a good shot, and
could be cool under very trying circum-
stances. The agent, who was at once
the express-agent, ticket-agent, baggage
smasher and everything combined, went
into his little office and brought out a
beautiful bre 'ch-loading rifle. Handing
it to Yore he ssid, sarcastically: Here's
gum" Captain Yore took the gun
and started toward the end of the plat
form. The passengers, of course, never
dreamed that he was in earnest. The
station-agent called him back when he
had gone down off the steps and, bring
ing out little rat terrier dog of the
light woolly Scotch pattern, said:
Here, you'll want a dog when you
go bear hunting"
Captain Yore turned back, picked up
the dog, and putting it under the flap of
his coat started down toward the bear.
The grizzly had by this time got out far
enough to be plainly seen, as he made
his way across the narrow valley. He
looked to be the size Cf horse, and did
not seem to care whether there was any,
body within short distance of him or
not. The bear kept quietly in his course,
and Captain Yore went straight toward
him. The station-agent realized the
danger Yore was in, and his anxiety
was quickly communicated to the pas
sengers. They got closer and closer,
until they were only about the length
of the train apart. Yore stopped, took
out the little dog and set him down.
The terrier made for the bear at once,
and going up behind him, bit him on
the heel. The bear turned around to see
what had scratched him on the foot,
and the minute he turned, Yore, who
had been standing motionless, watch
ing the bear as it came face toward
him, brought the rifle up to his nose and
flashed it at him. The bear immedi-
ately slapped himself on the shoulder
with his paw and turned toward the
captain. The passengers, who were
watching him, were now wild with ex-
citement. He has hit him." said the
old Californians on the train, and
now he must look out for him."
Yore never moved. The little snipe of
dog bit the bear on the heel again,
he turned once more, and again Yore
unloaded on him. The bear slapped
himself on the other shoulder and
Strengthened up as it to go quickly at
Yore. Then the beast broke through
the snow and most disappeared from
our sight. He tumbled and rolled and
waltzed around. The old Californians
were almost breathless with fright.
"The bear is tramping out place to
fight, run, run!" they screamed to Yore,
but he stood motionless as a statue.
The little dog flew around the top of
the pit the bear had made and barked.
Presently the bear put out his head to
get his assailant's position, and fixing
his eyes on Yore he crawied up out of
the hole into the snow. He had just
! steadied himself on his four legs when
the dog bit him once more and Yore let
him have it again, quick as flash, the
moment he turned, and another time
the grizzly slapped himself with
his paw, indica- ing he had been hit.
He started on trot toward Yore,
| who now had four loads left in his rife.
Twice again the dog bit the bear, and at
each time as he turned Yore unloaded
into him, bringing the rifle up to his
face as quickly as if he threw a weaver's
shuttle. After he had fired the fourth
load and the grizzly's pace was not
| slackened up much, as you could
scarcely notice his limp, Yore turned to
move back a few PAGES, and as he did
he broke through the snow and went
down to his armpits. We could just
see his head and shoulders. The pas
sengers, expecting every moment to see
the infuriated monster crush poor YOre,
covered their eyes in perfect terror.
The bear had got within few yards of
Yore, and but few seconds would de-
eide it. The dog bit him again and
Yore, who had the rifle firmly sighted,
poured it into him, two loads in quick
succession, and stretched him as he was
almost at the end of the rifle. The
whole thing occurred in less time than
it takes to tellit. The passengers rushed
down with shout. They brought the
immense bear up to the station and
dubbed together and bought the rifle
for Captain Yore, and the captain laid
down twenty-dollar gold piece for the
little dog which he brought back with
him. to st. Louis, for, said he, 'sThat
dog saved my ife."