The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-01-29
KENTUCKY BEAR STORIES.
No Bears Now Left Except Those That Run
Wild In Stories.

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a correspondent of the New York Sun
writing from Canton, KY, furnishes tn
following interesting stories of bea
hunting, which were related in the hote
sitting room at that place by some of th,
old veteran sportsmen, who spent tn,
greater part of their early life in gaming
Speaking of BEARS" said Uncle San
Sheerer, a veteran who looked as if b,
might have fought by the side of Gen
Leslie Coombs at the battle of the Rive
Raisin, "thar's powerful sight of sense
in mule, though that's nothin' new
Some folks say that nobody but niggel
understands a mule, but it's my notion
that nobody understands mule but him
self. You may think you know as much
about mules as anybody, but did you ever
see mule fight bear? No? Well,
have, and I owned the mule that did it
Way back in-I recken we needn't mind
the year-I was ridin' through patch
of canebrake on big black mule, when
a sizable bear came out of the brush and
made for me. l didn't have my rife
along, and SO whipped up the mule to
get out of the way. That mule made
good time out of the canebrake, but when
We got into the timber, he stopped in the
middle of a glade, and nothing could
make the cussed critter stir an inch. AS
the bear was comm on at q right peart
pace, I slipped off the dun FOOLS back,
and Skinned it up tree. When I was
we'll fixed in the branches, I looked down
into the glade, and saw leetle the queer.
est sight that my eyes had ever been
treated to. The mule faced the bear, and
the bear came head on at the mule. Just
as old Brownie was ready TO fight, the
mule gathered his heels together, and
flew over his head like shot out of q
shovel. That bear was astonished nearly
out of his senses; but as soon as he could
get his wits he turned square around and
made for the mule. Again the mule
gathered himself up and gave a fyin'
leap over the bears head, lightin' clear
on t'other side. If that game wasn't
kept up for full half an hour, then my
name amt Sam Sheerer, and 1 didn't sit
up in that tree watchin' the whole per-
formance. The mule was in the highest
kind of spirits, and enjoyed his fun up
to the top notch, to judge by the way he
snorted and snickered whenever he went
over old Brownie. But the bear was the
maddest critter, I recken, that ever stood
on four legs. He wheeled and turned,
and growled and roared, and snapped
and slapped, until he wasn't able to do
justice to the subject any longer; then
he sat up on his launches and painted,
with his big red tongue lolling out. Then
was the time for the mule to show fight,
and he backed up his battery. The first
time he let his heels fly he took the bear
square on the side of the head, and sent
him sprawling. Then he examined his
work, and snickered when he saw that
the job was done, and 1 slipped down the
tree and went and cut the bears throat
Now, gentlemen, it is fact that before
that time the mule would never allow
me to carry as much as sheepskin on
his back; but he stood still and let me
load the bear on to the saddle, and
mighty tough job had of it. Perhaps
you would ike to know how much that
bear weighed~
II reckon we may as we'll let that part
of the story go, Uncle Sammy" said
Judge Greenway, another grizzled vete-
ran. "You have been so careful to stick
to the plain facts so far that 1 am afraid
you might be tempted to stretch it in the
matter of weight. There's more things
than mules that can kill bears, and more
things than guns and traps. When 1
lived in the Green River country, before
most of you were born, had queer ex-
perience with bear. I had been to the
nearest store, matter of dozen miles
or so, on foot, as my only horse was dead
lame, to get some groceries, and was
bringing home two quart bottles of whis-
key and ball of cord. Going through
the woods 1 reused up big bear that
came for me full tilt. l gave him a shot
from my rife, aud the bullet struck him
in the left foreleg and hurt him pretty
badly; but that only made him mad, and
he pushed for me on three legs faster than
before. There was nothing to do but to
run for it, and so pulled foot for tall
young hickory, and scrambled up as quick
as I could, dropping my rifle at the foot
of the tree. The bear couldn't climb
with three legs, but it was plain to be
seen that he wanted me, and meant to
have me if he could get me. So he
smelt around awhile, and then sat down
and waited. In the course of time this
sort of thing began to grow mighty tire
some, and l saw that l had to do some
thing. l had bottle of whiskey in each
pocket"
swat minute, Judge" interposed a
young lawyer from Hopkinsville, who
prided himself on his cross-examination.
II would like to know how you could
climb that tree in hurry, with n bottle
of whiskey in each pocket, and not break
one of thcm?"
"Young man." sternly replied the
Judge, "you were born too late if you
don't know that no true Kentuckian ever
breaks q bottle of whiskey under any
circumstances. AS l said, l had bottle
of whiskey in each pocket, and knew
what an initiative creature a bear is.
hated to lose the whiskey, but l felt that
I must give up that or my life. l tied
the end Of my cord around the neck OF
one of the bottles, held it up to my mouth
as if was taking big drink, and then
let it down to the bear, who had been
watching me as if he wanted some. He
took hold of it as carefully as any of us
could do, stuffed it into his jaw, and
didn't take it away until he had drained
the last drop. 1t astonished him little
at first, for that liquor was far above
proof, and then he got to feeling good,
and you may be sure he showed it. He
began by patting and rubbing himself
aud then he rolled over and tumbled
about for q while, and finally he sat up
on his launches, swaying about and
winking at me, fairly begging for more
whiskey. I saw that he would have to
get it; SO I hauled up my cord and made
it fast to the bottle. put that bottle to
my mouth, and 1 must confess that [ al
lowed few drops to slip through my
gullet before 1 let it down to the bear
In J;,nosad of II in short order and