The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-04-14
A yacIllating Bear.
Ist. Nicholas Magazine. |


-Harper's Young People.
A yacIllatiDg Bear.
[St. Nicholas Magazine.
Ny negro gardner came to me one evening
in great alarm, and stated that his twin sons,
Mango and Change, had taken out his gun
that morning, and had been missing ever
since. at once loaded my rifle, loosed my
Cuban bloodhound, and followed the man to
his hut. There 1 put the dog upon the boys
scent following on horseback myself.
1t turned out that the young scamps had
gone on the trail of large bear though they
were only 13 years old, and their father had
warned them not to NEEDLE with wild beasts
They began their adventure by hunting the
bear, but ended, as often happens, in being
hunted by the bear; for Bruin had turned
upon them, and chased them so hard that
they were fain to drop the gun and take to a
tree.
1t was a sycamore of peculiar shape. send
ing forth from its stem many small, but
only two large branches These two were
some 30 feet from the ground, and stretched
almost horizontally in opposite directions
They were as the twin brothers themselves.
Change took refuge on one of these, Mango
on the other.
The bear Rugged the tree till he had
climbed as far as the fork. There he hesita-
ted an instant, and then began to creep along
the branch which supported Change. The
beast advanced slowly and gingerly, sinking
his claws into the bark at every step, and not
depending too much upon his balancing
powers.
Changes position was now far from pleas
ant. 1t was useless to play the trick, well
known to bear-hunters, of enticing the ami
NAL out to point where the branch would
yield beneath its great weight, for there was
no higher branch within Chango's reach, by
catching which he could save himself from a
dreadful fall-30 feet sheer.
Three steps more, and the bear would be
upon him, or he would be upon the ground.
Brave as the boy was, his teeth chartered.
AT this moment Mango, nerved to heroIsm
by his brother peril, moved rapidly from
the opposite limb of the tree. Stepping be-
hind the bear, he grasped with one hand a
small higher bough, which extended TO where
he stood, but not to where his brother lay;
with the other hand he seized the animal
firmly by its stumpy tail The bear turned
to punish his rash assailant; but, angry as he
was, he turned cautiously. 1t was no easy
task to right-about-face on branch which
already had begun to tremble and sway be-
meath his weight.
Change was saved, for the bear evidently
had transferred his animosity to Mango,
whom he pursued step by step, toward the
extremity of the other limb. But Change
was not the boy to leave his brother and
rescuer in the lurch. Waiting until the en-
ragged brute was well embarked upon Mangos
branch, he pulled its tail, as he had seen his
brother do before. Again Bruin turned awk-
wardly, and resumed the interrupted chase
of Change.
The twins continued their tactics with
success. Whenever the bear was we'll adj
vanced on one limb, and dangerously close to
one twin, the other twin would sally from
the other limb and pull his tail. The silly
animal always would yield to his latest inn
pulse of wrath, and suffer himself to be di
verted from the enemy who was almost In his
clutches.
After two of hours disappointment he
learned his mistake He was now, for the
tenth time on Chango's branch, and very
near Change. In vain Mango dragged his
hinder extremity; he kept grimly on till
Mango, fol ced to choose between letting go
the brute's tail or the higher branch which
enabled him to keep his feet, let go the former
Change could now retreat no further, and
he was hardly a yard beyond the bears
reach. The branch was swaying more than
ever, and the beast seemed quite aware that
ne might tax its strength too far. After a
pause, he advanced one of his fore feet a
quarter of yard. To increase the bears
difficulty in siezing him, the terrified boy
let himself down and swung with his hands
from the bough.
He was hanging in suspense between two
frightful deaths. His heart was sinking, his
fingers were relaxing.
Then the deep baying of hound struck
his ear, and his hands again closed firmly on
the branch. In a moment, a bloodhound
and horseman sprang through the under
wood
Change held on like grim death held on
till he heard the sharp report of a rife ring
ing through the air; held on till the falling
carcass of the bear passed before his eyes;
held on till had climbed the tree, crawled
along the branch, and grasplng his wearied
wrist, had assisted him to GET back TO the
fork of the tree, and rest bit.
IF that bear only had understood in time
that a boy in the hand is worth two in the
bush, he might have heightened his days
and gone down with honor to the gravel