The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1881-11-19
A MODERATE BEAR STORY.


We'd seen signs Of bear, and an Old bark peeler
told us there was big one that kept in a swamp
down the creek Always. Every hunter that had
been in the woods for six months, he said, had
put a ball in the BEAR and the old cuss had car
ried off half dozen traps and got rid of them III
some way. One Saturday Joe and me made up
our minds to take day off and try and capture
this tough old animal. We came on to the bear in
less than an hour after we started out He came
tearing ont Of the swamp as if some one was urg-
ing him with three-tine pitchfork, and made for
the top of q little ridge about a hundred feet
away. Joe let him have his rife barrel and then
his buckshot. But the bear kept right ON. got
both my barrels in on him, but the old fellow
never paid any attention to us till he got to the
top of the ridge. The ridge wasn't more than
twenty feet high, and it ran up to quite narrow
top. When the bear got up there he stopped,
turned with his face toward u.s. raised up on his
launches and opened his mouth blamed near a
foot wide He was in plain, open sight, only
hundred feet away, and we just thought We had
him foul
Did you shoot hm?" asked Billy Watson, as
the sheriff paused to get his share of the refresh
ments the county clerk had ordered
Shoot him?" said the sheriff "shoot him?
Well think it might be called shooting, unless
my memory is very short. Why, that bear never
stirred from his tracks, and Joe and me peppered
away at him for more than quarter of an hour,
and we hit him every time All he'd do was TO
give himself a whack with first one paw and then
the other wherever ball or charge of buckshot
got in on him. That was all firing seemed
to disturb him. and finally Joe said to me:
"'See here Dc you know what that old cuss
is going to do? Well, he's just waiting until our
ammunition gives out and then he'll give rs the
grand bounce ont o these woods
By this time I had only one bullet left, and
Joe only had three. We had plenty of powder,
so we concluded not to use any more on the bear
by shooting, as there didn't seem to be any use
in it. Joe began TO skirmsh around a little.
On the other side Of the ridge he discovered a
ground hogs hole which run into the top of the
ridge directly under where the bear was sitting
Joe had been in the array, you know, and he saw
that this ground hogs hole was Just p bully
chance to spring q mine on our live old target
So he takes all the powder that both of us had
about three pounds, guess-and poured ii in
leather pouch he had, and made as snug a bomb
as we could wish for. Then, while 1 kept the
bears attention by pretending to be crawling up
the side OF the hill as if meant to tackle him.
Joe crept up on the other side and rammed the
leather cartridge into the hole and tramped her
solid. He laid train of powder down the hill
always, hollered to me to run, and fred her. In
about two seconds the top Of that hill and the
bear were sailing toward the clouds. The bear
went up ten feet above the top of big chestnut
tree there was on the ridge. turned over couple
of times, and tumbled back into the tree.
Now, Of course, al bears amt as tough as this
bear was, but when the stones and dirt and
saplings got through falling, there We saw old
bruin perched on a big branch OF the chestnut,
looking little surprised, 10 be sure, but gazing
down at us with actually a smile on his face, rs
if he rather enjoyed the novelty of the little
perience he had just passed through. That was
all the change there seemed to be i'll the old ctss
appearance.
Joe looked at me, and looked at Joe Then
both looked at the bear, and then at the hole
in the ground. Neither OF us said . word for
ten minutes. Then 1 said:
LETS 20 home, Joe. There's q thunder shower
coming up, any way, and We don't want to he out
in it.
There was heavy shower coming, but Joe |
said he wasn't going to quit until he got that
bear So back he started for camp after an axe. |
| stayed to watch the bear. The thunder and
lightning was something fearful. When Joe got |
back he went to work chopping down the chest |
nut tree In about IN hour down she came, |
bear and all. In the fall the tree fell plumb |
across the bears back, and broke it. but before |
Joe could get at him with the axe he twisted |
from under the tree and away he crawled down |
toward the swamp. We would have lost that |
bear as sure guns, but just then there came |
one OF the hardest thunder claps | ever heard |
struck not ten feet away. 1t struck that bear !
square in the head. And, sir, maybe you don't |
believe it, but its fact the old cusss head was
so hard that the lightning bounced off it like |
rubber ball, and caromed on a big oak tree off |
10 the right, tearing it into a million pieces |
The bear was stunned considerably by the light |
ming, and before he came TO Joe got his work |
in with the axe and finished him We dragged |
the carcass into camp. II weighed Az pounds |
and we sold it for 10 cents pound to a boarding
house keeper from PocohO. Three days after |
ward he came back and demanded so cents He |
had taken eight pounds Of lead out of different |
parts OF that bear and Of course we deducted it |
from the bill'--N T. Sun.
LIVE TARGET