San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-12-08
A Bear Story.

o;rcus with ON the neau WateIs VI DriSnt
Rrook about ten years ago. Joe and
"a was numbering over on q tract OF
land that belonged to some fellow over
in Monroe county. Jake Klienhaus
bod got all the bark off the tract, and
we were finishing up the lumber. We'd
seen signs of bear, and IN old bark
neeler told us there was a big one that
lent in the swamp down the creek q
vays. Every hunter that had been in
.he woods for six months, he said, had
mt ball in the bear, and the old cuss
bod carried off half dozen traps and
oot rid of them in some way. One
Saturday Joe and me made up our
minds to take day off and try and
copture this tough old animal. We
came on the bear in less than On hour
after we started out. He came out OF
the swamp as if some one was urging
him with three-tine fork, and made
Cor the top of ridge about hundred
feet away. Joe let him have his rifle
barrel and then his buckshot. But the
hear kept right on. I got both my
barrels in on him, but the old fellow
never paid any attention to us till he
cot to the ridge. The ridge wasn't
more then twenty feet high, and it ran
M to quite a narrow top. When the
bear got up there he stopped, turned
with his face toward US, raised up on
his launches, and opened his mouth
blamed near foot wide. He was in
plain, open sight, only 100 feet away,
and wejust thought we had him foul.
Joe and me peppered away at him
for more that quarter of an hour, and
we hit him every time. All he'd do
was to give himself whack with first
one paw and then the other whenever
a ball or charge of buckshot got in on
him. That was all our firing seemed to
disturb him. By this time only had
one bullet left, and Joe only had three.
We had plenty of powder, so we con-
Guided not to use any more on the bear
nv shooting, as there didn't seem to be
anv use in it. Joe began to skirmish
around little. On the other side OF
the ridge he discovered grounding s
hole. which ran into the ridge directly
under where the bear was sitting. Joe
had been in the army, you know, and
he saw that this ground-hog's hole was
lust bully chance to spring mine on
orr live old target. So he takes all the
nowder both of us had-about three
hounds, guess-and poured 1t IN
leather pouch he had, land made as snug
bomb as we could wish for. Then
while kept the bears attention by
pretending to be crawling up the side
of the hill as if 1 meant to tackle him
Joe crept up the other side and rammed
the leather cartridge in the hole ano
STAMPED her solid. He laid train Of
powder down the hill O ways, hollereo
to me TO run. and fired her. In about
two seconds the top of that hill anc
the bear were sailing toward the clouds
The bear went up ten feet above the
top of big chestnut tree there was OF
the ridge, turned over cople OF times
and tumbled back into the tree.
Now, of course, all bears amt 81
tough as this bear was, but when the
stones and dirt and sapllngs go
through falling, there we saw old brull
perched on a big branch of the chest
nut, looking little surprised, to b'
sure, but gazing down at US with actual
" a smile on his face, as If he rattle,
enjoyed the novelty of the little expert
ence he had just passed through. Tha
was all the change there seemed to b'
in the old cuss' appearance. Joe looked
at me and 1 looked at Joe. Then w
both looked at the bear, and then at thu
hole in the ground. Neither OF us sal'
a word for ten minutes. Then 1 said
Lets go home, Joe. There's thun
der shower coming up, anyway, and w
don't want to be out in it.
There was a heavy shower coming
but Joe said he wasn't going to qui
until he got that bear. So back Il
started for camp after an AK. L staye'
to watch the bear. When Joe got oaci
be went to work chopping down thu
chestnut tree. In about an hour dow