Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-08-05
and how they cut through body In
half An hour the mercury will fall forty
and fifty degrees.

The cliffs here broke the force of the
gale, and selecting a spot where big
rick of drift stuff had been lodged
against the rocks by floods, We built a
roaring fire and made shed, partly of
the half-bogsheads and spring boards
and partly of drift.wood and brush.
Here We made ourselves comfortable,
gave the mules their corn, and had
no thoughts of going up on the prairie
for honey, or anything else, while the
gale held.
The crag on the side against which
We had our fire was sixty or seventy
feet high, but as have mentioned
above. was here all along much fssured
and cracked. showing crevices and
Lrannies where tho broken strata had
worked apart. often three or four feet
in width. The drift.rick, which served
AZ for wood-pile, burned we'll, the blaze
mounting half way up the cliff and
casting warm glow back into our
shed.
Here. throughout the rest of the day
and evening. while the gusts howled
across the canyon from out over the
prairie to north ard. We lay at our ease
and told stories, going sound asleep al
last. wrapped up in our buffalo skins.
Some hours must have passed, for
our big fire had burr el down low, when
I was reused by a scratching, raking
noise on the rocks in front of our shed
Before l was as yet half awake, some
thing-it was SO dark / could not tell
what, but soDe heavy animal, l fell
sure-came down the rocks and fell
partly into the open front of our shed
and right on Anspach's, the German
extended feet and ankles.
With that, Vert Jumped to get up aud
gave shout, ami we all arose. fun
bling for our guns. But before Ause
or 1. or any of us had gained our legs
down came the shed, the haif-hogsheads
We had brought for our honey, our tilt.
ed.up spring beard wagon, brush and
all.
Who had the most to do with knock.
ing it down. ana sure l don't know.
1t was free scrabble. One OF the
half hogsbeads tipped over in such g
way as to completely shut Grant. the
colored boy, under it all but his shanks
board lay partly aorcss the bottom o,
the hogshead. he was caught fast.
The noise he made vas as nothing
compared with the racket the German
was making. for the other half hogstead
had fallen partly over him, and he was
kicking at an unknown wild beast whose
growls mixed with his shouts.
"Afnse, ware bees you ?" We heard
him calling out in reproachful tones.
The moment We had extricated our
selves from the brush and stakes, Dins
more and I sprsng to our feet and tried
to take in the situation.
It was too dark to see much. The
brush was snapping and the half-hogs
head bobbing up and down; and jus1
then the savage, growing head of some
animal was thrust repeatedly out be
twixt the spokes of one of the hinG
wheels of the capsized spring board.
Anse, who had seized upon the camp
axe, let it drive at the GROWERS head
His first stroke knocked two spokes on
of the wheel. At its next plunge th'
animal came head and shoulder
through the gap. But I had secured
Ouo VI tuo 6uuos ouu ~ Gulo JuuCLuEc
by good luck, shot it dead.
Almost with the report. Vert, VIII
had been making frantic efforts to ge
out through the brush on the back side
scrambled to his feet, shouting
"Sharles, pc careful ware you shoots
Whole dszen dem puck-shots 60 puz
py my ear"
"It's q bear" said ALI. peeping be
tween the spokes of the wheel; bat be
fore We had time to haul out the Car
cass, or even get Grant from under tn
hogshead tub, another bear came slid
ing down the rocks with a scratch ant
9 growl, and fell sprswling into tn
ashes and still glowing embers of tn
fire. A perfect smother of ashes an
Goals flew up. 1t must have been
warm lighting for the old chaps feet.
He whirled round with low yelp an,
leared ont over some logs at the lowe
end of our shed. l just had time t.
cock my left barrel and fire ss his hin,
legs disappeared down over the logs
We heard him give growl when tn
shot struck him, but had no time +
look for him or even see where he wen
to. for Vert had set up o great outcry
), "Qaeek, An el queek, Sharles, mi
YOURS goon! In der hoiler up zs rock
D1'n you hears him vow? Anode
ones coming down."
/ Surely enough, there was anothe
looking out of great fissure, u
twenty Ave or thirty feet-growling an
making as if to descend. I coul
plainly see its head, and a momeu
sf,er 1t turned to come down tail irs,
Znoust you bark, poysl" exclaime
Vert. "Only hear dem singl"
1t there had been whole menageri
shut up back amc-gst those rocks, j
could hardly have --4sde more music
growing, whining, roaring and VOW
! ingl
There's an awful big den back i
there! aHd it's billing over full of 'eml
Every minute or TWO head would 20
out in sight from the crevice. Tn
firing and the noise had stirred theu
J up. 1t looked as if the animals ha
climbed up to this den over the heap {
drift-wood which our fire had burne
up. The smoke and fire flaming up
the mouth of the hole had kept them i
! during the first part of the night; {
else they had all been comfortabl
asleep in there, passing the northe
+ But now they evidently all wanted I
! come out-hungry perhaps.
During the forenoon we got logs an
stuff from the drift ricks lower dowi
which We set up in such way that "
could climb TO the entrance of the der
] All being quiet there now, All climbe
up-to reconnoitre the brutes.
There was q pretty large fissure whic
opened back between and over gre'