The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-10-18
Hunting the Bear.
How portland Man Used Bruin.


and forming an admirable natural abatis
against our advancing column Of two armed
withsaxe and shot gun.
George moves on like shadow straight for
the squirrel that still chatters and scolds and
swears from the depths Of the cedar jungle. /
yeer TO the right We worm ourselves between
the thick trunksand under the thicker branch
es.
A low rSh!n catches my ear, turn toward
George. "Here he isl" is written all over his
face. He points directly ahead, then shakes
his axe and points and points again.
1 look, stretch rp.and look, crouch down. and
look. but see nothing save the tree-trunks.
George grows impatient. lie thinks do
not understand him.
'Le voicil Here be is'' he hisses But Br1in
hears as well as / mon le yoilal There he
goes"
hear whine and grunt that remind me
Of menagere, and through the thick cedar
trunks and the dead branches Of a fallen pine
catch fitting glimse Of shambling blackness.
L fire snap shot, as I would at a woodcock
darting through the alder tops. The smoke
hangs under the thick branches, and shuts out
all before me.
Hes down! Nous lavonslD yells George.
The report Of the gun has broken the spell Of
the forest silence, and GeQfge changes from a
serpent to q tiger.
mo he cries; ne OFF again. Firel"
fire my left barrel through the smoke with
"eye of faith" ard examining IN couple of
fresh cartridges, George and | rush on, if any
mode OF progress through tangled cedar
swamp can be called a rash. We kick and
wrest off the dry dead branches, scramble over
the fallen pine; but the bearl Nowhere a sign
of him. Nothing but forest and silence
George keeps on; do my best TO follow.
He glides along like q cat in one hand an up
lifted axe descending now and then to sever
an opposing bough. He gets over the ground
two feet to my one.
sLe VOLTA qai Sen val There he goes againl
Venezl Come ont" cries George; and | per-
form the speediess Coming on OF which / am
capable. Slow enough it ls, though. Every
few steps the tangled branches Of fallen ced-
or must be burst through, but on press ana
scramble and tumble and crawl ill George is
reached. He stands n PROSTATE tree, axe
upraised, head bent forward and to one side
an admirable statue OF aleFtness.
"Ecoatez Listenl" he whispers.
a moments stiffness. Then a cracking,
loud and near, up the hillside. George jumps
through the thicket and springs up thu slope
like fash.
Follow him? I could as easily fit up to
heaven without wings. SO | scramble on
through the level swamp. IL is said blood
will tell; = can swear that weight Will. The
burden.of nay 900 pounds handicapped me in
this swamp race with e bear Every thicket
crawled through, every Wiudfali I scrambled
over, told on ms til at last was forced to
halt. With perspiration bursting from every
ed against a tree, and imagined the feelings of
the losing horse il Q race Ny heart beat
loudly as the drumming OF partridge, the whole
forest seemed 70 reverberate With its quick
thud, thud, thad, and the blood leaped TO
my head and temples till my brain was in a
whirl
While the trees were dancing before my
reeling sight l thought, What an unlucky
wight am I! After 20 wears oi small game
shooting, to at last actually meet bear in his
haunts In the forest, get Within 30 yards OF
HIM on the point OF gratifying one of the pet
ambitious Of my iifs, and then to baag away
couple of shots ike fool with the buck ague,
while my noble AIRY, eoOlly makes off, and
am left empty y-handed'
Worse than that, the brute runs away so
slowly that George sees him again and again
keeps up with him in fact Alas, my too, too
solid fiesh!" Were / g slight, nimbie fellow
like George, / might have shot bear--yes, a
half-dozsn times over. And then my gun.
What a fool to bring littlo sBiDe-gun into the
woods in quest Of tie king of tho forests, the
beast before @hieh all others quail, from the
Atlantic to the Mississippi, and then to fire
away at this lortily game as l would pull trig-
ger on a Woodcuck One bird missed, up fins
another. Eat where slal ! find another bear,
when l have been all my life getting up with
this first one? Then, II had only shot him.
what yarns | woaid spin TO my sporting
lie yoici encorel Here he is again!ei
sounded Georges voice, loud 9nd clear,
through G3 forest, and Cut short my Feverie.
NV heart stilled, ami my brain steadied in
an instant Again sDrung forward. II may
get him yet; may retrieve my fortunes" !"
thought I, as 1 dragged, crawled and pushed
myself ahead through the underbrush.
George hears me crashing along, and shouts
from the mountain side, Hes maxim down
by the lake Right ahead o ger. Look out
for him"
1 scramble on, impeiled By one single, strong
desire-to get one coed, fair shot at that bear.
I keep on and on. Not word from George
At my right, through tho leaves, l catch
bright glimpSes Of the lake, sleeping in the
sunlight ] slaeken my pace. All is silent as
a sanctuary. We'll, the bear is off, and
George with him. III keep on slowly, cool
off, and perhaps get my second wind. that we
read about whatever taa5 may be-" 50 think
ing, sing myself upon a fallen cedar that
Law breast high across my route, swing my
letys over, sit and rest Tor a moment, then leiS-
nre " drop down on the other side.
on S9adf-r-r-f-rl' And from under cedar
only ssven PAGES away mass OF blackness
springs for mo, sudden aud swift
have not time TO take, STEP Had time
allowed. there is no opportunity. The fallen
cedar is at my back; am pinloned between
its branches, But no thought of retreat or
Adodging enters my mind. There IS time but
for one single impulse, and that 1s--shoot. MY
gun is in my right hand, both barrels full
cock Instantly pitch it to my shoulder, yet
in this instant the whole forest scene, with the
lon-dashinQ black brute Ia the centre, is accu-
rately and indeliby photographed on my sight.
r see the beast leaping on all fours, hind quar-
tiers high, fore-shoulders low, head down and
askew. snout turned to right, lip curled up
like a snarling dog, teeth ciattering, and black
ewes cleaning with a develsh light. On
comes the monster with his vibrating, hunting
eroWl KldF-i-F-rf! AS the gun swings up
to my face glance along the haFrs's, and see
the Swapping teeth OF the leaping brute within
four feet Of my gun-nuzze. fire' Inc oeas'
falls forward with heavy thud at my feet
I lower my gun, and with finger on the left
trigger press tue inuzzle against the monster S
head. He moves not Every fibre of my be-
ing thrills with a wild, intense delight.
"DRADh' yell, with savage giee-
And from up the mountain-side comes
Georges answering shout, Bravo, mon
And now comes George himself, crashing
and bounding down down the steep, and swing
ing his axe aIoft He jumps over our fallen
foe, embraces me dances about IKE true
Frenohmau, shouting, bravo, mon frerel
bravo. mon frerei Nous ayons vaiucI notre
ennemi Sacrel You old black devil, you
Voici--here you are, mort. Aha!, and grasp
ing me with both hands, words fall US, and we
give voice to the Wild Joy Of victory in one
long tHalloo?" thas wakes the slumbering
echoes Of the summer lake. TIE veneer OF a
thousand years Of civilization dropped from us
Ike garment, and the original savage, the
fg, ,eting and the original savage, the hghEine
amin al, the true N IN withini laughed With
zest m at civilization knows not of.
Tim ears our shout from down the lake
catehas II meaning, geefuliy heioos IN reply
and paddle. sswittly 10 US ia the pirogoe..
"Here ne J. = jim" q0oth L "Voici lours.
Jim naers d, 'er the shaggy brute, looks up
tatas pfT I'D !, at and, bowing towards me,
saws. with the aIr 81 di9lomat offering 8
sentiment at a roya ! banquet, "C'est oisu bon,
monsieur, beauooup 7e p9nvoir votre oras' eE
Takips ps'I BTnin' by the caws we slid her down
the bank. ~
aShs'lI weigh about i'9nr hundred" sale :a
jim, refectively, as we uteu hsr ih.o mo 'G' i'
pirogue. But then they're dreaginl lean - II
summer. Late in the iall, no w she'u ~ an
other hundred, sure"
nj cs,>,,1-e.,, T3a4,ien PRIEST