Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-08-23
The Love of Bears for Melons.

| once worked on a watermelon
plantation where we had 100 acres
under vines at one time. The curious
thing about the business was that our
hardest fight wasn't agin weeds. 1t
was agin bears-black bears. We'd
got the vines all shooting along, some
of them with melons on EN- as big as
pumpkin, and the old man was get
ting the road TO the river cleared out,
so as to be ready for shipping, wheu
one morning in came one of the
boys, and says he
Something has broke down the
worm fence and battered up about am
acre of the vines in the clearin'
Wed Just cleared about ten acres of
woodland the past winter, and melons
were doing amazingly well in that
field So you may know the old man
was mad when he heard this. Him
and | went down to see what was up,
and we saw in moment that 1t was
bears.
There were tracks. Just as they were
made by men walking on their hands
in the soft earth all over the field,
and the vines was torn up, and the
ripe and green melons mashed to
flinders in a way that nothing but a
bear could do.
They'll be back tonight said the
old man. you and Josh and Henry
clean out your rifles and be ready for
EN-
There was a full moon that night,
and | tell you things looked purity.
Josh and Henry and ! settin' behind
stumps, with ourrihes across our laps,
waiting. The fence was still tore
down at the point nearest the woods
and the moonlight shining ON the
dark forest, where we expected the
bears to come from, and then ON the
field of watermelon vines, whose
white tendrils glistened like silver,
looked mighty purity.
Now and then we hearc a screech
owl yelling down in The woods, but
wouldn't pay no attention to that;
and presently [ saw a bear come out
and walk slowly into the field He
was big fellow, as black as coal in
the moonlight, a-.d he wasn't in any
hurry, either He sauntered along
as slowly as you please over
to big striped Georgia melon, and,
settin' down on his hams, he Just
picked that melon up in his two fore
paws and smashed it between 'em like
paper. In half a minute his whole
head was dripping with juice, and |
could hear him smacking his lips like
a hog.
We let him alone, according to the
old mans instructions, waiting until
there should be a bear apiece for us,
for the tracks showed that at least six
of 'em had been around the night be-
fore.
In a few minutes along came anoth
er one, and then there walked in an
old she with two little ones at her
heels. We had three bears now, but
nary one of US fired. Watching
them bears was the biggest picnic
ever l saw. Sometimes they'd catch
up a melon just as you'd take up a
baby, and, holding it close to em,
travel across the field on their hind
legs until they'd see a bigger one, and
then smash would go the rind, and
juice would drip off EN- like they had
Just come out of bath
l was watching the old she teaching
her young ones how to break into the
juicy part, when crack went Josh's
rifle, and the whole gang started on a
a run. The vines tripped 'em up so
that they couldn't 90 very fast, and
we each bagged one of 'em, mine be
ing one of the young ones. We watch
ed every night after that till the sea,
son was ovsr, but they were kind Of
wary now, and we never shot more
than one in a night While we'd be
sitting III one field waiting for them,
they'o be rip-snorting away at the
fruit on the other side of the planta-
ton.
Bears are keener after watermelons
than a negro, and / can't say no more
than that.-Denver Republican.