The true northerner., 1883-10-11
The Love OfBears for Melons.

L once worked on q watermelon plan
tation where we had 100 acres under
vines at time. The curious thing
about the business was that our hard
est 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 'em as big as a
pumpkin, and the old man was getting
to be ready for shipping, when one
morning i'll came one of the boys, and
1 says he:
Something has broke down the
worm fence and battered up about an
acre of the vines in the clearin'."
! We'd just cleared about ten acres of
woodland the past winter, and melons
We're doing amazingly-well in that field.
! So you may know the old man was mad
when he heard of this. Him and
went down to see what was up, and we
saw in a moment that it 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 fol
them"
There was full moon that night, and
i tell you things looked purity. Josh
and Henry and L settin' behind stumps,
with our rifles across our laps, waiting.
The fence was still tore down at the
point nearest the woods, and the moon.
light 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 heard a screech owl
Yelling down III the woods, but we
didn't pay no attention to that; and pres
emily L saw bear come out and walk
slowly into the field He was big
fellow, as black as coal in the moonlight
and he wasn't in any hurry, either. He
sauntered along as slowly as you please
over to a 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 minute his whole head
was dripping with juice, and 1 could
hear him smacking his lips like hog.
We let him alone, according to the
old mans instructions, waiting until
there should be bear apiece for us,
for the tracks showed that at least six
of 'em had been around the night before
In few minutes along came another
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. Some.
times they'd catch up a melon just q;
you'd take up a baby, and, holding il
close to 'em, travel across the field or
their hind legs until they'd see bigger
one, and then smash would go the rind
and juice would drip off 'em like they
had just come out of a bath.
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
run. The vines tripped 'em up SO thai
they couldn't go very fast, and we eacl
bagged one of 'em, mine being one o!
the young ones. We watched every
hight after that till the season was over,
but they were kind of wary now, and We
never shot more than one in night
While we'd be sitting in one field wait
ing for them, tney'd be rip-snortine
away at the fruit on the other side o.
the plantation.
Bears are keener after watermelons
than negro, and l can say no more
than that. Denrer Republican.