The Red Cloud chief., 1883-05-04

The Sad Fate Of Two Men who Fought n
Grizzly.

BITTEN THROUGH THE HEART.
The Sad Fate Of Two Men who Fought a
Grizzly.
William Farley. who has just arrived
from the Medic ne Bow Country. tells
the story of n thrilling bear hunt in
which two old frontiersmen los their
lives. FaIiey and two companions.
James Wilson and Jake Shultz. were
on a prospecting trip on the Little Pas
Creek. which debouches into the Medi-
cine low Fork of the North Platte
south Of Elk Mountain. 1t has been
the common belief for years that r,ch
placer mines existed in this nook Of the
Rock es. and the little pa " started out
last fall in quest Of the hidden gold.
They selected n valley spot nj the con
fluence OF Little and Big Pass Creek
for their principal camping pace and
the locality where they should meet
In the event they separated in the
mountains. Here they erected n pcrma-
nent tent and deposited the bulk of
their supplies.
Soon after Farley and his partner To-
Gated at the forks. early in October. the
footprints Of a huge grizzly bear We're
discovered in the neighbOrhood. He
did not seem to be al all aggressive.
contcnting himself for a few nights
prowling around the camp. The pros
pectors grew somewhat alarmed nj the
frequency and familiarity OF these n C.
turnal visits. and Farley suggested that
they organize a hunt. Shu IL, who was
a mountsineer OF large experience.
counseled HIM 10 have no fears prom
ising that old Bru n would shortly find
some rev attraction and disappear.
Meanwhile. two ira $ had feen set for
the bear. and. in both cases. he had
clever v extracted the bat without hay
ing sustained so much rs the loss of o
hair from his shaggy hide.
One night. while the three men were
! ing within thei tent planning TO am
bush the bear, and kill him. the subject
of their conversation put in an appear
nee rs unconcernedly rs If he was
bullet proof. The prospectOrs had Just
finished eating supper. The campfire
in front of the tent. and about twenty
yards distant. was burning low; a fall
ing ember from the NIB of a tree
I'll own yer it, occasionally caused n
lur d glow. Close BY the fire were the
dishes and the remnants o. the repast
"a tin a full of sugar and one of
strip. half a sack Of -four. some bread
and fried bacon and antelope scraps.
They had left their rites leaning against
a quaking asp limb near the fire. and
were reclining on their bl nkets lazily
smoking and plotting the bears dea h.
IF he only took some regula trail"
said Shultz. we could get away with
him without any trouble. Blu, from
what | have ObServ d. l would Judge
this fellow is IN old Tsrtar. and
we
j, ST then there was a sound Of some
heavy body moving through the bushes
back of the fire. The words died away
on Shultz's lips, and the three men
looked in the direction whence the noise
came. As if petrified.
The grizzly walked out into the OPEN
ing. swelling. in the imaginat on of the
d~efenseless prospectors. to the dimen-
sions of IN elephant He growled at the
fire . moment and then turned his at
tention to the ediblcs. The strip cup
was. for . while, a fifteen puzzle for
him: but finally. in his hungry rage. he
accidentally turned it er, and the
contents flowed ont through the small
aperture in the lid on To the ground.
While the bear was engaged in licking
mp the strip the prospectors recovered
their presence of mind. Farley and
Shultz had q pistol each. but Wilson
had left his with the guns He had .
bowie knife, however. and with this
weapon he resolved to do battle in the
event of emergency. To attack the
griz ~ with pistols and q knife was
perilous- TO lie there. hoping 10 re-
main unnoticed. while momentarily
fearing discovery. was i~nsuferable.
Something must Re done. and that
quickly. The plan of action was ar
ranged with baied breath. Farley and
Shultz crawled out beneath the rear Zap
of the tent. They were to make .
stealthy detour to where the guns were.
surprise the bear. and riddle him with
bullets. Wilson was to remain con-
cealed in the tent.
Tie two men had not gone more than
. half-dozen yards from the tent when
Farley broke q limb of . fallen tree, in
ste ping owe it and the loud report
startled the bear. The grizzly fell back
his hind quarters. uttered q furious
growl and then made for the tent on a
run. Before Schultz or Farley could
shoot or collect their fri,htened senses
the bear lad broken throu, III the tent.
They knew that nothing less than .
m racle could ave Wilson'S life, and
Immediately took shelter among the low
branches of q cottonwood tree. In the
dim light of the campfire they saw the
tent heaving with the conflict for life
within. and while pray ng that
wilson would come out virtoious, al
wild death cry told them that the struc-
Gle was at m end. The commot;on
ceased on the fad n z away of the
horrible echo, and the grizzly shambled |
out into the light He sta y ered around
the fire; surveyed the pool of strip on
The ground. bat seemed to have no fur
ther appetite for it. and then departed
Is abruptly q be ime.
i was some time before Farley and
Schultz could muster up sufficient cour
Re to descend from the tree. believing
hat the bear VA still hiding close by.
When they entered the tent the light