Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-01-04
BEAR SHOUTING I'm CANADA.
Thrilling Sport in the Cedar Woods of I
$s.5-t !. / # tz'tf sE54 4 Dom uiOn. H:#s Ii IA.

pine. The trees stood close together with
low branches, and were plentifully inter
stspersed with wind falls, lying breast high on
rotten branches, and forming an admirable
j natural abattis against our advancing coll
umn of two armed with az and shotgun.
IN George moves ON like shada " straight
for the squirrel that still chatters and scolds
] and swears from the cedar Jungle l yeer
I to tha right. We worm ourselves be-
tween the thick trunks, are under the thick
/ er branches. n ~. t@=e..,taa r.
+ A low 'Sh!" catches my ear. turn to-
| ward George. Here he ISL is written all
over his face. H. points directly ahead,
! then shakes bis ak, and points and points
again. r. - 80,
| I look, crouch down and look, but see
nothing save the trunks. ~ ..,*@
| George grows impatient. He thinks l
| do not understand him.
| lie vorci! Here he isl" he Kisses. But
| Bruin hears as, we'll as I. Non les VOLTA!
There he goes!" ..,
| I hear whine and q grunt that reminds
me Of q menagerie and through the, trunks
! and the dead branches OF a fallen pine
catch fitting glimpse OF shambling black
| ness.
! fire g snap shot, rs would at a wood
cock darting through the alder tops. The
! smoke hangs under the thick branches and
shuts out oil before me.
Hes down! Nous j'avonsi" YelIs
George. The report of the gun has broken
the spell If the forest silence, and George
! changes from serpent to tiger.
| No" he cries." hes off again. Fire"
| fire nay left barrel through the smoke
with eye of faith, "and examining in coup
| le of fresh cartridges, George and I rush on,
it any mode of progress through tangled
cedar swamp can be called rush. We
kick and wrest off the dry dead branches,
scramble over the fallen pine, but the bear!
Nowhere sign ofhim. Nothing but forest
and silence.
| George keeps on; I do my best to follow.
! He glides along like cat in one band al
| upllfted Ak, descending now and then to
sever an opposing bough. He gets over
the ground TWO feet to my one.
| Gle VOLTA, qni sen va! There. he goes
again! Yenez? Come on" cries, George,
and perform the speediest coming on Of
which was capable. Slow enough it is,
though. Every few steps the tangled
| branches Of fallen cedar must be burst
| through; but on I press, aud scramble.
! and tumble, aud crawl, till George is
reached. He stands on a PROSTATE tree, Ak
| upraised, head bent forward and to one
! side--an admirabls statue OF alertness.
! 'Ecoutez! Llsten!" he whispers
! A moments stiffness. Then a cracking,
| loud and near, up the hillside. George
! Jumps through the thicket, and springs up
/ the slope like fash.
Follow him? I could as easily fit up to
| heaven without wings. So I scrambled out
| through the level awamp. It is said that
! ''hlood will tell" can swear that weight
| will. The burden of my two hundred
pounds handicap1e ped me in this swamp
( race with bear. Every thicket
| era vled through, every windfall I scram-
bled over, told on nae, till at last I was
| TO- ced to halt. With Precipitation bursting
from every poNe, and breath only caught
! in gasps, leaned against tree and im-
| agined the feelings Of the losing horse in a
race. My heart beat loudly as the hum
mi g of partridge, the whole forest
| seemed to reverbera.e with its quick thud,
tbud, thud, and the blood leared to my
| head and temples till my brain was in
! whirl.
While the trees were dancing before my
| Keeling sight, I thought, What an unlucky
/; wight am I! After twenty years of small
game shooting, to at last meet a bear in his
| haunts in the forest. ct within thirty yards
| Of him, on the point Of gratifying one Of
the pet ambitions Of my life, and then tc
bang away a couple of shots like fool with
the buck ague, while my noble quarry
cody makes off, and I am left empty
| handed."a p
| 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 fesh!' Were q light,
nimble fellow like George, might have
| shot bear--yes, a half dozen times over.
! And then my gun. What a fool to bring 8
! little snipe-gu into the woods in quest Of
the king Of the forests, the beast before
| which all others quail, from the Atlautic to
! the Mississippi and then to fire away at
this lordIy game as would pull trigger On
| q woodcock! One bird missed, up flies
another But where shall I find another
bear, when have been all my life getting
up with the first one? Then, if had only
shot him what yarns would spin to nv
sporting friends
sic roici encore! Here he is again!"
sounded Georges voice, loud and clear,
| through The forest, and cut short my rev.
erie.
Ny heart stilled, and my brain steadied
! in an instant. Again sprung forward. II
may get him yet; may retrieve my for
| tune" thought /, as dragged, crawled and
! pushed myself ahead through the under
brush.
George hears me crashing along, and
shouts from the mountain -slde, Hes max
in down by the lake. Right ahead oyer.
Look out for him."
I scramble on. impelled by one single,
strong desire-to get one good fair shot at
| the bear.
keep on and on. Not word from
George. At my right through the, leaves I
Icatchtbright glimpses Of the lake, sleeping
| in the sunlight. I slacken my pace. AL
| is silent as sanctuary. well, the bear is
| off and George with him. TIL keep on
slowly, cool of, and perhaps get my sec
ond wind that we,s read about, whatever
I they may be-" So thinking, Using myself
upon a fallen cedar that lay breast high
across my route, swing my legs over, sit and
| rest for a-moment, then le1surely drop down
on the other side. r. Est>
"K,tor- ySr-r-r!na4 Andsfrom under &C.
dar only seven PAGES away mass of black
ness springs forsme. sudden and swift.
+ I had not time to take a step. Had time
allowed, there is no.. opportunity. The
fallen cedar is at my back; t am pinioped
between its branches. But no thought of
retreat OF lodging enterssmy mind. There
is time but for one single impulse, and that
is-shoot. My gun is in my right hand,
both barrels full cock. Instantly pitched
it to my shoulder. yet in this instant the
whole forest scene, with the OF dashlng,
black brute in the centre, is accurately and
indelibly photographed upon my sight, I
see the beast 1eaping on all fours, hind.
quarters high, fore shoulders low, head
down and askew, snout turned to right, lip
rurled up like !. snarling dog, teeth CHAT
tering, and black eyes cleaning wilha dey-
ilish light. On comes the monster, with
his vibrating, grunting growl, Knar-r-r-r-rst
AS the gun swings up to my face I glance
along the barrels, and see the Swapping
teeth Of the leaning brute. within four feet
of mygun-m uzzle. 4 FIRE. & The beast falls