Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-08-06

- 40 WE on.
tered and were driven to the ronon,sn,
geological Gardens of Paris.
AS we entered the grounds whom sho,,a
we meet but Lieut.. Treyelle and Cant
fenroy, of the Generals staff.
30 Jour, Messieurs," observed T,o
velle,% saluting. A0
we In turn wished him agood dav y ona
as ne n his comrade seemed to be po;no
IN the same direction as ourselves we
Joined in a pleasant chat.
we assured him that we commended hi.
action in ignoring the challenge rendered
him by Bardette.
he seemed as cheerful as ever, and said
he lntendedto challenge Bardette to n good
"stand-up fight"
"lhere he goes now," observed the
MAJOR, who would have liked to witness nm
encounter between the rival Lieutenants.
there and then.
Good! We will hasten forward and
settle This matter once and foreyer!n az.
claimed Trevelle, decidedly.
No." I lnterposed; "this is not the
place for q rencontre. You forget that we
are in the midst of Paris society; an affair
OF this kind happening here without an in
reference on our part would subject us to
court-martial, if not imprisonment"
The Colonel is light!" acquiesced both
Glare and Penroy.
Accordingly, Trevelle cooled down and
made no further movements towards meet
ing his rival. We reached the place where
the great bear was exhibited. He was in a
pit with three others that looked quite as
fierce as himself.
saw at a glance that he was a regular
Rocky Mountain Grizzly" and Trevelle
noted this fact as soon as I, for he
remarked loosely, "a wild sort of a fellow,
isn't he?"
This observation caused n general laugh.
for the animal was %prancing about the pit,
swapping, glazing, and growing, and was
evidently in anything but a mild mood.
The den was about twelve feet in depth
and paved on the bottom and sides with
granite flags.
The stout trunk of a tree with the limbs
trimmed closely, stood erect in the center,
upon which the bears occasionally amused
themselves by climbing clumsily up, much
to the annoyance of timid people, but to the
qualification of visitors generally.
While we stood looking at the grizzly,
Bardette approached and stood nearly OPP
posite us, at the other side of the railing;
neither he nor his companion deigning to
recognize us further than to salute the
Major and myself, as compelled by military
custom.
Near us stood a lady, evidently one of
the nobility, attended by a young girl who
had in her charge a very bright little boy.
apparently about 4 years of age.
The lady had occasion to step aside for q
moment to converse with an acquaintance.
The eyes of the girl followed her mis-
tress. and in the brief moment that her at
tention was thus diverted, the child by
some means managed to slip away and
fall between the bars of the railing, down
into the pit, among the bears!
A scream of terror uttered by the little
one in his descent caused the poor nurse to
take in the situation in q moment, and with
a shrek followed by a groan of anguish
she fell back into Clare's arms in o dead
swoon.
I was SO Mortified by the frightful occur
renee that for a moment 1 could scarcely
realize the peril of the child.
Trevel!e, pale rs marble, but cool and
| collected, asked hurriedly:
"Have you o sword or a pistol about
you?"
Before I could reply, he had seized the
railing, swung himself over, and descended
the slippery wall into the den.
To my horror I heheld him bound des-
perately at the ferocious beast which had,
with a prolonged howl, sprung forward al
most upon the hapless child! and catching
the little boy in his arms, Trevelle sprang
toward the tree that stood in the center of
the pit.
He caught one of the branches and
scrambled hastily up the trunk; nor was
he a moment too soon, for with a fierce
growl at thus being deprived of his prey,
the enraged beast prepared to follow him.
The gallant Lieutenant kicked Bruin re-
peatedly, sinking his sharp spurs deep
into the brute's snout.
This served only to irritate him, increase
his rage, and make him roar fiercely.
Clare held q revolver in his hand, but
dared not fire lest he might iniure Ire
velle.
The heroic rescuer reached the top OF
the tree in safety, but the bear followed
him up closely.
At this critical juncture Penroy pro-
duced a rope, an end of which be threw
Trevelle, who caught it deftly, and while
Penroy wound his end around the rail and
held it firmly in place, he swung himself
off the tree, just escaping the bear, and
struck close beside us, against the smooth
stone WALL.
Selling him quickly we landed our brave
comrade and his precious burden unin-
jured.
Strange to relate, the little fellow hac
not been hurt by his unceremonious de.
scent upon the hard stones.
Before the overjoyed lady had an OPP