The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-05-27
THREE BAR STORIES.

II
l stopped some weeks ago for the
night at the Antelope Springs Tavern
half hotel and half stable, built of pine
logs, some of which are two feet in thick
Mesa lonely place under the pines,
where could hardly hope for any but
lonesome night of it. The place was
hotel some twenty years ago, but has
been deserted since then.
was glad to find a crowd of hunters,
trappers, miners and travellers collected
there, driven in like myself by the
snowstorm which had been raging all
day on the mountain toll road. After Il
good supper, which included elk steak,
we gathered around blazing fire of
dry pine wood on the old hearth.
I'VE were hunting black-tail deer on
the main range of the Rocky Noun
tains, near the headwaters of the Little
Blackfoot River, in Montana" yen-
tured slim young man, Heath and !.
Heath was young fellow from Boston,
and Beason street maybe at that. He
had Joined the United States army. He
had been in the territory a year or so,
had served under General Terry against
the Sioux. and had seen some service,
after the Custer massacre. Becoming
tired of life in barracks, he got out of
the army by the assistance of friends at
home, among them General B., under
the plea that he was not of age when he
enlisted.
well, we had been tracking a band
of deer until we were just about played
out, when we saw them away up on the
side of the mountain. 1t was about
three hours till sundown.
I'VE tied old Prince, Heath's dog, to
little bush with a silk handkerchief,
intending to leave him there while we
slipped on the deer. The dog would
break sometimes and spoil shot.
Il was ahead of Heath about a hun
dred yards with my Winchester on my
shoulder-had some six or eight loads
in the chamber. She was what is called
an Express rifle, 5O-caliber and shoots
100 grains of powder. When that gun
spoke something was liable to get hurt.
Heath's was Remington, single-shot
rifle, you know, but for one shot hard
lv think there's better.
II had always been anxious to run
across a grizzly, and we both had about
made up our minds that whenever we
should come up with bear ON oul
hunts we should try him whirl. an
no SLOUGH of shot, if l do say 1t my
self, and Heath was as quick as a rabbit
and as steady as bridge, as he would
say.
"Well, old Prince began tugging al
the handkerchief and broke loose. He
came running up to Heath as if fright
ened. looked back, and just where 6
little while before we had been resting
under little fir tree came two bears al
a dead run, one following the other,
and both right on our trail. They were
silver tips, and were coming about as
fast as an average coyote can run, and
getting over the rough ground as nimb
ly as cats.
" Look out, Heathr hollered. there:
something after usn
"'Give it to 'em Heathr l cried, fol
thought he was not going to shoot. In
fact, didn't have time to think muct
about it OF l would not have said that
1t was all done as quick as you can ba
your eve, anyway.
'Whangr went his Remington.
'' Stay with me, Louis he shouted
They are on the iightr
He shot at the bear in advance. and
hit it in the rear somewhere. 1t stop
ped, turned round, stood up on its hinC
| feet and showed its teeth. 1t worked
its jaws as if it was chewing its cud
| Then it roared or growled or hOwled-
whatever you may call it-twice, ant
| you could have heard it a mile. Never
heard such voice anywhere else.
Il ran out to place where l coulC
| get fair sweep at them when the,
came back toward Heath. Before h
could load and shoot again the bea
| and they both ran into the brush to
| gether.
| I'VE were afraid to follow them int
more of them"
YES" began a trapper, as he threy
log ON the fire and then stood with hi
hands behind him in the full glare c
the heat-the hands held in that posi-
ton, perhaps, to warm him when tn
heat got too great for the safety of hi
buckskin overalls. He wore gum boot
(also pervious to fire), buckskin schap
as aforesaid, and heavy flannel shirt
SO heavy in fact that he saved the e>
pense of vest and coat Wherever h
went there was strong odor of beave
musk, which in the matter of perfum
is a cross between the smell of a wig
wan and that of an opium den.
Yes, silver tip is bad enough whe
he's wounded, and about as active
bear as there is, but grizzly is bigge
and can carry more lead without dyin
than any other living animal. Thel
was friend of mine b. name of Ton
kins in the Boulder Valley-had a littl
summer stock ranch there. He ha
been bothered considerably by beaI
coming among his stock. Finally the
killed a colt, and the bear that killed
would come and eat off'n that colt ever
night. The rancher made up his min
he'd fix the gentleman, so he went
the nearest town, told the boys abol
, the bear, and got him bottle of strycl
nine. He got the Shurf and Tom, h
deputy, and Mat Ward, the Deestri
Clerk, and they went home with him
lay for that bear. Shurf of Silver Bo
County, Montdna, mind you," as if Il
statement were n matter of record, ian
they all went home with him."
Before dark they took a team an
hauled big load of hay up in abo
thirty steps of the colts carcass. Tht
filled that carcass full of strychnine.
There was no trees around the
handy, and nothin' else that a ms
could hide behind-all a level, OPT
, bunch grass flat which Tompkins had
sorter whiddledig fence round for pa
ture. They hauled the hay up there
shoot from, of course.
Long about the time when the be
generally come-he made his visi
purity -regular-them four men, sol