The Osceola times., 1886-10-09

old Dear that he had killed while m,
animal was IN a trap, He showed m
Tue marks of six balls, one of which wa
imbeded in the bone.
We had the bear, and the next thin,
was what to do with it. The bowie
KNIFE was too heavy for skinning. anc
reerys Jack-knife was not sharp. Tn,
Major mounted his horse and rode dowr
The branch and along the creek to wher,
settler lived, and soon came back with
knives and the man. The hide wa,
taken OIL, a large cut of the hear-ant
here my heavy bowie-knife came in use
was appropriated by the Major. and
the rest OF the carcass turned over tc
our assistant But | didn't dine with
the Major while his bear meat lasted
lhat cry OF the poor brute, so despair.
ing and heartrending. fingered in nv
hearing for weeks, and felt as though
had murdered some one. The death
OF deer always affects me in the same
way, but then it is because of the human
expression of the animals eye in his
death pang.
ms hunt was exceptional through.
| out. All others at which assisted. we
| hunted the bear sometimes a day before
we found him, and he was slain in or
thodox manner, receiving coup de grace
with the hunting knife. But bears were
not abundant even then, and must be
less so now. Deer are plentiful vet. and
foxes, both gray and red. The otter is
occasionally found and the so-called
''black fox" Elk and beaver have dis
appeared, and panthers are rare. Dur
ing my five years residence in the hill
country | heard of one having been
killed, but did not see it, nor any one
who had. Deer are there in abundance.
In my time ] have come twice on herds
OF live or six, once on q group of four;
but Twas unarmed at the time and they
knew 1t. They suffered me to ride quite
closely to them, looked at me, and as |
rode off quietly resumed their grazing.
Hares, wild turkeys and ruilled grouse
are abundant Skunks are very COM
mon, but though the fur of this little
animal is valuable, skunk hunting is
not passion among the mountaineers
Bear hunting was never pursuit
though the skin, bringing cash as it
always did, in country where money
was scarce, was desirable. But there
was enough of it to create kind OF
recognized code, which was of authority
in litigated eases. | remember once q
bear suit at Boone Courthouse. 1t
came up before the county court on ap-
peal from a justice of the peace. Ii
was petty case, but the parties had
their blood up, and were bound to have
it out, cost what it might A, the
plaintiff, had started bear with his
dogs, and b, finding the animal pro
ceeding along, had shot him and taken
him in. He refused to give even a
pound of the meat to a, who thereupon
brought suit in detinue, for that B, etc,
etc, had detained the bear, The bears
hide in the meantime had been convert
cd into cash and the meat eaten and
digested. A had Judgment and b ap-
pealed. The counsel on both sides air.
ed their learning and eloquence. and
BIS lawyers claiming there could be no
property in an animal in the state of
nature, and As lawyers insisted that,
as A had begun to reduce
the bear TO possession, he had
obtained qualified property by the
customs of the country, and b was
therefore trespasser in particular and
a son OF gun generally. The wor-
shipful court-the county court was
composed of justices of tthe peace, and
therefore not honorable-pow- -powed
together and gave us, in default of re-
turning the bear which from the ma
ture of the action we should have OBJ
which was paid. This did
not 90 very far toward dcfraying the
legal expenses, but the triumph made
it cheap to the winner.
And, by way of climax, let me give
another bear case, not because of any
principle of law involved, but for re-
markable bit of forensic cloquence
thereunto appertaning. The case was
tried in justice court. The plaintiffs g
lawyer was a bright and well-read fel-
low, just admitted to the bar, and his
opponent was an illterate but shrewd
and 'cheeky" pcttifogger, who was a
great enemy of the justice. The young
lawyer had sustained his position by the
ruling in a case quoted in Johnson 5
Reports. The pettifogger replied, and
closed his argument in this way:
"Them's the facts, your worship. The
lawyer agin me, who is a peert young
man with a pleasin' disclose, an who is
obleeged to make good lawyer, some
dav when he rits older. has brought in
Johnson's Report to help him out
Johnson's Report! Why, Ineedn't tell
your worship, that's larned in the law.
that report is only hcarsay. an hear
says not evidence. An who's John
son. I'd like to know, that his hearsay' s
more than that of any other manp"
Judgment for defendant - Thomas