Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-06-03
THE GRIZZLY.
AN OLD HUNTERS ADVENTURES
IN CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINS.
The Bear Among the How
Man Was Thrown Into a
Canon-a Desperate Fight
With a Grizzly.

AOItl4clu pdrt VI Iu6 OIdCe. 1u0 ldSL
time we had visit from one found my
cattle and horses from three to five miles
away. The brute stampeded everything,
and as twas done in the night I thought
at first it was mountain lion. Anyway.
/ got ready for him, and the very next
morning heard row in the yard, and
rushing out, there was big grizzly
standing among my beehives with one
under his arm, as sociable as you please,
while with the other paw be was striking
At the bees that were clinging to his hair
and body in regular heaps. l made a
rush for my rifle, and when got back
he had moved off about twenty PAGES and
was going on his hind legs, like man,
still carrying the hive under his arm.
Now he would drop on all fours and go
pace, then rise up again. I made a
jump for him, and fetched yell, and as
he turned to see what the matter was
put piece Of cold lead right through his
heart and he dropped, bees and all. He
was rouser, and had done considerable
damage, coming down at night and
knocking over hives and breaking them
open to get the honey.
GIVE killed good many grizzlies, and
they're an animal you want to kill the
first shot, or there will be chance for
rough-and tumble at close quarters.
When lived up in the northern part Of
the State, some twenty years ago, bears
were as plenty as hops, and you didn't
have to hunt them, as they'd hunt you.
had young fellow living with me at
that time who considered himself a ia
nous shot; but, between you and me, he
was only $3.50. One day we found some
of the sheep killed and some toted off 50
Jim proposed to 60 out and make it hot
for the grizzlies for day or so, and hav-
ing nothing particular on hand I went
with him. Ihad couple of mongrel
dogs that were the best on bear ever
saw, 80 we took them along, and the next
morning about 10 they started trail
and off they went whooping, we follow
ing. / reckon we must have tramped it
a mile or SO, when we came to thick
piece of brush, and into it the dogs went
with rush, and the next minute there
commenced the greatest yelling and
snarling you ever heard. l was packing
the camp things, and SO Jim jumped
through the bush, and I after him, and
there in the centre Of small clearing
was the biggest grizzly ever saw or
heard of. The minute l saw him |
dropped my stuff and grabbed my rifle.
The grizzly was standing on his
launches, splitting fire and froth, Just
waiting for them dogs to come Within
reach, and every now and then making
jump at them. Without wasting any
time, Jim stepped up until he was within
four foot Of the beast, then raised hi
rifle and pulled the trigger He had a
dead shot, but heard the click of the
hammer and knew his rife had missed
fire, and the next minute the bear, Jim.
dogs and rifle was a-going it up and
down, in and out, up and over, in the
greatest rough-and- -tumbleyou ever heard
of in your life. For a minute I was
SO tuck back at the suddenness
Of the whole thing that I couldn't tell
what to do, and then I didn't dare to
shoot, they were going about so quick.
The dogs had the bear by the hind quar-
ters, and were biting and chawing for all
they were worth. The bear was on top
mostly, but Jim had got out his knife
and was carving for all he was worth,
and it's a wonder he wasn't drowned in
blood. The only thing that saved him
from being clawed all in pieces was
thick buckskin suit he wore. | lodged
about for about five minutes waiting for
chance, and all at once / got it. The
brute had pinned Jim down square by
the shoulders, and was just taking hold
Of him by the throat or thereabouts when
! clapped my rifle to his ear and let fly
and shot him dead. jim was about
played out, but he had strength to feel
that he was being squeezed too close for
comfort. It took allmy muscle to roll off
the bear, as it laid right on top Of him,
bu. | did, and yanked Jim out, and want
he sighta His suit was in rags, regu-
larly cut up into strings, and his legs
were almost cut to the bone in half a
dozen places. When I hauled him to his
feet he had hold Of his knife and had to
drop it as it was a foot deep in the bears
throat, and by actual count there were
forty stabs in the bears hide. So you
can tell what kind of a fighter he was.
what made you shootr were about the
first words he said, and then over he
went in dead faint, and if it hadn't
been cold, he'd have bled to death before
I could pack him to the doctor, which /
did though, forty miles over the noun
tains. Yes, he came out all right, but
for weeks he looked like one of these
crazy quilts That was his first grizzly,
and I never heard him banker for any
more at short range, although he shot
good many after that in one way and an
other.
'sYou know the old soledad trail, up
here, continued the hunter ssIt's de-
serted, and going to ruin now; but few
years ago, when it was being made, it
was the scene Of curious fracas with
grizzly. The men at work on The trail
or some one about there had a young
German, as green as grass and right fresh
from the old country. One night he was