The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1888-01-22
MANY SORTS OF ANIMALS.
II rs A DANGEROUS BUSINESS FOOL
ING NTH BEAN CUBS.

ANV WAA" DIAL" SODcs
Tive Interestiss Proofs OF the Foregoing
Fropositiou-The Old Settler At IL Again
Hard Luck OF n Pennsvivania Town
stories or the Animal Weird.
FORT CUSTER, Jan. 15.-Reckoned by itself,
there Isn't much to q bear cub under six
months old. no matter what particular breed
OF the varmint II belongs to. grizzly, cinnamon,
or what not. Nevertheless. by fooling with q
bear cub . fellow can very easily get himself
into q bigger rumpus than II he had tackled a
full-Grown animal to begin with. Take a cub
and It's mother together, and the combination
"a every bit as dangerous as two full-grown
bears. Not because the youngster is likely to
take any hand in tho fight, but because the old
she bear will fight q heap savaRer and die
harder on account OF the cub, every time. II
you want to see an old squaw bear turn herself
wrong side out with fury and cave around till
her eyes throw OF sparks, all you have to do is
to get c~ornered up betwixt her and her cub, asI
once happened to be.
It Game about ono day while saRebrush Bill
and tho three Englishmen were out in the
mountains hunting. and I was staying at home
TO look after the camp. Our camp. you will re-
member. was in q little mountain park near
the head waters Of the Rosebud on the Grow
reservation. Montana. Our mules were pick
sted In q sort Of oY-shoot Of the park. a short
distance awsy whore there was plenty Of
bunch grass. and I was just returning from
Watering them and shifting them over to new
ground one morning. whom I stumbled upon q
brown bear cub about four months old. The
sight OF a cub abroad at that age without Its
mother is 80 very unusual that l concluded at
once 1t must be an orphan. and gave chase
with the idea OF rounding 1t up. I had no gun
or revolver with ne. nothing In fact but my
bowie. for. as I say. I had merely strolled over
from camp to water and shift the mules. The
cub was q lively and muscular little whelp.
with legs almost as thick as its body; and as
took after him, he hustled along through the
pines ct q pace that made me hump in order to
keep him company. I might have run some
faster. maybe. except for q pretty lively sus-
picion that the youngster might turn out after
all not to be an orphan. A LONG experience
with Big Horn Mountain bears had taught me
to entertain o good wholesome respect for a
bear cubs mother, and I didn't exactly feel
like chasing this particular whelp right into its
mothers arms, with no other weapon handy
than q bowie.
After following tho cub about q mile. how
ever. I decided that 1t must be an orphan
beyond . doubt, otherwise the old bear would
have turned up. and 80 I put on a little more
speed. Finding itself pressed pretty hard. tho
young bear lodged this way and that, doubled
around patches OF juniper, and finally scuttled
up a big red cedar.
1 once hoard q tenderfoot tourist whom Sage
brush and I guided through the Yellowstone
Park read q bear yarn out of Down East book
in which It was claimed that q four-months-
old cub can't climb a tree any bigger round
than 1t can span with its foresrms. That only
goes to show what sort OF truck they print in
books, and how much Down Casters know
about bears, anyhow. Out here a brown bear
at that age can Skinny up a tree three feet in
diameter easy. II the bark is only rough enough
While 1 stood looking at him. undecided
whether to follow him up. into the tree or go
s ssSk dhi Ga@RIi hlt . fork ay about Sans .Sirty ie .ss hf iae
breath. he sat and looked down at Ills pursuer
made q most comical mixture. It was, proba-
BY 2 mile 70 camp mp, and; afraid # The CUB !, might a,is
up and settle him with my bowie, His anxiety
and fear were, something laughable to witness
e Se Be bsS wstc @sIpi me s.sEt e to f5imlRI IKE sh g s trss; An Il
sissoush 's shs s roush hifbs bark at Haad d hand hand and md
branches for the first twenty feet, The cub re-
treated higher up the tree. whining and crying
OF esoape. but always kespine we'll out Of reach.
l had been chasing it around in this manner
for several minutes t and trying to e9rner II up;
II was the old she bear, the cubs, mother. and
the cub and / had been too busy watching each
other d to ob notice a apyy ahn else ;n and m neither het,S 81
t ds nS Wo o92ser WITH me hes sn Savage Seef 9 roar. Sh Fo stS a mol
mont tho cub see med to forget me in its delight
at seeing its natural proteetor, and with an
c ep1sS up and SI save It. : As 1sf ir myself III / re exon
was q e mighty tight place. for a brown bear
f faa ''i Xt f rs fa crayw ts out sao on 3 limb 1bi Is Tar Far as
dared t T,tss myself Id In the heb hope Ge that / d ths
bic to think they would both clear out and give
me- Q show to get back to camp While l had
anxious to try ~ i On with the old sauaS without
1rearms: But, now that wanted him to 60
Ssxn' o shs q sr minSte s Saior s'S III s ssnlap, pa stis a
larry anxious to reach a lower position IN the
tree than than an. my W own Ite but IT. he o,6 af Sao Sh "a nSmo his his
S's1s H ease / s sf,sa d have s1SeB bun az dG him DOWN at%i "A q
good deal liyelier than be came up; but it
The way = the Ella % bear cayed sS Ground ! q and q
for some time before attempting to climb, and
went to work hacking away at q limb as thick
Is your , arn with ny boyle Sp making club
cious id bear ~ bay as - she tried to e III up
after ne. Ibid the tallest whiting on that
sM%S, sSr sf : 9seso %inHt I'D dh %sl T e s sSfs sY PiSe, IN
whom the old bear pulled herself together on
the fork about eight feet lower down.. prepare
tory TO sailing in and finishing me up. The cub
stood. The old bear was . regular monster,
and madden al! through than q ratt!esnake.
As she champed her mouth with rage, big fakes
Of foam flew all over her and dropped down
TO the ground; Up she came, open-mogthed
at me-. Whackl won't the club; but 1t didn't
do her any damage. .Clinging to the tree with
ono arm. ihe Did she fury fenced with the other
gould have done to parry the blows | aimed at
her head. II was mighty ticklish work for me,
this fencing with the old bears handy paw. for
reckoned at the time that II she should knock
the club out Of my hand ! was as good as done
up for good. At length managed, to, fetch he!
an ugly whack across the snout, which seemed
to daze, hsr, . little, and before she could re.
second blow hit her squarely In tho avs. and
loosened Q tooth or two. maybe; anyhow, II
made the blood fly. 1t also seemed to arouse. oil
the devil In her carcass. for she gave a roaring
snort that sent the blood and foam spatterlng
all over nv, face, at the, Same time she reached
As her broad paw raked on the bark a couple
Of feet below my face II was lying on my
stomach across a fork, l made a. vicious dig al
u. With my bowie and pinned 1t to the tree
lhis was coming to pretty close quarters. The
bear uttered Q hoarse roar OF rage, and, reach
tn0 nm 0loaa m NV reStinn DlaC0 with the Other