Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-10-19
HE IAssoED THE BEAR.

HE L44SSOED lK1L DA1IAhs
California Com.boys Gire an En0ltshnsan
Points in Handling Big Game.
[San Francisco Chronicle.]
As the hot sun began to pour down
we wendell our way back to the ranch
and whiled the time away listening to
the yarns reeled off by the Colonel.
whose experience had been rich and
racy.
Talking about sport" he said, ire
minds me Of little experience l had
with an Englishman some years ago up
in the main range. He came down from
Frisco with a letter of introduction to
me, and wanted to get into the heart Of
the big game country. 1t so happened
that had 400 or 500 head of cattle up
a valley and n camp there; so [ took
him up and introduced him to half a
dozen cowboys-regular old-timers-
and they guaranteed to show him all
the bear he wanted. They got it into his
head that it was unsportsmanlike to
shoota bear, and that it should be taken
with a lariat, SO he practiced with rope
at steers, dogs, stumps, and men until
be was fair hand at it, and finally one
day they went off on regular bear
hunt.
1T SO happened that the boys knew
where there was a large patch of wild
grapes that black bears are fond of. and
they made for it, fairly sure to find one
or more, and sure enough they did.
Coming down little side canon they
came out into level spot, with patch
Of trees covered with vines in the CEN
Ter. Some of the dogs were put in, and
in few minutes out come an old brown
bear, snarling and showing her teeth in
terrible fashion. 'Now's your chance
yelled the boys, and they all stood back
to give my new friend chance. I tell
you he was no SLOUGH; he put his horse
up as near the critter as he would go,
and, riding round, dropped his rope
over the bears shoulders the minute
she reared up. When she felt the rope
she grabbed at it, but the pony settled
back; then down she Went, and began
just what the boys expected, the roll
ing business. Over and over she went,
winding the rope about her, getting
snarled up, but coming nearer and
nearer the pony all the time. The
pony was the first one to tumble to it,
as the boys saw, and began to snort and
buck; but it was no use. the old bear
kept coming, getting more and more en-
tangled every moment, and finally the
pony turned tail and began to drag her,
she yelling and whimpering and
scratching gravel, the horse crazed and
in this shape they came to the side of
the hill. Over the horse went bucking,
the Englishman cursing things until
they were blue. When half way down
the rope broke, and, fearing the bear
would get away, some Of the boys, who
We're laughing themselves sick, put her
out of her misery. The boys got rather
left trying to fool the fellow as he
showed SO much pluck trying to stop
the bear that they never tried any
games on him again. After awhile they
asked him what he proposed to do with
the bear after he got the rope around
him-and then he saw the joke, and
rather thought the bear was catching
him."
HEALTH IND THE PROFESSIONS.
Much has been written of late con-
corning the long lives of those who fol-
low literary pursuits, and some inter
esting statistics as to the age of writer's
have seen the light. With the familiar