New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-16
SMART BEARS or CALAVERAS
From a san Francisco letter.

From a san Francisco letter
Henry WILSON, OF CaIaveras. declares that nc b,ass
the human inhabitants o. any other county n the
STATE. There are lots OF them. too-black brown.
fall They have had nuts a plenty and there IS hardly
a pg-pon IN the county that thcy haven't radcd
won w Fe 1 he was g po party Of snds at the
Richeeu about the surprising prevalence OF atcom-
Creek q ] knew how bears liked pigs and so ! took
extra OF mine. l built high fence of heavy
as fine as needles so that no bear could 90 Them
without punching himself fnl Of holes. In one pen
] kept dozen hogs and in another had two sowS
and TWO littcs Of fine pigs saw the bears siroliins
round nights but they didn't get any OF the hogs Tor
The pigs were about three months old and. as
sat around and watched them grow. calculated ,na
when one morning missed one. Thcrr was no "sv
for PIC to get OUT or anything 10 get IN bnt PIG
was gone all the ] couldn't understand tho
disappearance a. all TWO days later sno her pig was
missing. and In two weeks my fourteen piss had been
reduced 10 SIX.
Where those pigs bad gone mor~ than could
make out. The fence all up; not picket wsy
loose. and the points were as sharp a, ever had
but now decided 10 make sllngh Job ~ II. Z
plumb dark. whom ! got up. loaded my rife for tho
beat and hid behind log about sixty yards from my
The moon CAM out from behind some Heesy
clouds and she'd pale Hight on the prcm's. pue
in a good deal Of the night bobng my head up rom
behind the log but no pgstealing ghosts. M marsnd-
ing neghbors no anything ever showed up -.
T. eU was lomeos woh ana Ma nact bo,r AM
ing along his hin1 feet gcstlculang with his paws.
and grunting coaplaccnily no Looked behind him:
Another bear was following in the same fashion and
two cubs brought mp the rear of the process. ion. u
seemed TO me that they were convcrsng together.
and when the boss OF the gang pointed over to nv
ranch concluded that they were talking pork.
cs The Whole Sai sS gsSa for @ pse1 co a9d 9a ses
how the old bears could get the ncn 20 steal nv
pigs. / found ont pretty soon that had made the
acquaintance Of very accomplished and cey.r family.
The grand old marshal Of the parade Skinned ~
caution 10 the others, crawled out on big limb, ana
waited for Mrs Bruin, who following him. after
Then / saw what hadn't noticed before Tbs
limb came well out over my pig pen The first 90
limb, which gradually bent under his weight until the
tips Of the bough touched the ground IN one OF ne
same way. and when he dropped to the ground hes
There was The deuce 70 pay in the pig-rrn by This
time. Tho Old sow was charging around IN great con-
stcrnstion. and the little pigs were Skipping aboue
and keeping close TO her most Of the time lriin wa
on the ground sizing up the layout and when ne old
made a lunge him though to rip him. he gave
her a comical look, much 10 say. Oh what are
you giving US swiped her one on the side Of the Jaw
Then he grabbed the latest pig OF the lot climbed
upon the limb, which his side partner was holding
of the tree, the She bear reeedlng as he advanced
That performance inst beat all nv going arns
cred from my a,onishment enough to remember mas
there yolled, that Is te roo siia game and
whanged away with my rihe into the Tree. didhs
to hit the bear because rather ainro mp ccNe-
ness of the old thief and didn't want TO bust up
such an interesting family.
Well. sir. there great 'umblinC ana rusthh3
in the tree The pig dropped squeang 10 the ground.
and down scrambled the two bears stern foremost.
looking a good deal discounted. AZ | blazed away
few more times made little speech "a the bears:
Look here said |, III let you OF this time. bay
you come nonkeying around my pig pen again ana
yOu'll get hurt sure -
The little bears had scampercd away, and the sha
bear hurried after them soon as She touched tbe
ground. The big fellow cooked his head on one sdes
and think he winkGd at me as he went away.
Wgti do y.lll .W | %
That pig stealing outfit OF langiadcs Just to0k IN
the situation "a well a. ! did, and we hal complete
understanding the subject OF pork irm that time
out. That Is Why maintain that the bears OF ala
smarter than the bears of ans other county
In ItaIlfnrula