Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-03-30

the bear was coming at me, stumbling along
with a broken shoulder and screaming with
fury. If he had looked Insignificant mo-
ment before, he seensd big enough nowl
How loud his scream was, how fast his gal
lop, how sharp and white his teeth! Retreat
was impossible was only fifty yards from
him now, and to run meant simply to be old
overtaken and killed; so l knelt again with a
strange calmness / could not understand
remember that I heard the twitter of bird
near by, and noticed the sky growing red
with the sinking sun as raised my rifle.
How near he wasl What long aim took,
straight at his head As l fired he stopped
an instant, turned right round, and ran away
from mel
found afterward that had hit him right
in the throat. I fancy he must have been de-
Hrious, if bears ever arrive at such stage,
and imagined after he turned and ran, that
he was still making for me. l was in no
hurry to follow him at too close a distance,
and let him run until l marked him into a
thicket of trees half mile away. Then
followed slowly, tracking him easily step by
step by his heavy blood trail As I entered
the thicket, however, the trail was lost; and
peered about here and there, longing to
catch another glimpse of him, when sud-
denly, just at my feet, there rose a mighty
roar, that made my heart stand still and my
cheeks blanch with fear Half hidden by
the trailing vines, and not to be distinguished
from the blackened stumps about me, lay the
bear in his death agony, but possessed of suf-
ficient strength still to make an angry bound,
half jump, half stumble, in my direction
Mechanically, thrust the muzzle of my rifle
at his head, fired again straight into his ear,
of,d R,-11i,, fa1l tl,n oct
confess that was afraid for some minutes to
make close examination of the beast How
often 1 had dreamed of such somehow
different from the dream was the reality
A shot at the other end of the thicket made
known to me that help was at hand; for the
advent of "Dragoon" riderless and covered
with foam had sent squad of men to search
for me in the wilderness The bear was
dragged to the nearest blackboard, and car
ried there till camp was pitched for the
night He was fair sized beast, in fine con-
dition, and weighed, at rough guess, about
$50 pounds.
The delight of Pas-qui-ac and Mass -ega-war
when they saw the carcass knew no bounds.
To themselves belonged the honor OF the
original discovery, and this fact they pro-
claimed on all sides again and again. And
to me, the Pale-face, was not praise also due,
for had not gone forth unaided to fight the
bear, and conquered him? That night, when
the camp fires were blazing and the silver
stars were twinkling overhead, was halted
as | made my usual visit to the prisoners
tent, and made to listen while old Kee-way-
tin sang my praises and christened me Wass-
sass-ega-ya (The Red Deer's Horn), in token
of my skill and proves. Pas-qui-ac and
Mass-egawap volunteered to skin the bear
on condition that they should have the en-
trails for their supper Ia favorite Indian
dishD. This was gladly promised, and the
SHINING was done with surprising skill and
quickness. The carcass was afterward
cleaned and quartered, the sharpening of the
knives and the clank of the butchers leg
irons making music the while. 1t was with
fear that l sat down to the first bear steak;
but who shall tell of its goodness and worth!
Was it because my own hand had slain the
bear. or because l was tired and very hun
gry?-or was it because it was novel dishs
Who can tell? But it was more delicious
than the finest club steak had ever tasted.
had bears meat for three days on the home
ward march, and enough left to feast the
mess with for a day on my return to Battle
ford The claws were mounted as watch
charms and given to wondering friends; the
teeth made brooches for others; and the
skin, rich, soft and ebony black, adorns my
frost and snow, and sets me ALWAYS thinking
of the autumn evening far away when I
bagged my first bear.-Chambers' Journal