The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-11-21
A Sheep Whips q Bear.

Squire Peter Morley, of Kettle Creek,
Penn, owns merino ram that can Justly
lay claim to distinction that no member
of the sheep family was ever entitled to
before. The ram is big one, and while
possessing q formidable appearance,
never until few days ago developed
any inclination toward pugnacity. The
ram is the patriart HAL head of some
what pretentious flock of sheep, Of
which their owner is Justly proud.
Squire Morley had no idea that his
flock or any member of it had fallen be-
meath the covetous gaze of any maraud-
ing bear or other wild animal, but as
there were rumors more or less alarming
to sheep owners that the pastures of an.
other part of the country had been in
spected by bruin, found good, and
treated accordingly, the Squire thought
it would do no harm to set watch over
his pasture and keep it there until the
arrival of the time when bears succumb
to boreal surroundings and hole up.
A young son of the 'Squire's was as
signed to the task of keeping an eye on
the fold, with instructions to destroy
with shotgun, charged with buckshot,
any audacious bear that might endeavor
to select from that fo.d material for his
dinner. Subsequent proceedings indi-
Gated that if young Mr.. Morley had en-
tcrtained the slightest idea that there
was even remote chance of bear ap-
pearing in the pasture he would have
cheerfully acquitsced in the selection Of
some other guard for the ancestral flock.
The young shepherd had stood guard
at the pasture for week, and no bear
appeared. Consequently he uttered no
compraint against the job. On Saturday
last be was slcepily reclining at the foot
of stone wall that surrounds the field,
when he suddenly became wide awake.
lie saw good sized bear jump over the
fence not far away from him and slouch
deliberately toward where a group of
sheep were grazing. Squire Morley was
at work in field not more than three
hundred yards away. The young shep.
herd, ignoring the gun that lay at his
side, cleared the wall at bound, and
sped to give the alarm to his father,
shouting Justify at every jump and at
the top of his voice:
'tBears bears. bears"
Squire Morley heard the cries long
before the guard of the fold reached
him and hurried to the rescue of his
flock. When he reached the pasture
wall the group of sheep had discovered
the presence of the bear and had fed
bleating in fright to the farther side of
the feid-all of them, except the head
of the fold, the merino ram. He stood
his ground and eyed bruln threatening
ly. The bear evidently did not want to
touch old ram for his dinner, and was
passing on by him to select more tooth
some morsel from the flock, when the
ram shot forward like q missile from q
catapult. He bucked the bear amid
ships, and bruin went down before the
force of the blow as if it had been
stroke of lightning.
The bear got up, but surprise was
pictured all over him. He stood still
and gazed in amazement at the sheep
that presumed to throw down the gage
of battle with him. The ram was there
for business, and hurled himself again,
head lowered, upon the would-be de-
spoiler of his flock. This time he landed
between the bears eyes, and bruins fall
was more positive than it had been be-
fore, and he lay on the ground moment
before he recovered su Al emily to under
stand exactly what had happened. lie
got up again but had no time to make
up his mind what to do before the rams
thick skull was hurled against him
again, and down went the bear third
time.
These three attacks of the ram on the
bear had beer made so quickly that
Squire Morley had not had time to pick
up the gun where his son had left it and
get within gun shot. After the third
knock down the bear got up, and turn
ing tail on the ram, started in full retreat.
But the ram caught him in the neck the
next shot, and the bear dropped and lay
there. He had not succeeded in getting
up when Squire Morley reached the
SPOT, but the ram was waiting for him
ta-ceme to time. The Squire wasn't
sure whether the 5eaf was dead -ara to
remove all doubt he put load OF buck
shot into its head.
But the victory was the rams, and the
Squire thinks no other guard OF that
flock is needed.