The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-05-12
The champion Bear Story.

J. AO Sl1dlAk1OA oOcs4 otS4ys
'Did ever tell you fellers about the
excitin' adventure l onct he'd with q
big she bear?' asked old Paul Clayton
q night or two ago of party of sitters
around Rondout grocery store stove,
says The Kingston IN. W Freeman.
I'D dn't, Ell? kant egzactly tell the
year, but it wuz when l lived in the
Katskill mountains. afore emmy of 'em
big boordin' hotels wuz built an afore
railroads foun' their way thru the big
hills. In them days l was considered
the best and darnest hunter aroun' our
neighborhood. if do say it myself. an
when New York chaps KUN up there
to hunt they allus used to ask fur old
Paul Clayton. Wun day while out
huntin' KUN acrost a stump of what
must hev BIN regular whopper of a
chestnut tree onct The stump stud
about twenty feet high. an wuz so
thick aroun' that ! couldn't git my
arms aroun' it. Nv attenshun was at
tracked to the stump by hearin' a
strange noise at the root of it. made
up my min that I would investigate
an find out what the noise wuz. Stand
in my gun agin tree 1 klimbed to
to the top of the stump, which was
holler. an luked down. l kould dis
kiver nothin'. so I put nv feet in the
hole an let myself down my hull
length to see if l could touch bottom,
which kouldn't. just as wuz about
to draw myself up, the edge of the
stump where had hold gave way.
The stump was rotten at the top an !
oughter hev knowd better'en to truss
myself on it. an l cussed myself for
being such consumed fool l went
whizzin' down the hollar hole an fell
on somethin' soft, which l diskivered
wuz a kouple of cub bars. The cubs
wuz tow young to hurt me, but they
set up drefful whinin' groul an kry
that attracked the attenshun of the old
she bar witch wuz sroun' lukin' fer
somethin' to eat.
pretty soon heard scratchin" on
the outside of the stump and knew
the critter wuz klimbing to the top.
All of suddint the light at the top of
the stump wuz shet out an knew the
old devil wuz komin' down the holler
tail fust. pulled out my hunt n knife
an waited till the bar wuz within
reachn' distance, when I grabbed the
kritter by the tail with wun ham an
began stabbin it with the knife IN the
other ham, Every time stabbed /
give a yell that would distance Ko-
manche Injun. 1t made my hair turn
gray to hear the varmit yell back. IL
roared so with pain and rage that the
stump trembled. Talk about yellin'
through tellyfone. you oughter have
herd that bar in the holler. JUS how
l wuz goin' to get out of my perdicker-
ment l didn't know. but I kept on
stabbin' an yellin' like fen an
kept tight hole on the bars tail The
kritter -wuz so mad that it spit white
laver all over my haed. 1t made his
klaws move agin' the sides of the
stumps quickerin' than the paddles Of
q steamboat NV weight told on the
bar. an it made slow proreshun to-
ward the top of the stump. The trick
shun of the bars klaws agi the wood
made the sparks fly. an the hollor was
like as if a roman camel wuz shot off
in it. A shower of sawdust kept
fallin' down. an fell to the bottom Of
the boiler. an the bar an l kept near
in the top. The bar filed the boiler
with steam from its nostrils. which |
made me uncomfortable. but l stab
bed an yelled louder an ever. an the
sawdust that fell from the bars klsws
kept film up the boiler inch by inch
until the top wuz reached an the
bar an fell out on the groun' to-
gether. wuz so exhausted with the
exercise in the boiler that I lay a few
mnnits afore 1 kould git up. When l |
did foun' the bar stone dead. 1t had
bled TO death. counted the stabs an
foun' I had run my knife into
the kritter 81 times. The blade |
wuz nearly worn away. 1t TUX
me over five hours to git the sawdust
out of the boiler tibet the bar he'd |
scratched from the stump to get to the
cubs. I he'd my work for nothin.
though, the cubs had been smothered
10 death BY the sawdust. I luked at
the bars toe-nails, an foun' they he'd
worn away quarter of an inch"
How Alligators Eat.