The Progress. [volume] (White Earth, Minn.) 1886-1889, 1888-09-01

concluding that the pang would be as
nothing compared with the one that
would follow the meeting Of the BEARS
jaws with my person, sadly, but with
out delay, turned and hastened away.
p ran two or three rods before looking
back. I then threw my eye over my
shoulder. You will remember that I
mentioned that when first caught
sight Of the bear that day, my blood
froze. Well, when / caught sight of
him as I was Fastening away from him
my blood thawed instantly, and not
only thawed but rose at once to boil
ing heat. The bears heart had in turn
proved untrue to me and was now firm
~ fixed on the scattered contents of my
creel. Bruin was lunching on my
trout, and / stopped and gazed in in
dlgnation. AS I gazed the bear raised
aloft q noble two-pounder with which
| had struggled up stream and down,
through noisy rapids and the quiet
waters of dark pools, among treacher.
GUS roots and around the projecting
angles of the dangerous rocks. For
twenty good minutes had fought that
monarch of the brook before he had
turned his FURNISHED, quivering side
upward and surrendered and here was
mangey, refuse-eating thief of the
sWamps, dining on its delicate, savory
richness! It was more than could
stand, and advanced upon the sacri.
legious brute with murder in my heart.
! am sorry to confess that it didn't get
out OF my heart, for, the best thing j
could do was to pick up big stone
and chuck it at the bear. The stone
hit the bear on the side of the head,
and Bruin yelped like a whipped dog
But he kept right on with his meal of
trout. At that moment, much to my
surprise, Bruce reappeared on the
scene He had evidently discovered
that he had ceased to be the one alto
gether lovely in the bears estimation,
and had slipped back to reconnoiter.
Seeing the sudden and unexpected
burst of courage on my part he had
braced up himself, and as the stone
threw struck the bear the dog sailed in
with amazing fury and attacked Bruin
in the rear. The bear turned and
made an ugly dash at Bruce. Bruce
retreated with neatness and dis
patch, and the bear promptly
returned to his pleasant task of
absorbing my catch of trout. Ichucked
stones and Bruce returned to his nip
ping the bears heels, but the bear SIM
ply howled when he was hit and dashed
at the dog at convenient intervals. AS
the trout disappeared one by one, and
with aggravating rapidity, my courage
gradually acted as Bob Acres did, and,
arguing to myself that Bruin in all
probability now had it in for Bruce
and me more than ever, and that as
soon as he had encircled the last of my
trout he would proceed without hesita-
ton to give his attention to us, I be-
gan to put more space between myself
and the bear preparatory to a grand
and mastery retreat when the time
came. / backed away. Bruce had APP
parently got on such good terms with
himself that he imagined the bear was
afraid to engage him in actual conflict,
and so he remained on the field, nag
ging at Bruin.
The last trout disappeared. The
bear turned and bore down on Bruce
like an animated cyclone. I turned
and ran. Bruce, in some way or other,
evaded the rush of the bear and fol-
lowed me. The bear followed Bruce.
The procession was a lively one. The
bear, being loaded with trout, didn't
make as good time as hemight have
done, but it was good enough to suit me.
Twas twenty-five feet ahead Of Bruce,
and Bruce was twenty five feet ahead of
the bear and gaining. The indications
We're that Bruce would soon put me
second in the race, when caught nv
foot in a root and tumbled heels over
head. / rolled over and over and
came up on my feet without making a
stop in my course, but my remarkable
drop and my pickup seemed to confuse
my dog, and he fumbled around in the
brush so that the first thing he knew
the bear was dead onto him. There
was an immediate tanglement Of
bear and dog, and during the diversion
| made for tree. had never climbed
a tree in mylife, but wasn't the whisk
of a lambs tail in shining up that one.
As soon as / got there turned to take
survey of the field.
81 don't know how it ever happened.
but my dog had managed to olsen
tangle himself from the bear, and was
even then busy in putting great gaps
of daylight between himself and Bruirl.
1t may have been that my trout had
amply rewarded the bear for his DAYS
sport, or it may have been that in the
little wrangle between him and the
dog the latter had developed points
that surpassed the bear, but which
ever it might have been, Bruin stopped
finally, gazed after the dog, cast a
glance at me safely crouching in the
branches Of the tree, and then turned
and slouched back toward the brush.