Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-11-08
A SHEEP WHIPS A BEAR.
MorIey's lam Teaches Bruin Lesson
That Greatly Surprises him.

That Greatly Surprises him.
Squire Peter Morler, Of Kettle Creek,
Pennsylvania, owns a maTinn ram that
no member of the sheep family was
ever entitled to before The ram is
big one, and, while possessing a formid-
able appearance, never until few days
developed any inclinations toward
pugnacity. This ram is the patriarchial
head of a somewhat pretentiOus flock
of sheep of which their owner is justly
proud.
Squire Morler had no idea that his
flock or any member of it had fall be-
meath the covetous gaze of any maraud-
ing bear or other wild animal, but as
there were rumOrs more or less alarm
ing to sheep owners that the pastures
of another part of the county had been
inspected by bruin, found good, and
treated accordingly, the Squire thought
it would be no harm to set watch over
his pasture and keep 1t there until the
arrival of the time when bears succumb
to boreal surroundings and hold 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 fold material for his
dinner. Subsequent proceedings indi-
Gated that if young Mr.. Morley had en-
tertained the slightest idea that there
was even a remote chance of bear ap-
pearing in the pasture he would have
cheerfully aquiesced in the selection of
some other guard for the ancestral
flock.
The young shepherd had stood guard
at the pafture for week, and no bear
appeared. Consequently he uttered
no complaint against the job. On Sat-
urday last he was seepily reclining at
the foot ola stone wall that surrounds
the field, when he suddenly became
wide awake. He saw q 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 300 yards away. The
young shepherd, ignoring the gun that
lay by 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:
"Bears bears! bears ~
Squire Morley heard the cries long
before the guard of the fold reached
him and hurled 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 fled
bleating in fright to the farther side of
the field.all of them except the head
of the fold, the merino ram. He stood
his ground and eyed bruin threatening
ly. The bear evidently did not want
tough old ram for his dinner, and was
passing on him to select more tooth
some morseI from the flock, when the
ram shot forward like the missile from
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 pic
tured all over him. He stood still and
gaZed in amaZement at the sheep that
had 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 land
ed between the bears eyes, and bruins
fall was more positive than it had been
before, and he lay on the ground mo-
ment before he recovered sufficiently to
understand exactly what had hap
pened. He 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 the third time.
These three attacks of the ram on the
bear had been made so quickly that
Squire Morely had not had time to
gather up the gun where his son had
left it and get in gun shot. After the
third knock-1own the bear got up, and,
turning 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 Mr. Nor
ley reached the spot, but the ram was
waiting for him to come to time. The
Squire wasn't shure whether the bear
was dead, and to remove all doubt he
put load of buckshot into his head.
But the victory was the rams, and
the Squire thinks no other guard for
that flock is necessary.