The Red Cloud chief., 1888-02-17

"S "SAuoih ucsCcuus from his mountain
home to the creeks and rivers in search
of wild plums and chokeberries (the
diet of brown. cinnamon. and
black bears). but prefers t o remain
sloft and feast upon the stores laid up
for winter use by his industrious
neighbo-s, the Sophers and mountain
squirrels. Pine nuts are plentiful high
up. and then the grubs and worms
found beneath old stones and moss
overgrown bouldcrs are good enough
for King Bruin while they last. When
the nn!. berry and plum supply runs
short. none of the family hesitate To
fall back upon 4 diet of pork. beef.
mutton or venison. A recent report
from the Highw"ods. i'm the neighbOr-
hood Of Arrow and Wolf creeks. SAYS
that more bears have been seen this
year than for ten years past. and that
quite a number Of cattle have been
killed 10y them Of late. A few months
ago. at ,Mullery's ranch. near GorLam.
4 BIG silver tip cam down out of the
mountains n night invaded the hog
pasture Of that industrious ranchman.
and in a verv short time laid ont no
less than thirty line porker>. The hogs
siuealed. made n great fuss. of course.
and rs long asthere was a show Of resist
ance the bearnever stopped boxin. their
ears. One blow Of his mighty paw was
enough to kill a hog. and there is no
telling where he would have stopped
had he not been interrupted in this
pleasant pastlme.
The grayback Of the Rockies is rather
a different brute from his cousin Of the
A~dirondacks and the Pennsylvania
hills. Perhaps the Eastern members
of this interesting family never weigh
more than four hundred or five hum
dred pounds. but out this way many Of
the grizzlies and silver tips caught
have touched the beam AT one thousand
and twelve hundred pounds and even
greater. Mr.. Charles Soper. Of Boze-
man.. a thriving city 4 snort distance
west Of here. is SAID 10 have shot one Of
the largest graybacks ever seen in the
West. The hide was somethin. ire
mendous. The beast having been
killed late in the fall. ut 4: time when
he was lentifully supplied with bears
grease" it would not be wide Of the
mark to estimate his weight when alive
at sixteen hundred pounds. Certainly
the enormous hide justified these fig
ures. and the claws and head preserved
would justly entitle him TO the credi,
Of being the father of the family.
As a proof IF the wisdom Of the old
hunters warning about going in ar'er
bear alone" the following narrative
will best illustrate iis truthfulne>>:
"A party Of gold hunters started ont
from Deadwood some years 2 t.
prospect the country to the north and
west IT that mining camp. The men
in the party We're odd timers with
or two exceptions. and among the
latter was \ Swede. full # grit. who
stood nearly seven feet in his stockings.
The Swede. however. whose family
name was Franck. was BY no means a
'tenierfoot. having dwelt some time in
the Leadville minin. camps and boasted
that he had killed '6ar in his day and
was afraid Of no four-fOo,el crit;er
that roamed the mountains The
party of twelve were climbing = steep
mountain. darkness was coming on.
and prospects Of 4 supperless night were
in view. when the ~seven-fOOt Scandina-
Wan volunteered to push on ahead in
the hopes of securing an elk. deer. or
mountain sheep. The foreigner was a
good shot with his rife. had plenty Of
grit and courage. and his immense
strength and powerful physique ren-
dered it extremely improbable that he
would find his match in the timber
ahead. The hunter disappeared. and
the others. toiled on behind. climbing
the steep ascent YEARLY and footsore.
At one place the road wound AROUND Il
steep precipice. the sheer descent OF the
cut ba>al;ic walls on the left being
something ike \ thousand fee:. Far
below the tops Of giant pines could be
discerned. but in the awful depth they
appeared like s.InteI shrubs md
bushes. Near the summit and to the
right the free land broadened or
wilened out. and this was covered
with a dense growth Of willows and
s,untei pines. from which proceeded
the most awful ~grumblings and howls
imaginable. just rs the party appeared
on the top ali 1t once out from the
s,ubblc came retreating the big Swede.
followed b. an enormous silver tip.
who was driving him slowly backward
toward the edge of the precipice. The
man was bleeding badly. nearly all of
one side of his face being torn away.
the result of 4 wicked blow from the
huge paw Of the vicious monster. The
bear. on the other hand. was quite as
badly wounded as his antagonist. His
head was a mass Of gore. the lower jaw
was simply hanging by 4 few Shields.
anil one of his hind LEGS was
broken. The Swede was backing slow
ly. holding in his right hand n large