The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1888-10-27
Uncle Ike's Bear story.
How He and Bruin Became Friends
and Helped One Another when
In Trouble.

ana helped One AnOther when
in Trouble.
A group Of passengers on one Of
the river steamers, says the Saw
annah News, were talking of the
foods and hunting and telling tall
tales. One man told bear story
which caused the listeners to look
inquiringly at each other.
speaking about bears" broke
IN another, "you never heard tell
of my Uncle Ike a tellin' of a story
that want rock bottom fack. He
was in the Har'son fresh and got
out cypress ovah on Dab crick
when the fresh it come. What he
didn't know about bears, the bears
didn't know themselves. He could
tell whah the biggest bears used
by the mawks on the trees, and
the young bears BY the little
marks. My Uncle Ike, he was a
cuttin' of cypress over on Bah
.crick, and his shanty was 'pon a
high knoll, and the water had Xiv
cred everything in two states ex-
ceptin' that knoll. One night,
along about the turn of the night
thar come a knock on the door
and my Uncle Ike sez, Come in
and who should step in but a big
black bear. "A light was blazin'
from pine knot in the chimley,
and Uncle Ike riz up in bed to see
who mout come in on him, and
thar was the bear, and tears was
runnin' down his eyes. My
Uncle Ike was about to reach for
his gun, but when he seed the tears
streamin' down he hadn't the
heart to shoot, and the 'pealin'
look was too much for Uncle Ike.
"Drownded out, by thunder,"
said my Uncle Ike.
The bear nodded his head.
"Hungry as a bear, too," said
Ike.
The bear nodded his head.
Gam you'd as soon lunch on me-"
said Ike; and this time he rech for
his shootin' iron.
The bear shook his head and be-
gan to cry.
81 won't play a low down trick
Oh that bear, by thunder" said my
Uncle Ike, "if he snakes me out.
'Thar's pot of hominy over by the
jam, help yourself"
The bear went over and took
the clap-boards off the pot and
went down in it with his nose and
eat half of the mess.
"Go the whole hog" said Ike;
!"Pll have another mess inside of it
i'm the morning if I amt inside of
you."
"Well sir, gentlemen, my uncle
Ike says the bear eat the whole
mess, and laid down on the punch
cons by the side of the bunk with
grunt. The next morning the
water was lappin' the door step
and was on a stand, and for four
days the bear and my uncle Ike ct
,outen the same pot. On the fifth
day the bear left early in the morn
ing and that night little after the
moon riz, while my uncle Ike was
settin' by the freight smokin' his
corncob pipe and wonderin' what
had become of his cypress raft
and the bear, there comes the same
rap at the door, and who should
come in but the indentekittle bar
not tear in his eyes, but his little
black eyes shone like a bead, and
he lays down whole hog right by
the side of uncle Ike.
"HQg and hominy, by thunder"
says Ike. Well sir, the bear kept
my uncle Ike in hog and hominy
until he took the raft down the
Savannah.
"I'm somewhat of a liar MYSELF
said one gentleman, "but I'll not
tell my alligator story on this trip
and the disgusted native bid us
good night.
"Now there's man admittin'
he's liar himself" said the man
who told the bear story, "and you
couldn't expect him to believe an
other mans story, but everybody
who knew my uncle Ike never
heard of him tellin' of a story that
want a rock bottom fack."
:!!s:;: !!: :; : =: = ;';F FREE
a