The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1888-11-09
II BAR STORIES.

logs, some of which are two feet in thick
Mesa lonely place under the pines,
where could hardly hope for any but a
lonesome nisat OF it. The place was a
hotei some twenty wears ago, but has
beeii deserted since then.
i was glad to find q crowd of hunters, |
tiappers, miners and travellers collected
there, driven in like myself by the
snowstorm which had been raging all
day on the mountain toll road. After u
good supper, which Included elk steak,
we gathered around Il blazing fire OF
dry pine wood on the old hearth.
wv Were hunting black-tail deer on
the main range of the Rocky Noun
tains. near the headwntcrs of the Little
Blacktoot Rivcf, in Montana" ven
turcd 4 slim Young man, Heath and i.
Heath was q young fellow from Boston,
and Bcason street maybe ut that. He
had joined the United States army. He
had been in the territory Il year or so.
had served under General Terry against
the Sioux. and had seen some service.
too; was at the Little Big Horn Just
after the Custer massacre. Becoming
tired of life in barracks, he rot out OF
the army oy the assistance of friends at
home, among them General b., under
the plea that he was not OF age when he
enlisted.
We'll, we had been tracking q band
81 deer until we were Just about played
ont. when we saw them away up on the
| ii OF the mountain. 1t was about
iilrec hours till shutdown.
We tied old Prince, Heath's dog, to
4 little bush with II silk handkerchief,
intending to leave him there while we
slipped on the deer. The dog would
break sometimes and spoil Il shot.
81 was ahead OF Heath about u hun.
ared yards With my Winchester on my
shoulder-had some six or eight loads
in the chamber. She WIS what's called
I'M Express rifle, ',a-caliber and shoots
100 grains OF powder. When that gun
spoke something was liable to get hurt.
Heatli's was - Remington, Il single-shot
rifle, YOU know, but for one shot l hard.
ly think there's Il better.
81 had always been anxious to run
across . grizzly, and we both had about
made up our minds that whenever we
should come up with - bear on om
hunts we should try him Il whirl. l am
no SLOUGH of Il shot, ii l do say it N.Y.
self, and Heath vas rs quick as a rabbit
and as steady as Il bridge, as he would
say.
''Wcll, old Prince began Juggling al
the handkerchief and broke loose. He
came running up to Heath as if fright.
ened. looked back, and just where 8
little while before we had been resting
under 4 little fir tree can two bears 1T
Il dead run, one following the other,
and both right on our trail. They were
silver tips, and were coming about rs
fast ms an average coyote can run, and
getting over the rough ground rs nimb-
iy as cats.
Look out, Health l hollered, there's
something after u.s.
Give it to 'em Health | cried, for
l thought he was no going to shoot. In
fact, didn't have time to think much
about it or | would not have said that.
1t was all done rs quick as you eain bat
your eye, anyway.
"'Whang! went his Remington.
Stay with me. Louis he shouted.
'They are on the fight
'.EIe shot ut the bear in advance. and
hit it in the rear somewhere. 1t stop
ped turned round. stood up on its hind
feet and showed its teeth. 1t worked
its jaws rs if it was chewing its cud.
Then it roared or growled or howled-
Whatever you may call it-twice. and
You could have heard it a mile. Never
heard such II voice anywhere else.
Il ran ont to q place where l could
get Il fair sweep Mt them when they
came back toward Heath. Before lie
could load and shoot again the bear
came numbering along by the other one,
and they both ran into the brush to-
getbcr.
1--WE We're afraid to follow them into
the willows, and so we saw nothing
more of them
Yes" began a trapper, as he threw
n log on the fire and then stood with his
hands behind him in the full glare of
the heat-thc hands held in that posi-
ton, perhaps, 20 warm him when the
heat got too great for the safety of bis
buckskin overalls. He wore gum boots
(also perviors TO frey, buckskin schaps
AS aforesaid, and n heavy flannel shirt,
so heavy in fact that he saved the ex-
pcnse OF vest and coat. Wherever he
went there wa: II strong odor of beaver
musk, which i'll the matter of perfume
is a cross between the smell of a wig
wan and that OF an opium den.
Eyes, 4 silver tip is bad enough when
hes wounded, and about as active a
bear as there is, but a grizzly is bigger
and can carry more lead without dying
than any other living animal. There
was q friend of mine b. name of Tom
kins in the Boulder Valley--had II little
summer stock ranch there. He had
been bothered considerably by bears
coming among his stock. Finally they
killed u colt, and the bear that killed it
would come and eat off'n that colt every
night. The rancher made up his mind
he'd fix the gentleman. so he went to
the nearest town, told the bows about
the bear. and got him a bottle of strych-
nine. He got the Shurf and Tom, his
deputy, and Mat Ward. the Deestric'
Clerk, and they went home with him to
lay for that bear. Shurf OF Silver Bow
County, MontGna, mind yon," as if the
statement were a matter of record, land
they all went home with him.
Before dark they took a team and
hauled a big load of hay up in about
thirty steps of the colts carcass. They
titled that carcass fuli of strychhine.
"Ihere was no trees around there
handy, and nothin' else that a man
could hide behind-all a level, open
bunch grass flat which Tompkins had a
sorter whiddledig fence round for a pas
lure. They hauled the hay up there to
shoot from, of course.
Long about the time when the bear
generally come-he made his visits
purity regular-them four men, some
with double-barroled shotgnns, some
with rifles, Grip up on that lond O hay
and scrougcd up close together on the
middle, for q big load Of hay, you know,
IS big rs that was anywcz, is mighty
shaky Wien you get on top of it.
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