Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-10-03
ouTwlTTInG A GRIZZLY.
A Venerable Traveller Tells How He
Burned Up Fierce Old Bear.

A Venerable Traveller Tells How He
Burned Up Fierce Old Bear.
He was venerable and intelligent man
and had been great traveller, and he kind
~ undertook TO while away an idle hour by
telling New York Erening San reporter OF
the true inwardness of California life in the
foothills of the sierra.
Il had several very curious adventures
down there he said, ''and, by the way,
young fellow, if you ever happen to go to
that region you had better throw of your
patent feathers and your boiled shirt to be-
gin with, and put on corduroys and high
cowhide boots. The brush down there has
thorns three inches long, barbed like fish
hooks, and you would soon leave behind you
that costume with more of what is inside of
it than would suit you.
AS TO your question about grizzlies, I'll
tell you my first and rather remarkable ex-
perience with one of those varmints. was
a kid, not yet twenty, and new to the region
of the sierras, having come from the East
but few months before. On a moonlight
night early in April was gently meandcr-
ing home on muleback / was unarmed
with the exception of pocket-knife, for I
had foolishly lent my pistol to a friend early
in the day. had almost reached the ranch,
having only short stretch of chapparal to
pass. ! had heard the settlers allude re-
spectfully to old Ephraim. They said he
was hercest IN the spring, after his winter S
siesta- He's always an ugly customer, and
after man has had a wipe or two from his
talons there is seldom enough left of that
man to tell the tale.
''On this evening / speak of l was dog
tired, as had been riding all day l had
almost fallen asleep on my mule, when
/ jumping Jehosaphati how that mule did
jump! Standing ahead, as large as life, on
the bank of little brook, was a big
| grizzly. He grinned at me and growled in
way calculated to agitate the nerves of
! Ajax, the fellow who defied the lightning,
much more those of a tenderfoot, as was
| then.
II had heard enough to know that if I
turned tail, that is the mules tail, could
leave Ephraim behind me, but on the other
! side of him was home, and / had my share
I OF grit even then. l had heard of the notion
entertained by some people that a man can
| master the most ferocious wild Great
ure by looking him in the eyes and advanc-
ing straight upon him. Even a greenhorn
would back out of such an experiment with
| Ephraim, the most ferocious of all wild
| creatures.
suddenly l remembered I had in nv
pocket large box filed with friction
Hauches, tnoSe made with plenty of brin-
stone for use in strong wind. An idea
occurred to me,and l patted and encouraged
the mule, who trembled so l thought she
would drop down under me, and urged her
boldly right in the face of old Bruin When
within few feet / suddenly struck dozen
matches and threw them right into his open
| jaws. Never was there more sudden
change from defiant and malignant ferocity
to the most abject cowardice The huge
brute actually covered and shook with ter
ror equal to that of the mule herself
This was something altogether outside
OF his experience. | suppose he thought he
had struck prairie fire on muleback Ever
the mule saw the situation and gained
courage. She advanced and l kept a con
tinuous shower of burning matches. Lucki
ly rather strong wind blew from me anC
carried away the fumes. In fact this i:
what brought the varmInt to me, he having
winded me. To cut things short, old Epl
turned tail aud ANONYMOUSLY fed
"Now, stranger, might proceed to relate
further how kept at the heels of that OLE
grizzly and kept setting fire to his fur unit
he was entirely burned up; but in thi
skeptical age it may be well to suppress
some of the facts of the case, for fear of be
ing doubted"