The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-04-12
A PET BEAR
And His Peculiar Franks whiIo Lefk
Alone ON Sunday.
A Story OF Pioneer Dsys in Wk1oA
Bear and Syrup are Badly
Mixed Up.

The old pioneer was besieged by the
children the other night, who insisted
upon bear story. and after some show
OF resistance he consented to tell of q pss
he had when Q boy in the pioneer days
Of the West.
"l he'd bar myself, once" said he
"a little feiler. Fsther'n my big broth
ers brought him home from Q big hunt
they took one time, after they'd killed
the old mother'n the other cub. He
wus bout ez big ez = big puppy, am
looked lots like one, jest ez fats butter.
with nice black shaggy hide'r the fun.
nlest face you ever saw. He wuz OF cute
ez kitten, an bout ez mischeviou..
on's he got to know our ways he'd get
INTO more mischief than tn whole FAM
lily could keep him out NV, an If he
had MT been so blamed comicaI he'd a
gene into tn meet barrel ez fresh meat
long before he did. Mother'd saw n dox.
en- times week thet shed enough tar
DO thout watchin' bar, an it wouldnT
pc more'n an hour afors she'd
be laughin' at n pettin' him like tn rass
nv as. He'd watch, n II ever she'd Iesv'
the miik-house, sos he could git the
door open he'd pry roun' till he'd git in.
thsn he'd go for tn butter n lap I'M 4
whole crock o. milk fore you could say
JACK Robinson. N II she'd come after
MIN n slap him over, he'd turn a sum.
merset n come up right side foremo.t
paddle after her, Q cryin' like q child
TIL she'd stop n pet him n ned seem to
think IL wuz all right n go OF e fnd
somethin' else ter do. Then he'd Ro
ducks n geese till he'd catch one, n he'd
paw Il over n over n play with il TIN
IN old nother'd jest raise th' bigeest
kind o. rumpus n fy at 'un i'm Q fury.
Ihet wuz fun, n hs'd never mind
II till some o. Us d come dowA
nnd somethin' else. By the mex sum-
mer Bruno, ca we CALLED i'm, got to be q
right smart bar, n more full O. mischief
n ever. One Sunday they wuz q big
meetin' q few miles on n we all went.
I shst Bruno, up In th' eorn-crib q
cried n whtned when he see us all golnl
leave him-he liked company bstIer'n
most people n hated worse'u plzen t. be
shet up. We stayed till most night, n
when We got home mother opened IN
door-she wuz ahead o. the rest Nv US
'ed; Mercy on mel Who's bin hereiS
n there Wus th' svfullest msss
Tou ever saw. Looked like they
bin tornado turned loose n
IN house. Ali the chairs were turned
,ver n laytn' every which way, a every
~
oms Of them broke. N all over the
loor wus marks o. bars feet, n the
he marks ~u1 all sticky. One o. th1
windows wuz open, n all round Is wus
marks o. bars feet They went upstairs,
90, q mother knowsd In . minute
those feet he'd bin thersI n soon's she
ot over her surprise shs begin ter gtt
mad, . Jest dew upstairs. Things there
1us bout ez they wuz down stairn, but
he didu I see any Bruno, till presently
be heard Q kindly groau, n looked
pun, n dnaily she see hiR bunch In
ne o sh' beds n turned down th' covers
IN thars wus Bruno, sure 'nOuRh, jest
lastered all over fth maple sirup, n
'okin' 50 shsmsd and kinder sorry q
lother d . laughed 4 shs hadRt bin
, mad At tn state she found
ltngs, specially her best bed fer eom-
D mapls-sirup n th' bar. When we
'me TO cipher Is all ont 1t uz plain 'nough.
net blamed b'sr'rd got out o. tn corn.
10. Then be come moseyin' round thf
ouss e find somebody T. play 18th him,
,IIsr s9t 9naan b,s 50n0dy ass Ha goD dow %
! round tn barrel o. maple syrup tin
D got the faucet loose m th' Eirup come
Pourin out Then he'd test put his
outh o IL n drunk till he'd got plum
III, m all the time he'd been q paddIini
th' syrup a-runnin' cut on tn door
] he'd go daubed all over with II
meby he'd got sick 18th 60 "a nuch sweet
n, n then he'd climbed In through
ct open window fer sympathy,
he'd pulled down bout everytkin' In
house tryin' 6 fnd doctor. N
hen be couldn't nnd anybody he'd
cherly gone up stairs e. bed, like any
valid-he'd tuken many O nap in
others beds Afore, n no amount q
1ippin' ever cured him o. tn trick
so mother found him there, the sick-
bear you ever saw. Well, that wus
last o. Bruno. Th' rest o. tb' family
he made most uncommon good
jim, bein' SO nice n fat, but I never
th' heart & find out, n never had
other pet bar"