The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-03-08
A Tough Bear Story.


''You ought to have been with me
last winter up in the Canada woods.
We was lumberin', and it was cold, !
tell you. Our camp was up on the top
NV Little Pine hill. One side uv tn
hill was bare of trees, and reached
down to the lake Rt the DO B nm that
wuz two miles wide and all ffuz' oyer.
and the snow on the hillside wuz iced
and crusted. You could start and 90
down like lightning. 1t was mighty
ticklish place, cos as we'll as bein' cold
there wuz bars around. though hadn't
seen one, was the cook. an had to
stay in camp while the rest Nv tn boys
went out chopin. Well. one morn
ing when tn boys wuz goin' out, Dick
johnson seq to me, Bill. sez he, look
out for the bar to-day, cos the snow
hez held on SO long, seq he, that's why
old Bruin IL be hungry. So they went
out and Ibegan doin' tn work. Well,
I wuz whistlin, away and tidying' up
the place, coz you know our kitchen
and bedroom and pantry wuz all one,
and not minding' nothin', when all of a
sudden there was shadow across the
door Nv the Cabin. l looked up and
there was thaI-----b'ar, sir, stand.
in in the doorway just like man,
with one elbow leanin agin the frame
Jerusalem, didn't jump. had big
tiat Goldfish in my hand and when !
jumped--thrQugh sheer fright went
right through light in th' roof and ]
found myself on top still holdin' that
fish. Do you know that old fish was "a
regular life-preserver.
''Well, sir, well, the bar saw ez how
fooled him, AMI lhe made rush arouud
the cabin, and l sez to myself, sez |,
Bill, it's time to light out'en here.
had the cod, an | knew that being a
fish it ed naturally take to the water.
So, while the bar was prospectin on
one side l stole down, and he'd just
planted myself on the fish when, wild a
yell. the bar come for me. For a
minute it seemed as though 1 was a
goper. The old fish didn't timber up
very fast. the salt he'd made 1t so
rusty. / broke off bit of his tail and
threw it at Bruin. He stopped for
minute TO gobble it, and before he got
started again l had the bulge on
him. He came on pretty fast. but he
was no match for the cod once the salt
was scEaped off Holy Moses, didn't !
go the cQld air shot into my eyes and
nearly blinded me, The phosphorus
from the fish danced up. and its bright
light seemed to dazzle ole Bruin.
Down, down went. lost all fear of
the bar, but could see trouble ahead.
In case the fish wore out what was to
become Nv me? An / couldn't see how
it was eyer goin to stand this strain
l wasn't yet half way down the hill
when the cod began. TO grow hot from
tn friction, an l could feel th' heat be-
comm more an more intense every
minute.
Something must bo done. Already
could smell the odor, which told me
that my trousers was c:ltched on fire.
nd start fire where tn thermometer
registered 20 below zero. There wuz
no such thing ez stoppin' that cod un-
til | got to the other end of tn lake.
BY this time the cod wuz so hot |
couldn't put my bare hand on it with
out burnin' it. l suddenly thought OF
a bottle of whisky which l carried to
give any NV the men wien they wuz
sick, 1t wuz no use, the whisky had to
go. poured it all over the back of
the cod, an sir, would you believe it,
that whisky preserved that cod n'saved
my life. If it hadn't been for tn cod the
bar nd have had me, an, if it hadn't
been for the whisky, tn cod an the
whisky nd have burned me up. l tell
you there's nOthin' like whisky when q
mans life is in danger.
Say, have you some handyP"-
Boston Globe